36
AND STILL ROLLING
Our beloved sport/art is now over 30 years
old, give or take a few, and some of its early
practitioners have also passed that milestone. I think
all of us "old men" would agree that there's nothing
like a skate to keep the mind and body fresh and, at
least, feeling younger. I also know from experience
that when travelling by board you can still get on the
bus for a quarter, you always get grilled for I.D. at the
pub, and old men still yell, "Look out, punk!" as you
whip by in the street. Here's to all the over-30's who
are still on a roll.
Tony Alva
September 2, 1957
They called him Mad Dog, the electric TA. When Tony Alva burst
onto the skate front he was running with a pack of wild dogs through
the streets and banks of West L.A. Tony's brash, bold approach to
every skating situation is deeply rooted in and influenced by the first
generation of skate pioneers from this region. To this day TA drops
into a first run edger in a new pool with the confidence of someone
who has ridden a thousand bowls of all shapes. And it's a good bet
that he has.
Early photo documentation has shown Tony pumping unthinkable
lines in the best pools up and down the California coast. Double-
axle carves at Soul Bowl, the first frontside airs at Gonzales' and
style setting standards with the home crew at the Dog Bowl. TA's
talents were filmed for his role as Tony Blue Tile in the first skate-
ploitation film, Skateboard, and as a member of the Daggers in the
sequel-like 80's version called Thrashin'
Tony still plays loud and skates hard, whether turning up his bass
guitar in a club or clearing the shallow end of grommets when he
shows up to shred a local pool with his boys. Even though TA has
settled into the married life with his new bride Vicki and is cruising
comfortably with perhaps the most recognizable name brand in skate
history, his attitude still manages to capture the wild style of what
skating is (or should be) all about.
Opposite Page, Far Left: THRASHER editor KT (9-23-57) has missed a deadline
or two because of his devotion to skating off. Lunchtime christie at the Dish.
Opposite Page, Near Left: Inna classic style, Tony Alva perfecting an early tuck
knee air in one of a thousand L.A. Bowls, circa '77-78, when Dogtown was still
a neighborhood.
Above: Master Peralta, layback grind in the Dog Bowl at Marina Del Rey Skatepark.
Stacy Peralta
October 15, 1957
If ever there has been a skater who could be considered the good.
will ambassador of our skate/art, it would have to be Stacy Peralta.
Through his earliest affiliations with the Z-crew to his present seat
atop the corporate skate world, Stacy has stayed a step ahead. It's
evident in his radical yet smooth and flowing skate style and his
innovative, creative approach to skating on both sides of the coin.
It was Peralta's smooth speed lines at spots like the Escondido
reservoir and the backyards and schoolyards of L.A. that set prece-
dents for generations to follow. Whether skating in park, pipe or pool,
Stacy draws no lines between free, street or vert variety, and yet he
has been largely responsible for the evolution of all skate styles.
Peralta's talents were in demand even before his affiliation with
G&S in the mid-seventies produced perhaps the biggest selling.
signature model of its day, the "Warptail.""
The Peralta portfolio of the last decade reads like a novel of skate
experience that most of us have only dreamed about. Not only has
the man skated on the best terrains in the world and with the best
skaters, he has also cultivated a team of talent over the years that
has become virtually unbeatable in contest situations. The Bones.
Brigade is the trademark of Stacy's affiliation with another old skate
coot, George Powell.
Stacy's latest career endeavor-he has become a sought after
advisor, "choreographer," camera-man and stuntman for skate
scenes in films and TV commercials- is further evidence that he
lives on the cutting edge at all times. With all that going on you'd
think the man wouldn't have any time for skating, but a mini-halfpipe
in the backyard of his recently-purchased Hollywood Hills home
keeps Stacy on board. Roll on, bro.