Two
of the clean style daddies
of the sport (below) just miss
getting dirty while doubling
up at Max's. Scott (opposite
top) gets a linle help from his
old buddy Pepe Martinez on
a frontside pole slammer.
Schaxinator (opposite bottom)
does his best to see if there
are any leaks in the roof.
ESSIONS
Max Schaaf
When did you get your first board?
I was about nine. Someone left a
banana board in front of my dad's
house, in Walnut Creek, CA, and it
had a broken back truck, so I took it,
and my dad said if no one claimed it,
then it was mine, so I just used to go
out there and sit on it all day long so
no one would see it, and then three
days later, I had my first board.
Did you ever go to The Dish?
Yeah, because my mom used to roll
around with me.
Your mom went skating with you?
Yeah, not always, but somewhere like
The Dish where she could just cruise
around. I remember I saw Tommy do an
ollie-grab out, and I remember saying
to my friends, "We went to this place,
and this dude ollied over my head."
Where was the first vert ramp that
you rode?
I learned to drop in on this ramp by
my house in Walnut Creek, a real tight
one. My dad made a deal with me that I
had to go to swim practice four days a
week, so I'd just get my board and get
my towel around my neck like I was
going to swim and stop at the ramp on
the way. I finally dropped in at about
nine in the morning out there by myself,
and then that ramp got torn down. And
Jake had the ramp at Phoenix Iron-
works. I remember the first day I ever
skated there, there was a 2x4 for cop-
ing, they couldn't afford the coping yet.
Was that by the Cypress structure?
Yeah, right where the quake was.
Where were you during the quake?
I was heading towards the Cypress in
our old pickup truck, and I felt it shak-
ing, and I thought these dudes on the
corner were shaking the truck, and I
looked back and they were tripping
out. Then all the telephone poles were
swaying, I swear I thought they were
going to break, and then that was it.
And after that I was like, "Yahoo, that
was killer," so I turned around and
walked in the house, and it was like a
dust bomb in there because all this
sheetrock had snapped and fallen.
The lady next door almost got killed
because a big chunk of the wall almost
fell on her and her baby, and all our
dishes broke, and that's how it went.
Who was skating at Jake's?
Jake, Roger and Gluehead, and just
crazy older dudes, Jake's friends. But
they were perfect because they just
taught you that it doesn't matter who
you are, anyone can skate, and that was
cool. I remember Fred Smith came to
Jake's with Joe Lopes, and those dudes
got stoned and just went off, and I just
remember that was it, I was hooked for
sure. Joe Lopes and Fred Smith were
busting huge frontside airs.
Would a lot of people stop by Jake's?
Yeah, I remember Julien would come,
and Archimedes was definitely like an
idol then, just awesome Smith grinds,
stuff like that. And I remember once I
saw Micke Reyes do a kickflip halfway
up, and I think that's why I got so into
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