These guys built a ramp under a bridge near
the railroad tracks in Del Mar and no one
knew it was there for about four months. It.
was classic. About five or six of them got
together, Josh Nelson was one of the guys..
I don't know where they got the wood, but
of course, there was a lot of construction go-
ing on about three miles from there. They
built a twenty four foot ramp. It was like a mini
ramp, but it was a big structure-two layers
of wood. That was a real feat to do that on
public land. The train people kind of dug it
but the city people didn't like it.
DAVE DUNCAN
The North County scene has always been
happening. RSD, the Rabid Skate Dogs from
Escondido, some of Gator's offshoots, they
grew up out there in the valley suburbs where
there are a lot of reservoirs and ditches. Vista
is a hot spot for North County also. A lot of
the pros have come from the Escondido,
Vista, Oceanside triangle because a lot of
them skated Del Mar all the time.
If we were to make a list of pros who live,
work and play, not to mention skate, inside
San Diego County lines, we could start with
Doug Pineapple" Saladino, Dave Andrecht,
Dennis Martinez, other early skaters like
Russ Gosnell, Rodney Jesse, Tom Inouye
was originally from the area, the Logan
brothers (Bruce Brian and Brad). Laura
Thornhill, Henry Hester, Bob Skolberg, Chris
Yandall, Dale Smith, Curtis Hasselgrave,
Dennis Shufeldt, Ellen Berryman, Steve
One of the founding fathers of the modern San Diego
skate scene, Pine and his design.
40
Cathey, Layne Oaks, Jeff Tatum, Doug
Marker, Gunner Huago, Gregg Meshied. Of
course you've also got Tony Hawk, Adrian.
Demain, Steve Steadham, Tony Magnusson,
Mark Gator Rogowski Anthony, transplant
Mike McGill, Billy Ruff's a veteran loke, Dave
Crabb (originally from New Zealand), Todd
Swank. Dave Swift, Owen Nieder, Danny
Way. John Schultes, Matt Hensley and John
Sonner are all up and comers. Jamie
Mosberg is a transplant from New Jersey. A
lot of skaters didn't necessarily grow up here
but came here for the skating and never left.
Mark Partain, Joe Bowers, Ray Underhill,
Gary Scott Davis, the Godoy twins and Chris
Miller have taken up residence. Other movers
and rollers who have shaped the area are
John Hogan, Chip Morton, Doug Ring. Dave
Omer, Grant Brittain, Sonny Miller, Dave
Klein, Warren Bolster, Jim Goodrich. Tracker
Trucks, G&S Skateboards and Gullwing have
always been big employers in the area. Guys
like Dave Dominy, Larry Balma, Larry Gordon
and Bob Bahne pioneered the early develop-
ment of board and truck design.
Carlsbad Skatepark was one of the first
skateparks in the country and was built right
here. A skatepark list gets pretty lengthy also.
First there was Carlsbad, then Home Ave
nue, El Cajon, Spring Valley, La Mesa, Oasis,
Del Mar, Escondido, Vista, Whirlin' Wheels-
all those were San Diego County Parks. I us
ed to just take the bus around on Saturdays
and sample each one for a full day of skating.
As far as the current situation, there hasn't
been a day in the last five years that we
haven't had at least three pools going.
JAMIE MOSBERG
I came out here from New Jersey on a
soccer scholarship from San Diego State
University. The soccer scene wasn't too hap
pening for me, so I quit and surfed and skated
and got into the whole So. Cal. scene.
Within the last year and a half, there have
been so many pools and ditches and ramps.
Two years ago there was nothing. Pools are
plentiful. I've been to as many pools in the
last six months as I have in the last six years.
We used to have to go to LA and the Bad-
lands. Right here, now, you don't have to
drive far to find good stuff to skate. Ruel,
Delgado and Duncan, those guys are on the
program. They know where everything is..
Even with three ramp facilities (UCSD
ramps, Linda Vista and Mike McGill's park)
within a twenty-five-mile radius, I think the
trend is starting to go the other way, away
from wood and ramps. Cement is coming
back in a big way. I went to a ramp the other
day and I was watching these guys ride and
I was thinking to myself, I don't ever want to
ride a ramp again.
People used to disrespect us because all
the coverage was coming out of San Diego
but there was really nothing to ride. Now it's
Above: Mario Rubalcaba creeks some crailage at
School W. Right: A fast frontside flinger by pre-Mark
Anthony Gator Rogowski. Inset: Macadam master
Matt Hensley pops an ollie manual to double tail drop
more in tune. There are legitimate vert struc-
tures to cover and always heavy street action.
DAVE ANDRECHT
I've lived here all my life so it's kind of hard
to go anywhere else. We've always had top
skaters here. I think it's always been one of
the best vertical areas. So many top pros
come from here. I stay here because it's fun.
Even in the first days, there was always a
Down South vs. Dogtown boys and the Bad-
lands rivalry. Everybody had their little area.
and niche. In the last five years I think every-
body has become a lot friendlier. There isn't
any real heavy competition between areas.
It's a real good area to skate. There's a
ramp about every ten miles down here. There i
are so many of them that a lot of skaters from
L.A. have to come down here to have a really
good session. It's only an hour from LA.
Parents are getting behind skateboarding
more and more down here. It's either that or
their kids hang out with the gang downtown
It's a lot safer for their kids-the risk factor
of getting hurt is a lot less now because you
don't get hurt as much skating ramps as you
do in a pool like the old pool days.
MARK GATOR ANTHONY
The dudes from Vista blaze street thei
hardest, the guys from Frogfown and down-
town San Diego blaze pools the hardest, and
the guys from Fallbrook blaze ramps the
hardest. Me, I'm everywhere.
I've been known to bucket and bail. It's
been good to know Dave Duncan, Darrel
Delgado and those guys. They're always the
key to a good pool session. I've kind of bred
some of the guys from Escondido, the RSD
GATOR