MAKE A SKATE VE
CAHREZES
WAST
NELCHERGANS
HORIZONS WEST
EXPLOSI
ASPARAG
TAMA
Milwaukee Sawzall and proceed to cut off
the top of McClure's ride. Five minutes
later, its totally chopped and the instigators
next pass out spray paint cans to the
assembled crowd. The plan is new car
equals new paint. The style is distinctly
D.T. ultra moderne. For some unknown
reason the car is an affront to every cop
who sees it. Unfazed the lads drive off
leaving the top on the sidewalk. The
elapsed time for the entire incident is some
place under 10 minutes.
Santa Monica sits on the edge of the
Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles.
Economically all stratas are present"
ranging from the very poor to the very rich.
The city is infamous politically; once the
CBS national news program "60 Minutes"
called it the "People's Republic of Santa
Monica. Despite such liberal overtones,
on the street skate harassment is a definite
possibility. Geographically the region's a
hot set up. Canyon roads, downhill slants,
abundant carveable stormdrains, parking
structures, banked schools, countless
pools, and miles of sidewalk were all
thoughtfully provided by the cultural
overlords.
Surfriding variations remain a local
concern. Even such a high style aficionado
as Hosoi can occasionally be spotted in
the water. In fact, in D.T. skating and
surfing have always been intertwined.
While Malibu surfers once originated
skateboarding as a diversionary activity,
now skaters and skate inspired moves are
the dominant influence in surfing. "Right
now in D.T. I'd say that the energy is in
skate-style surfing. People surf and they
skate, Jay Adams is a basic role model."-
Stacy Peralta.
"There isn't much delineation these
days. People do land based moves in
water and water based moves on land. It's
all the same thing."-Nathan Pratt.
"Santa Monica can only be judged by its
own terms. It has a unique logic to it.
Surfing is part of the criteria. It took a guy
from S.M. named Tom Blake to help
re-introduce surfing to the islands back in
the twenties. Surfing is part of the town's
basic makeup. It's an ever present
influence. Other skate towns don't
necessarily relate to surfing, and why
should they. It's hard to 'hang ten' in
Nebraska. The skate style in D.T. is unique
to D.T. Each area should develop its own
style. Robot boys and cookie cutter styles
are passé."-Skip Engblom.
As has been told and retold (perhaps too
many times) the DogTown/Z Cult/Zephyr
aggregation come out of obscurity to
radically restructure the sport. The arrival
of the Z-Boys at the 1974 Del Mar
Nationals was the de facto coming of the
modern age of the sport. The lads brought
hard core street/bank/vertical aggression
to the forefront, permanently displacing the
placid stand in place, freestyle of the time.
All of that being accepted as true, so what
лappened to the boys anyhow. Muir, Alva,
Peralta and Adams are obviously still very
much on the scene. Others like Cahill,
Pratt and Sarlo are highly visible in the
professional surf scene. Peggy Oki races
dirt bikes and documents biological
CREW
HOSOI