We are back with another of what we hope to be (dependent entirely on laziness) our monthly vintage deck review and this time we have the Powell Peralta Lance Mountain Doughboy from 1990.
This one is very close to my heart as it was actually the first “decent” skateboard deck I ever owned, although for the sake of accuracy, I did not have the dipped version you see here… so it is obviously very fitting that the board we are featuring is actually owned by Nick, typical!
Lance’s Doughboy character has appeared on several of his boards, both Powell and more recently Flip but this was the first time it graced one of his pro decks.
This board certainly isn’t the rarest of Powell decks and until recently (the last 5 years or so), it could be bought for as little as $60. The reason behind the abundance and therefore low price of these decks is the now famous ‘fire sale’ at Powell in the 90s. The story goes that Powell Peralta had not foreseen the sudden changes coming in skateboarding in the early 90s. Interest in Vert riding dropped off a cliff. At the same time, technical street skating, driven by new companies like World Industries, Blind and New Deal took skateboard shapes into more oval and then popsicle shapes. This left Powell with a ton of decks nobody wanted, so finally they sold them off cheap. SUPER CHEAP. Like $5 cheap. These boards were picked up by some people who were either very clever or very lucky. With the arrival of eBay, they were able to make a tidy profit as people got into collecting or just wanted an old-style deck to ride.
The glut of these ‘fire sale’ decks has mostly subsided and boards like this Doughboy have been creeping up in value. On the other hand, you will still see tonnes of Steve Saiz Buffalo, Guerrero Feather and double kick Hawk decks for $45 – $70 on eBay even now. Just type in ‘NOS skateboard deck’ and you’ll see them immediately.
Anyway, fuzzy history lesson aside …..this particular example is of the black dip variety, making the board graphics pop nicely and giving it a classier feel than its wood-stained brethren. The Doughboy also replaces the traditional Powell Ripper in the top graphic, which is a nice touch.
It would be rude not to check out some of Lance’s skating whilst we are on the subject of his pro deck. Lance has had an incredibly long pro career and is still killing it in his 50’s. Check out this 50th birthday clip with footage spanning at least 25 years:
