Tony Hawk Remembers His First 900 Air at the X-Games

This is really cool.

Legends of Skateboarding Finals 2015

From last weekend at the Vans Skatepark in Orange.

At Thrasher, "Vans Pool Party 2015: Blog."

I skated with the "legends" bros back in the day.



More video, "VANS Pool Party 2015 Legends of Skateboarding + Pedro Barros Hip Transfer," and "Bowl Skateboarding Legends Final - Vans Pool Party California 2015."

Vans Skatepark Round-Up Huntington Beach (VIDEO)

A great video out of H.B.

That's Stevie Caballero doing the long board slides in the clover pool. Hot!

Police Shut Down Zumiez Skateboarding Event at Stonewood Center in Downey

I got a giggle at this story.

Skateboarders weren't teen heartthrobs when I was a kid, heh.

At the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "2,000 flock to Downey mall to see pro skateboarders; event canceled."

And CBS Los Angeles, "Police Called, Mall Shut Down as 2,000 Teens Turn Out for Pro Skateboarders' Appearance."

Mind-Boggling Gou Miyagi Skateboarding

This dude will blow your mind.

VIDEO: Eddie Elguera, Tony Hawk, and Christian Hosoi, et al., at 'El Gato Classic'

This is phenomenal.

Tony Hawk especially is shredding like it was yesterday. Amazing.



Plus, at Thrasher, "The El Gato Classic."

Skate Legends Inspire at El Gato Classic in Palm Springs

At the Palm Springs Desert Sun, "Skater legends inspire locals at El Gato Classic."

And at Blue Tile Obsession, "El Gato Classic / Legends Jam":

I was awestruck today. The El Gato Classic Legends Jam was insane. At one point, there were so many Hester Series and Gold Cup series skateboarders in attendance that I was literally the only mortal on the deck. Just a few: El Gato, Malba, Salba, Olson, Caballero, Hosoi, Jim Gray, Lonny Hiramoto, Scott Foss, Eric Grisham, Jami Godfrey, Steve Hirsch, Freddi DeSota, Lance Mountain, Pineapple Saladino, Doug Marker, Billy Ruff, Mike McGill, Hackett, Wally Inouye, Doug Marker, Kyle Jensen, George McClellan, Alan Gelfand, Allen Losi, Scott Dunlap, Brad Bowman, George Orton, John Lucero, Marty Grimes, Robin Logan, Chuck Hults, Jim Muir, Tony Hawk, Jeff Tatum and others. There was more amazing skateboarding going on than I could take in at one sitting. I was impressed with something that really stood out to me. When Scott Dunlap threw a huge double trucker in the deep end, his head would drop down just like I could see in old photographs of him. When Hackett slashed frontside, his body would twist up… When Scott Foss rode, we all rode with him. Each legend still retains all that made him what he is. The style has remained. There is more mileage but the originality and raw natural talent remains. Impressive.

Also, "El Gato Classic / Vert Demo."

More photos on Twitter at "El Gato Classic" and "#ElGatoClassic."

El Gato Classic Skateboarding Competition in Palm Springs

It's this weekend.

Here's the website and here's the announcement video.

And at the Palm Springs Desert Sun, "Skater legends inspire locals at El Gato Classic":

Palm Springs Skate Park had the air of an amped up high school reunion Friday night, because that high school would’ve been attended by skateboarding legends of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

Brought together by Palm Desert local Eddie “El Gato” Elguera for his first-ever El Gato Skateboard Classic Competition this weekend, household names like Tony Hawk, Alan Gelfand and Brad Bowman could be seen at the park throughout the day.

A “Revolutionary Era of Skateboarding” art and photo show kicked off the skateboard contest series created by the two-time World Champion skateboarder Elguera, featuring the work of photographer Jim Cassimus of SkateBoarder magazine fame and drawing a crowd of hundreds between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

“These guys, they love being here because skateboarding is a community,” said Elguera, Red Bull in hand. “I could be at a bowl and some 8-year-old comes up and we have something in common.”

Not far off was Dale Smith, the coach who helped work out several of Elguera’s classic vert tricks like “Elguerial” — a cutting-edge “fakie flip” when it was pulled off in May 1979.

