Submitted Galleries, Old Man Army

Mike Furst inside the fish eye

Brian Bullis is a firm believer in backside ollie's

Unknown local ripper, unknown spot, covert op's

I don't need no stinking hall pass!

Arizona recreation

Veteran skateboarders roll
30-something Chandler High grads still carving bowls
from the 9/13/2005 Tempe Republic

At 34, Mike Furst still keeps his eyes open for abandoned pools, concrete ditches and curbs as he drives around town. The Chandler native practically grew up on his skateboard, carving any bowl he and his friends could find. "Whenever we found an empty swimming pool, that was the mother lode," said Tony Ozlanski. In the 1980s, before public skate parks, skateboarders like Furst and Ozlanski had to resort to drastic measures. "There was a big ditch near the corner of Alma School and Basha roads. We'd go out there with shovels and brooms to clear it out. By the time we skated a little bit, we'd get kicked out," Furst said. They'd even sneak over to use the old Chandler High School swimming pool when it was empty. "We've skated everywhere. I've even skated Big Surf when it's been empty," Furst said. Now in their mid-30s, Furst, Ozlanski and a half dozen other friends they grew up with meet every weekend at the Chandler Skate Park at Snedigar Sportsplex. They call themselves the Old Man Army and are in the process of starting a business under the same name, geared toward older skateboarders. "This all started two years ago when we realized we were the oldest guys here," Furst said. With skateboard companies catering to the younger crowd, Old Man Army hopes to fill the niche for those who remember the "old school" way of skateboarding. So far, they've produced T-shirts and hats and are in the process of developing skateboards and other products. At the skate park, while the teens and pre-teens are doing kick-flips, ollies, grinds, manuals and other popular tricks on the park's flatland, Old Man Army members are "dropping in" to the two bowls - what they call their home court. Although they incorporate many of the newer tricks, the Old Man Army skaters prefer the more "vert" (vertical) style of skateboarding. These "old" guys, all of them Chandler High School graduates, have formed a strong bond as veterans of a sport that has evolved dramatically in the past 10 years. Arriving at the skate park on Sundays as early as 6:30 a.m., the Old Man Army skaters often find litter strewn across the concrete. They pitch in to clean it up and comment how "kids today" easily take a park like this for granted. "They don't know what it was like for us when we were kids," said Brian Bullis. "We try to instill in the kids to keep it clean to prevent accidents. All it takes is a little gummy bear and you're really hurting." Bullis, 36, works as a chef and meat cutter in Gilbert. Although he also lives in Gilbert, he still calls Chandler home. His wife, Kristie Bullis, 33, a certified public accountant, sometimes gets a little flack from others regarding her husband's sport of choice. "When I tell people at work that my husband skateboards, they kind of roll their eyes and probably think he's really immature," she said. "But I think it's great that these guys can relive their childhood. They're all professional and they work hard during the week. Then they can skate on the weekends and it keeps them feeling young. And, honestly, they could be doing a lot worse with their time." The Old Man Army hopes to add to its ranks and is open to anyone who is interested. "Some sports come and go. You don't really see a lot of 40- and 50-year-old men out on the field playing football, but with skateboarding, as long as your body still works, you can keep doing this forever," Ozlanski said.