Skater Date

It’s not as though Tom Wyker (second from left in this photo) was moonlighting as Johnny Invisible Skater, but somehow, a driver didn’t see the 30-year-old as he road his skateboard home from McCoy’s in Westport on Saturday, October 27. In the alley between Teadrops and Harpo’s he was mowed down “hit-and-run style,” says Zach Wilson. “He was pretty messed up, in intensive care at Truman. Dislocated his hip, broke a vertebrae, chewed up his leg pretty bad. So we’re throwing a benefit party for him and his doctor’s bills.”

Wilson was hit by a car years ago and had two back surgeries to fix the damage. “That’s what put me out of the game. The guy actually stopped, surprisingly enough. But I didn’t get a thing out of it. A bunch of fuckin’ bills.”

Tonight, the “Never Say Die” benefit party for Wyker, with music by the Sticktights, the Dirty Dawgs, Devil Rides Out and Seedlove, is at Mike’s Tavern, 5424 Troost. Ten dollars at the door gets you a raffle ticket to win prizes donated by local businesses like McCoy’s, Musician’s Friend, various tattoo parlors and every skate shop in town. And Mike’s is donating ten percent of the bar proceeds to Wyker. So get out, drink up and be careful skatin’ home. – Nadia Pflaum