Surrounding the legends were skateboarding paintings, drawings and Cassimus’ photos from the classic Gold Cup Series age of the sport.

“I haven’t seen some of these guys since I photographed them 25 years ago, and they come up and I hardly recognize them,” Cassimus said. “Hopefully these photos of the pioneers of modern skateboarding will show kids the history of the sport before they were born.”...

More.

And classic photos from the old days, "Hester Series / Gold Cup / El Gato Classic."

Legendary Skateboarder Jay Adams Has Died

At the Los Angeles Times, "Jay Adams dies at 53; legendary skateboarder."

Rest In Peace #JayAdams #legend pic.twitter.com/SN0ytBq5j9

— Shaun White (@shaun_white) August 15, 2014

Skateboarding legend from "Lords of Dogtown" movie dies from heart attack. http://t.co/peLnOYJSng (Updated image) pic.twitter.com/tpoUwQ5oWk

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 15, 2014

2014 Vans Pool Party

One of my buddies scored me a ticket, but not one for my youngest son --- and there's no way I was going without my kid. Maybe next year.

At Trans-World Skateboarding, "VANS POOL PARTY MASTERS & LEGENDS."

The Masters dudes are my generation. I skated with all these cats, some of them in their mid-fifties today. Chris Miller was ripping it as if he wasn't a day over 18. Amazing.



More video, "Vans Pool Party 2014 Finals," and "Vans Pool Party 2014 Highlights."

And at Thrasher Magazine, "Vans Pool Party 2014 Photos."

'Fortress Venice' — Officials Seek to Restrict Street Access to Venice Beach Tourist Attraction

It's been not quite a year ago since I was up there, "Chillin' in Santa Monica and Venice Beach."

I've had a hankering to return, actually. But I better hurry up about it, if this front-page report at the Los Angeles Times is any indication, "Officials seek to tame Venice boardwalk":

Spencer Davis was chatting up tourists on the Venice boardwalk when police officers pulled up in front of his display of plastic alien heads.

Had Davis seen a man threatening people with a chain saw, they asked?

"Not today," he quipped with a smile, assuming that the officers were joking.

Then he turned around and saw police officers, their guns drawn, with a man holding a chain saw.

"Just when you think you've seen it all…" Davis said.

For all the gentrification, designer homes and tourist attractions, Venice is still that kind of place — where artists, the homeless, Silicon Beach hipsters, surfers, inline skaters and tourists come together along a circus-like boardwalk.

Over the last few decades, the city has tried to tame the scene on Ocean Front Walk, but with limited success. Now, City Hall is making what some locals consider the most concerted effort yet to bring control to the area.

The city is considering a series of safety measures, including security cameras, more lights and a public address system, as well as closing off about 20 of the 32 streets that dead-end onto Ocean Front Walk. To accomplish that, the plan also calls for the installation of automated retractable posts, as well as gates, planters or other measures at the locations to prevent cars from getting onto the boardwalk....

Critics say that the city is trying to turn the beloved boardwalk — one of California's top tourist draws — into "Fortress Venice."

"If you can't even go to the beach without being watched," said Venice Neighborhood Council President Linda Lucks, "where can you go?"

More.

Thrasher Magazine Coverage of Vans Skatepark Huntington Beach Grand Opening

Remember earlier, "My Buddy Broke His Hip at the Vans Skatepark Opening Yesterday."

Well my friend, Todd, is featured briefly in Thrasher Magazine's video coverage of the grand opening. Not the best way to get picked up by the skateboarding mags, although it definitely preserves the memories.

Also, "Huntington Beach, CA skatepark opening."

Time-Lapse Video: Vans Skatepark Huntington Beach

This is cool.



And at the H.B. Independent, "'Everything is all good' at skate park."

My Buddy Broke His Hip at the Vans Skatepark Opening Yesterday

Here's an update to yesterday's entry, "Vans Skatepark Huntington Beach Grand Opening."

It turns out my good buddy Todd, who skated with me 35 years ago back in the day, broke his hip yesterday at the skatepark opening. It's a horrible fracture. Todd's femoral head broke off and he'll no doubt require hip replacement surgery. I haven't heard back from him since yesterday afternoon, so we'll see. Please join me in prayer for him.



