Lewis Woods leaves a urethane trail as he drifts around a Berkeley downhill section
When first deciding to do a story
on the skate scene in Berkeley, I
had planned on calling it a down-
hill article. But after skating with
some of the hardcore nucleus of
the Berkeley skate crew I realized
that there is much more to the way
these guys skate than just streaking
down hills of I breakneck speeds
Representing a new generation of
skate energy, this is a new breed
not urban terrorists but urban fun-
damentalists who use their boards
for t
transportation as well as sport
These skaters have dev
have developed a
style that is radical
is radical but very func
fional It's a form of skating that
enables them to take on the steep-
est downhill sections
that
while
using
steepness to their advantage.
Enthusiasm notwithstanding
these guys recognize one all-
important factor they're sharing
the asphalt with the automobile.
Thus, rolling activities are usually
restricted to back streets and the
lesser travelled (but more scenic)
roads in other words, although it
may not LOOK it, safety conscious-
ness is the standing order.
The layback was bred on vertical and transplanted to
the streets Lewis Woods Beserkeley
Chris Pettijohn, showing why he calls this maneuver the "Cap
side." At speed, Chris drops to his kneepads, sliding backwards with
his feet still in full control of his board he then whips back up onto
his board and cruises down the hill
The Alot-of-Flex Skate Shop the gathering place for Berkeley's skate activist
The Alotaflex Team has played a big part in the development
of the Berkeley skate scene. Individually they have contributed
many different approaches to freestyle and vertical skating in
addition to being masters of downhill skating. Tim Marting blew
minds when he introduced the maneuver known as the Rock 'n'
Roll to pool skating a trick that has since seen numerous variations
Paco Prieto has proven to be a top downhill competitor as well as
being a top notch vertical skater and an excellent freestylist
Jon Suzuki edging out of an abandoned miniature golf course
Ramps are an integral part of the Berkeley skate realities. Marc Aley, air edger