Thrasher Magazine

Pat Clark appeared on the cover of our October ’83 mag doing doubles with his friend Puker at the Annandale ramp near Washington DC. He was a well-respected verticalist for the last four decades, shredding and making friends in California, Texas, Colorado, Florida and up and down the East Coast until his passing at age 58. Our condolences go out to his family and many friends.

Still shredding and smiling!      Photos: Mark Nichols and courtesy of the Boardr

Pat and I got into skating after watching guys skate the Ocean Bowl in Ocean City, MD in 1976. That's when we realized we could skate the drainage ditch in our backyard. After that, we built a halfpipe and had our own little skatepark at our house—that was our training grounds! We entered our first contest in Bowie, MD. Belair skateboards asked to sponsor us and we got to hang out with Chris Chapet and Michael Williams. From there we skated in contests with the East Coast Toke Team and even Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins back when they still skated. Pat lived for skating and had just bounced back from two hip replacements. He was excited to skate Rodney Mead’s halfpipe contest on Halloween this month. Instead, we will have a celebration of life for him. Pat is survived by his mom and dad, brothers Willy and Steve, sister Meg and girlfriend Brenda. He tragically lost his son Ryker this past January. Pat would be honored to be remembered by Thrasher and the skateboard community. Thank you! —Willy Clark


Pogo rock from our Oct. ’83 mag       Photo: Friedman

Layback air with Ian MacKaye      Photo: Friedman

I'm so sad. I just skated with Pat Clark on my ramp last week—just me and him for about an hour in the hottest, blistering part of the day. We had a good session, he made some perfect inverts, some decked rock and rolls and most of all, we had fun! We chatted about life and how lucky we are to be shredding vert at our age! His smile was always present as usual. I loved when he called to come skate the ramp. I would always get excited about the session—MFing legend Pat Clark coming to skate my ramp! How could I not be pumped? I will miss him and those sessions dearly. Love you, Pat Clark. RIP, my friend. —Rodney Mead

Stalled out at Jeff Phillips’ Skatepark, Dallas, Texas 1990      Photo: Hollenbeck