I'm reminded of the piece at the L.A. Times in January, "Middle-aged skateboarders defy family skeptics, and falls." Old school veteran Steve Alba broke his collarbone last year. I saw Alba hanging out yesterday at the clover bowl but he did not skate (although he apparently did skate a secret pre-session last week or so).

I'm not myself looking to rekindle my glory skateboarding years (my teenage years, basically), although I can't resist the thrilling feel seeing all my old buddies, many of them out there hitting the bowls. I'll probably stick to the freestyle area, lol. It's been a long time since I did any serious skating, and like any sport, you need to train and maintain conditioning.

I'll keep you posted.

BONUS: At the O.C. Register, "Grand opening of Vans skatepark mixes legends, next generation."

Vans Skatepark Huntington Beach Grand Opening

I took my youngest son down to H.B. today for the grand opening of the new skatepark.

The O.C. Register had a write-up yesterday, "Vans to open free skatepark in H.B. Saturday."

And at the Vans homepage, "Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach, CA Grand Opening 3/22."



I'll have more later. That clover bowl is even bigger than it looks in pictures!

Big Air Skateboarder Bob Burnquist Builds Floating Skate Ramp in Middle of Lake Tahoe

At Inhabit, "Pro Skater Bob Burnquist Busts Moves on an Awesome Floating Skate Ramp on Lake Tahoe."

And at Vista California, "Location 14: Pro Skater Bob Burnquist at Lake Tahoe."



Via Liz Williams on Facebook.

'Master of Disaster' Duane Peters, So-Cal Skateboarding Icon, Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges

He apparently launched a full-blown FTW" Facebook rant on Friday morning, and then was arrested that night.

At LAT, "Skate-punk icon Duane Peters charged in domestic violence case":

Professional skateboarder and punk rock singer Duane Thomas Peters, nicknamed “The Master of Disaster,” was charged Tuesday with assaulting his girlfriend at their Long Beach home.

Peters, 52, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on a felony count of willful infliction of corporal injury, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. His arraignment was originally scheduled Tuesday but was postponed.

Peters was arrested Saturday in the 4000 block of East 3rd Street in Long Beach, police Sgt. Megan Zabel said.

Prosecutors say that shortly before midnight Friday, Peters became angry with his girlfriend and assaulted her at their Long Beach home.

Neighbors heard the commotion and intervened, prosecutors said. They were able to restrain Peters until police arrived and arrested him.

The victim suffered injuries to her body.

Peters remains in jail in lieu of a $50,000 bail bond.

Peters is a skateboarding’s pioneer.

Former Pro Scott Hostert Picks Up Skateboarding After 35 Years

My mom tipped me off to this article in the Los Angeles Times, which was buried way down inside the newspaper, at the Saturday wellness feature: "Middle-aged skateboarders defy family skeptics, and falls.

I laughed because my old skateboarding pals posted this picture of Scott Hostert on Facebook, at the Big O group page. I used to work at Big O Skatepark when I was in high school. Spent nearabouts every day at the park while it was open during its roughly three year run.

Hostert was on the Sims Skateboards pro team back in the day. That's me (at bottom left) just sitting, watching the action, next to the park's capsule pool, one of the greatest skatepark pools of that era.



Big O built a water slide sometime around 1981, and that was the beginning of the end for the park. The novelty wore off fast. And the water slide not only leaked all over the skateboarding pipes and pools, but it ended up being a death trap as well. See this old Los Angeles Times article, "Water Slide Victims Settle for More Than $300,000."

I would have been about 16 years old in the photograph, and going into my senior year in high school.

Not sure when, but I plan to get a new skateboard soon, and all the requisite safety gear, and head out to some of the great new skateparks that have opened up these days. I won't be looking to rekindle my former glory. Mostly, I just want to get some exercise and feel young again. I'll keep you posted.

2014 Mazda CX-5 TV Spot Featuring Tom Sims

I just saw this commercial during the game. I wasn't even listening but recognized Tom Sims, who passed away in 2012.

Loop of Death

Seriously. A death loop.

Damn, what a video.

A couple of these dudes were skating back in the day, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Tony Magnusson.

And I don't know the mofo who took a hospital-worthy slam. He hits as hard as anyone I've ever seen. Broke his shoulder for sure. Maybe his collarbone as well.