It's 1986. Are you watching Rad or Thrashin?
Posted by -Granby-@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 230 comments
Both these movies were awesome.
You had Thrashin. My boy Corey Webster training for the LA Downhill. Falling in love with Hook's sister. Jousting on boards.
You had RAD. My other boy Cru Jones doing backflips on his bike. Training for Helltrack. And of course the iconic "dance' to Send Me and Angel with Cru and Lori Loughlin.
I mut have seen both of those movie 50 times back then. I really don't think I could pick a favorite.
Which one are you watching?
Over_Contact_5032@reddit
RAD first, then Thrashin
MeatMan7780@reddit
I was a skater so, Thrashin... but the real skater gem was Gleaming The Cube!
Expensive_Elk3689@reddit
Don’t forget about Police Academy 4!
“This isn’t skateboarding officer. This is carrying skateboards.”
…”This is skateboarding!”
Just a very nostalgic moment of all the big names of the time having the time of their lives in the street.
usagi2988@reddit
We were a Red Vines family... we drank orange juice, not Sunny Delight... and it's Thrashin' all day, e'ery day. 🤘
the_frank_rizzo@reddit
Gleaming the cube!
classicsat@reddit
Probably neither. Likely Karate Kid, yet again because we have it on VHS.
Cael_NaMaor@reddit
Both... now that I know they exist.
Successful-Clock2586@reddit
Both my friend
r4d4r_3n5@reddit
Don't remember either of those.
optimal-gold976@reddit
Bogusfloo@reddit
RAD was a personal favorite. I was 6, it was the greatest thing ive ever seen
Nein-Toed@reddit
RAD is a childhood favorite, I've never heard of Thrashin...so RAD
Human-Document-8331@reddit
Lori Loughlin. White jeans. Rad all day.
Soggy-Juggernaut-569@reddit
Send me an angel
adelec123@reddit
The dollar theater played Thrashin for a few weeks. I went at least four times.
Thorns99@reddit
Cru mother fucking Jones!!!
hip-disguise@reddit
Thrashing 100% and Josh Brolin is in every film.
whiterock73@reddit
Both But Rad still gets watched
Fire_Mission@reddit
Rad
CNote_89@reddit
SuperNecessary9692@reddit
Neither
decent_optimist1424@reddit
RAD! bc aunt becky is still hot!
electrodog1999@reddit
Rad because it was shot in my hometown.
ComplexIndividual125@reddit
I wasn't a big BMX person but watched them film some of the movie down at Bowness park.
electrodog1999@reddit
I saw them there and in Cochrane. The school in Cochrane was buzzing for years after that was shot.
Old-Asshole@reddit
Wasn't into skateboards. I would have watched Ferris Bueller.
Lucha_Librarian@reddit
RAD all day. aunt becky, ray walston, and BMXing.
cgoldberg@reddit
I'd be Gleaming The Cube
Valek189@reddit
Not until 1989.
Epicassion@reddit
Neither. Watching Platoon, Heartbreak Ridge and Howard the Duck.
mnreco@reddit
BMX Bandits
CityBoiNC@reddit
Search for animal chin 🛹
AngryBagOfDeath@reddit
Rad
hkusp45css@reddit
Por que no los dos? They were both exceptional examples of what they were.
boothash@reddit
I was ultra stoked for RAD.
TheOfficialReptoid@reddit
Send me an angel right now
Doc_Spratley@reddit
Triple bill: Rad, Thrashin', North Shore.
ststaro@reddit
Loved North Shore
KarmaChameleon306@reddit
Quadruple all nighter: The Search For Animal Chin.
OskarBlues@reddit
My older brother raced BMX in the 80's; we were definitely a RAD family!
klk999@reddit
Aliens.
nadiaco@reddit
Neither.
Cold-Inside-6828@reddit
I was a skater and loved both of these movies, but Rad is just a touch more epic for me.
mr_d4nks@reddit
wild man, acid drop!
Signal_Run_68@reddit
Neither because I didn't have a car or cash to get to the show.
YRUSoFuggly@reddit
Saw RAD in '86.
Don't remember Thrashin' at all.
Got my skate vids from Bones Brigade
TheUnbelieverThomC@reddit
Skipped them both
often_awkward@reddit
It's autographed too. I'm going to stick with my fav.
SkinnyPuppy2500@reddit
I just went to see rad 40th anniversary at the theater. The qualifying race is still awesome!
Big77Ben2@reddit
Rad all day
aliencardboard@reddit
I loved Theashin’ and I feel embarrassed to say I still have not seen Rad yet, but I still plan to. 😆
RemoteDegree2155@reddit
Thanos would like a word with you.😁
unzercharlie@reddit
Go watch rad right now you philistine.
aliencardboard@reddit
😂
TinCanSailor987@reddit
Rad had Lori Loughlin….and Hell Track!
lowfreq33@reddit
Yeah, but Thrashin had Sherilyn Fenn.
