Watching Jovontae Turner’s old footage, it’s tough not to go green with envy for his smooth, buttery style. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Jovontae was one of the first to pop his tricks properly. It goes to show that the man was born for doing flip tricks, as evidenced by his innumerable lines at SF’s legendary Embarcadero, for instance. Honestly, we would sell our souls for his tre flips. Sadly, we haven’t succeeded in opening the Gates of Hell yet (although we regularly sacrifice live chicken and paint our faces with their blood), so we’ll have to make do with our shitty low-pop kickflips. Maybe even the Devil can’t tre flip as well as old JT.
Aside from his unprecedented style, JT also had one of the most infamous board graphics in skateboarding history. Making fun of racist stereotypes, Jovontae’s World Industries pro deck featured a comically fat-lipped African-American, sleeping on a bunch of watermelons and dreaming of a chicken leg. Many perceived the graphic to be adding fuel to the fire of everyday racism. Evidently, critics missed the point entirely: by making fun of the stereotypical lazy black person and his insatiable desire for both watermelons and chicken, Jovontae’s pro graphic deprived haters of their ammunition.
Anyway, Jovontae’s heyday has long since passed, and given that he’d never been exactly a footage juggernaut, re-watching his SF footage has long been all we had. Until now, that is, because effective immediately, we’re selling his stuff. JT&CO offers small but uniquely designed collections inspired by 90’s street wear. Besides a couple of logo shirts (one of which comes with a murdered-out gold print), the stand-out item is a multicolor five panel cap that’s made in Japan. You might not know how to tre flip like JT, but you can still dress like him.
