Judges were a bit antsy, Katen takes a squirt break while the rest tally up
the final heat.
Rob Roskopp takes a long jump approach over the auto obstacle.
Clearing out the hilltop crowd, Christ starts his run above the rest
of them. Speed. Riding up the first ramp, he puts down his hands
and pushes the board against the wall, extending himself up the
vertical next to the ramp and riding it out to continue down the hill.
At the transition ramp he launches, big lein air followed by a slap
onto the tail. Hosoi has got the style for air. His style isn't to contort
and stretch like Guerrero or Gonzales, he goes for the sky, easily.
pulling off the highest airs of the day. His jump over the car is
effortless. The cheers of the crowd are relentless. The judges give
him second place.
Jake: "Do you think that, pound for pound, there are more hot
skaters in the Bay area, or is it pretty much all the same?"
T.G.: "People who are really into it are into it. It does seem different
down there, though. I get along with most of the skaters, but
it's just that their skating is like a lifestyle. Their lifestyle
revolves around just skating and some of that's kind of stale.
Instead of going to the beach or something, some of them
like to just skate and then go home. Like, T do my ten-foot
method airs and then go drink some milk."
Jake: "But you know, the best people I've met in my life are skaters.
You can't go wrong just having a good time with your friends."
T.G.: "That's what's best about skating, sessioning with my friends."
Jake: At Capitola, everybody there was rooting for you and you
just rode the adrenalin trip right to the winner's circle."
T.G.: "Yeah, I had a lot of local support. It would have been hard
if my friends didn't cheer me on. It wouldn't be worth it then..."
He starts in the usual fashion, from ramp to ramp to ramp. The
crowd is with him by ramp one. These are Tommy Guerrero's friends
and this is his contest. On the third ramp, the pyramid, Guerrero
tucks a 360 spin between the wood and the oncoming pavement.
Down and over, he raises his arms and stops. Roar, says the crowd,
jump over the car. He pushes, attacks the launch-air time, then
out of time. The crowd agrees, it's as it should be. Tommy's awarded
first place.
Jake: "What would you like to say to the whole general skate
populous? What is Tommy Guerrero all about?"
T.G.: "I just like to skate and have fun. Just skate for fun, more or
less, don't worry about anyone else's trip. Just do the best
that you can and that's all you need to do. Be yourself and
you'll learn to be a better person. Don't let your head get all
blown out of proportion."
It is late evening, you are riding at your usual, casual pace,
surveying the streets, keeping your eye on the ball. As you turn a
corner you hear a familiar sound coming from the next alley. You
stop to watch four skaters sessioning a small street ramp. You notice
distinct differences in the way they ride. One seems to emphasize
style; contorting, twisting and pointing his board trying for a
different look as he gets air off the plywood they have braced up.
The second skater seems to prefer the high airs. With each assault
he launches himself up, straining for those extra inches, trying to
break his previous record. He is content to do the same maneuver
over and over, trying to perfect one radical trick. The next skater is
cautious but fluent. Though he doesn't go the highest and doesn't
look as styling as the rest of them he doesn't bail as often as they
do and does a variety of tricks. The last skater seems less interested
in the ramp than the others. He uses the ground, mixing freestyle
tricks fogether with an occasional boneless or ollie off the ramp.
and the sudden attack of a nearby garbage can. You watch these
four skaters for a long time, trying to decide who is the best among
them. It is a decision that you are having great difficulty making.
You can see that each skater is equally skilled, however, the em-
phasis each places on certain aspects of his riding makes it almost
impossible to compare them on an equal basis. You are stumped.
You wonder if streetstyle can be judged fairly. You decide to leave
that up to those who are called judges and just enjoy the show.
RESULTS
CAPITOLA STREETSTYLE CLASSIC
August 31, 1985
1. Tommy Guerrero
2. Christian Hosoi
3. Mark Gonzales
4. Steve Caballero
5. Steve Olson
6. John Kopp
7. Keith Mook
8. Rob Roskopp
$1000
500
250
125
100
50
Headin' for the beach, local Keith Meek puffed up
into 7th with a fine performance.
THRASHER
INTE
CALIZ
No. #1...with an axe, Tommy Guerrero