RecbetterpassNJ@reddit
Rad had “Send Me and Angel”.
TinCanSailor987@reddit
True…🤔
RecbetterpassNJ@reddit
Not even close. Rad. “Send me an angel”? Banger.
Fitz_2112b@reddit
BMX Bandits
quiz1@reddit
This too
Jef_Wheaton@reddit
lshifto@reddit
She was so YOUNG!
Jef_Wheaton@reddit
quiz1@reddit
Rad
SadCheesecake2539@reddit
Rad
NoCoGuy1620@reddit
My 12th bday sleepover. Dad got us a ton of Jolt Cola and candy. His mistake 🤣. We watched Rad probably 3-4 times that night. Fun memory. Thrashin is good too.
Informal-Face-1922@reddit
100% Thrashin’. You can’t let the Daggers win. #ramplocals
flowerqu@reddit
Wild in the Streets
Quick_Dark244@reddit
What was the motocross one ? The main guy gets his bike destroyed so all the teams hook him up with spare parts and the build him a Frakencross bike for the win 😂
Open_Mortgage_4645@reddit
Rad... No question
SOMEONENEW1999@reddit
I was a Thrashin guy but my friends were bike guys so I watched both…
Jebgogh@reddit
Thrashin. Has Christian Hosoi and the Alva Posse in the roles they were born for as the bad guy daggers. Their mugging and silly background action along with actual good skating is a treat.
lshifto@reddit
Tony Hawk said in an interview that the bowl they were skating in Thrashin’ was the best big bowl of the era but it had just been shut down and no one could skate it anymore. The two days of filming those parts were the final runs that anyone got on that historic bowl before it was closed again forever.
Informal-Face-1922@reddit
And the Chili Peppers!
lshifto@reddit
Starring Thanos!
ixnine@reddit
I did a Rad movie night the other week!
Friendly_Tell6664@reddit
I saw RAD on Betamax 🥹
Small-Effect-3333@reddit
Thrashin’ but wait a few years for Gleaming the Cube.
thescrape@reddit
Rad! Watched it not to long ago on YouTube.
skatecrimes@reddit
I saw an upscaled HD clip of thrashin and it looked glorious. Those boards looke so cool
Spare-Good-5372@reddit
Both, but only because my older brother prefers Rad so I get to go next and pick Thrashin'.
guzzijason@reddit
Send me an angel…
BottleKnockers@reddit
BMX Boogie
marshallkrich@reddit
Um what's a thrasher? RAD
RollinYoell@reddit
Rad all the way
4158264146@reddit
Thrashin', it's 2026 and I'm about to put it on rn.
NinjaEnder@reddit
Rifftrax did a live riffing of Rad a couple years ago: https://www.rifftrax.com/rifftrax-live-rad
lylemcd@reddit
Double feature followed by Gleaming the Cube
No-Ambition7750@reddit
Right there with you, however that one was from 89 :)
lylemcd@reddit
D'oh! I missed that a year was specified.
No-Ambition7750@reddit
I was initially going to post the same.
DaddieTang@reddit
Neither. I'm waiting for Spaceballs to come out.
OreoSpeedwaggon@reddit
Flight of the Navigator.
...again.
Spear_Ritual@reddit
Gleaming the Cube
heffel77@reddit
Not out til 89, I thought the same thing,lol
Hellfire260Z@reddit
Lords of Dogtown
wyohman@reddit
I don't like either choice
ddysart@reddit
Rad. My brother and I saw it opening weekend. So good
golfgimp@reddit
Jaks Team!!!
smilehighsteve@reddit
Yes.
medisamurai@reddit
Rad just had an anniversary, it’s always near my bday and they play it in theaters across the country.
lugnutt73@reddit
I watched both and could be neither.... 😕
Smallmyfunger@reddit
Neither - I was out living them (lol). I saw RAD ~10 yrs ago, never did see Thrashin'.
Thunder-Fist-00@reddit
Rad. Every weekend. Then crashing my bike on jumps.
93195@reddit
Rad was back in theaters a couple weeks ago for its 40th.
blaggard5175@reddit
3/21 is international Rad day.
anakitenephilim@reddit
100% Thrashin'.
DirtyGritzBlitz@reddit
Hot take here : WINNERS TAKE ALL
_plays_in_traffic_@reddit
my man
_plays_in_traffic_@reddit
its always rad and winners take all
mikedorty@reddit
Neither?
Fit_Acanthaceae_2884@reddit
I don’t even remember thrashing’, but rad was my jam.
