Back in the early 1990’s I collaborated with fellow straight edge, skateboarding friend Wes Pearson on creating a new zine relating to the local hardcore and skateboarding scene. Due to differences my memory can’t recall we ended up making two zines. Mine was called X-Press and Wes’s was dubbed “Mike Wachs Fan Club”.

Mike Wachs Fan Club was released first @ $1 per issue. X-Press came in second @ $0.99 per issue to keep up with a friendly rivalry between the two zines.

There are copies of both zines somewhere in this house and they’ll have to remain in storage for now. In the meantime, due to the growing collection of Michael Wachs photos…I’m bringing it back!

If you don’t even know who Mike Wachs is, you may ask yourself “why does this guy have a fan club?”. It’s like this… When someone is an enigma, people often bring up the enigma in conversation sharing stories and queries trying to unravel the mysteries of said enigma. These people are the Mike Wachs fan club.

It’s not an easy process trying to get the answers to the questions. The simple fact that there are questions in the first place is what dictates the enigma status.

How does one work so little, but yet make rent and buy food every month with some scratch left over to tattoo sea monkeys all over his legs? Is it the re-using of the Ziploc bags and tinfoil alone that gives him the edge he needs on such an unpredictable income? Why does the feeling of velvet caressing his skin make him want to vomit? How does he manoeuvre his skateboard with trucks that wobbly? This at least gives us the answer to why is one of his nick names “Wobbly Wachs”. Now that he skateboards less and less you can just call him “Gary”. Is that the only REAL reason we call him Gary? How does he make it through each holiday season with Bar Italia being closed on Christmas day? Why is a single click Mac mouse and a Bar Italia table the only way to get work done…in his eyes there is no other alternative. How can he not like Ignite? How come no one has made a T.V. show about him, his cats, his mattress, his ripped up soccer shorts, his flip flops, his cardboard box and his lap top? Last but not least, the most common question asked…how old IS Mike Wachs?