NonSupportiveCup@reddit
I'm watching Solarbabies instead.
oomchu@reddit
I'm going to wait three years and watch Gleaming the Cube.
kytulu@reddit
Gleaming the Cube and Pump Up the Volume as a double feature...
xMyDixieWreckedx@reddit
Thrashin
everydave42@reddit
You mention Rad but not ass sliding, are you even a fan?!
intothinhair@reddit
Came here to say this.
Maganda_@reddit
I first saw Rad on Betamax . Great movie with great soundtrack . Trashin was great but it didn't captivate me as much . So I would have to go with Rad .
marrklarr@reddit
“Hulk Hogan, eat your heart out!”
anothercreepyoldguy@reddit
Watching both as I worked at the local video store baby
GetGoatedYourself@reddit
Neither I'm outside riding a bike
Steelclad@reddit
The real answer.
KimBrrr1975@reddit
Rad for sure. I have it on DVD 😂 I also liked Gleaming the Cube with early Christian Slater
Steelclad@reddit
I was never s skater, but I was on my BMX a lot. So RAD it is I guess, though my real answer is neither. I would be watching some sci-fi movie like Spaceballs.
1leftbehind19@reddit
I wore both of those tapes out, and both movies have a home in my DVD collection and get watched a couple times of year. Helltrack and the Ramp Locals live on.
HackedCylon@reddit
Even though I was a skater, gotta go with Rad.
Rare_Magazine_5362@reddit
Beat Street is a lesson too, because you can't let the Streets beat you! Ah Huh Huh!
dcamnc4143@reddit
Don't think I ever saw thrashin
Ej11876@reddit
Great 80’s nostalgia. Nice cameo by the red hot chilli peppers in it too.
generic__comments@reddit
Bones Brigade
xReturnerx@reddit
ChatnNaked@reddit
Gleaming the Cube
KhaoticKorndog@reddit
Rad
TheBuckFozeman@reddit
Thanks for speaking up. I came here to correct the skate movie choice. But I really liked RAD too.
Three4Anonimity@reddit
By 1986 I am ignoring both, because I’ve been watching ‘BMX Bandits’ on repeat for 3 years.
No_Thanks_3336@reddit
Both
Sado_Hedonist@reddit
The movies were always super lame, but my friends and I always watched the actual skateboard videos from Bones Brigade, Vision, etc. Even a bunch of local tapes that were going around of skateboard contests and whatnot.
ReachRemarkable7386@reddit
Hot Dog : The Movie.
lylemcd@reddit
I will maintain to my dying day that the BMX Boogie scene to Send me an Angel in Rad! represents the peak of modern filmmaking. It was all downhill from there.
kcfdr9c@reddit
Was there a piece of our generation that you never connected with? For me it was BMX and console video games. BMX seemed cool but by the time I could afford a bike I was old enough to drive
yarn_slinger@reddit
Neither, I was likely sitting in a bar or going to uni (or a combo).
yayayagilliganhell@reddit
Braken two: electric boogaloo
vitoforever99@reddit
Breakin’
vitoforever99@reddit
Thrashin’ but definitely saving Rad for next weekend
basement_egg@reddit
thrashin
Clear-Calligrapher69@reddit
BMX Bandits (no idea what year it came out)
Fullonski@reddit
Correct answer. I think it was 83. Nicole Kidman's first film, I think
leftoverrights@reddit
Daggers 4 Life
FraGough@reddit
What? No "BMX Bandits"?.
marshdd@reddit
Never even heard of these.
Jean-Ralphio11@reddit
Me and my friends were rollerbladers so we tried super hard to push Prayer of the Rollerboys.
But we were all secretly watching Rebecca from Full House stuntin in slow mo at home on the VCR (if we had the fancy vcr with slow mo).
charitytowin@reddit
How about Solarbabies?
Clear-Calligrapher69@reddit
Or a little later Airborne.
Smittles@reddit
How about Return to Oz?
hyperphase@reddit
Double Header. Classics!
cheyannepavan@reddit
Thrashin' for sure, probably because I'm reckless and totally insane.
Own-Intention1153@reddit
Gleaming the Cube
Smittles@reddit
I saw that in the theater! Encinitas, CA, 1988-1989
Aeshaetter@reddit
Finally, a man of culture.
jazzchamp@reddit
The guys on the Film Sack podcast just 'sacked' Thrashin' this week. Radical!
https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6500f93e9654d100128055d8
MarquesTreasures@reddit
RAD for sure
Smittles@reddit
BMX Bandits
0811_devildog@reddit
Guess I was too traditional because I'm watching Iron Eagle, Ferris Bueller, and Hoosiers.
klimb2xs@reddit
RAD
charitytowin@reddit
Rad and North Shore
example-of-disaster@reddit
Acid drops! Gnarly…
charitytowin@reddit
Party in the Hollywood Hills? Gnarly
Novel_Willingness721@reddit
Neither. Couldn’t skateboard (poor balance and coordination) so that didn’t interest me and no one in my circle did BMX so again no interest.
GenXCouchPotato@reddit
I have a Rad Racing T Shirt…so
FlukeStarbucker@reddit
Same!
smitty2324@reddit
It’s 1986, and my entire personality is based off of these movies, with some The Last Dragon and Breakin mixed in.
wookape@reddit
Hell Track, of course
EveningRequirement27@reddit
Damn right, Mrs Gray.
bluealien78@reddit
Neither. I’m watching Flight of the Navigator. Compliant!
PollyDarton_me@reddit
RAD
Samurai-Pooh-Bear@reddit
Yes
bike619@reddit
I’ll wait three years for Gleaming the Cube.
Delicious_Water6372@reddit
Rad
PlaxicoCN@reddit
Wanted to see Rad but never did.
Apprehensive-Call568@reddit
Both
UrsaMajor7th@reddit
Neither.
PlannerSean@reddit
I’m still watching Rad
OceanGrownPharms@reddit
Cru Jones for life
drewthur75@reddit
Both!
thegreatgatsB70@reddit
The correct answer.
Extension-Rock-4263@reddit
Both but I was and still am a skater so Thrashin all day long. Also Thrashin > Gleaming the Cube.
Fun fact quite a few years ago I found a RAD dvd in a $5 dvd bin in Walgreens of all places lol no clue why they had it. Apparently it’s not that easy to find.
Rad-racer-Cru@reddit
Self explanatory
Skindigga@reddit
Thrashing’ all day. I always loved how his wrist guards are on backwards on the poster/cover.
vanislandgirl19@reddit
Gleaming the Cube!
cstephenson79@reddit
Rad. Still watch it like once a year. Also recently got bill allens book to read. Saw the Hayes brothers here once some years ago too at a bar I used to go to, they were scouting a filming site.
Due_Patience_5182@reddit
Rad !
bongart@reddit
I was watching Ferris Bueller's day off, The Fly, and Short Circuit.
Wooden-Discount7884@reddit
Def Rad lol
SunnySTX@reddit
Naaa, I was watching Lucas.
tivvybrixx@reddit
heelslover_1@reddit
Rad just saw it in theater for 40th it was great!
QueasyCaterpillar541@reddit
JaynJayfurfun@reddit
We just watched Rad the other night.
Exciting_Direction_9@reddit
Never heard of them, but I watched Can’t Buy Me Love in 1987 and for the first time ever, rewound the tape and watched it again.
AtariAtari@reddit
Adobe checkerboard background
johnonymous1973@reddit
RAD
labretirementhome@reddit
Gleaming the Cube
UpstairsCommittee894@reddit
The only problem with watching this is going on a Christian slater rabbit hole. I have to watch Heathers and pump up the volume afterwords.
-Granby-@reddit (OP)
And the Legend of Billie Jean. Though it’s early 90s throw Kuffs in there too.
human8060@reddit
Came here to say this.
5050logic@reddit
Rad! One of my favorite songs from the era is on that soundtrack! Send me an angel…right now!
Embarrassed-Bench392@reddit
Neither. I was out street racing.
Mercury_NYC@reddit
Thrashin
donovanwheels@reddit
Rad!
RoundSetting3402@reddit
Thrashin
xannieh666@reddit
I was 13 at the time these came out, I don't remember either
uneducated_scientist@reddit
BMX Bandits or Solarbabies
bony-tony@reddit
100% Rad. That bigass Kix bowl man.
Old_Till2431@reddit
Id rather watch paint dry.
Wide-Reflection1137@reddit
Rad!
funkympc@reddit
Thrashin' all day. All though id rather watch Gleamin the Cube personally.
-Granby-@reddit (OP)
Gleaming the cube was great too but these two were the OG. Cube was 3 years later. Love it though.
shamthedestroyer@reddit
Rad!
marugirl@reddit
Never heard of either of them.
CygnsX-1@reddit
Last year I went to a special Rad movie showing at the local theater. They played the movie then the documentary about the making of it. I thought it was cool, but there were some other folks in there wearing bike race costumes, Rad t-shirts, etc. I felt unprepared. 10/10 though, would go again.
FlamingoFlimsy4421@reddit
I’m out in the woods smoking
Stiffwrists@reddit
Rad. 🎶 Send Me an Angel 🎶
RebelStrategist@reddit
RAD. One of my all time favorites. I idolized Eddie Fiola as a kid.
C4lderone@reddit
Rad-North Shore-Gleaming the Cube-Theashin’
Curious_Owl78@reddit
RAD!
And, I have a race number hanging on my wall, signed by Cru.
Humble_Diner32@reddit
Thrashin’ is my favorite of the two but RAD always gets more attention and screen time. Just saw RAD in the theater once again. As I watched it I openly wished Thrashin’ was being shown instead.
Jolly_Werewolf_7356@reddit
Rad!