Sunken Treasure
Nestled in the Berkeley Hills, up behind the
University, lies an East Bay institution, a pool of
legendary proportions-the Blind School. Forty-
two feet wide and ten feet deep, Blind School
features two-and-a-half feet of solid vert all the
way around, twin sidewall deathboxes, fat cop-
ing, and a highly abrasive granular service. A big
gaping scarpit, Blind School is fast. Skating it
requires a serious dosage of gnarlitude and
respect. I have skated many pools, several more
perfect, but the Blind School remains closest to
my heart. You see, the pool is only skatable
every five years or so. It continues to be a living
and gradual part of local skateboard history. The
faces, the maneuvers, and the nature of the
equipment may change, but the pool remains
constant and demanding.
Wilson-9
Back in the day, when all the old heads were
still young pups, Mike Smith got the cover (Jan
82). The pool was empty for over a year and got
smoked regularly by the BTU, CBS, and whom-
ever happened to be passing through. Very few
of these guys skate anymore.
Last time around, in 1989, we had Blind School
for about a month. I was working in the City at
the time. Everyday after work, I'd take BART
across the Bay, throw my skateboard across the
handlebars of my bicycle, and ride up the hill to
the pool as fast as I could. Part of the beauty of
the Blind School is that it's drained during the
summer. The 6:00-9:00 pm session is both a
great way to end a day and to begin an evening.
Wade Speyer showed up often and punctured
the airspace. So did Aaron Vincent, the Sarge,
Wheat, and a cast of thousands. Rube was best,
in my opinion, attacking the pool with speed and
aggression. I remember watching him go from
rolling edger, to sliding tailblock, to a grind
in one long move over the deathbox. Bryce
Kanights, incidentally, does great corner airs.
One night the fog rolled in on us, and we turned
on the pool lights and kept skating.
Anyway, early this summer, on the way home
from work, I decided that it would be a good
idea to check the pool. It seemed right, and it
was. The pool was empty. I felt simultaneously
stoked and pissed. Stoked for obvious reasons,
pissed because I would be out of town for five
days which meant I would be missing roughly
one day for each year since the pool was last
known to be empty. Each night I was out of
town, I found myself tormented by visions of the
Blind School as I tried to fall asleep.
Matt Wilson and I got first rides Wednesday,
May 17, 1995, 7:30 pm. That weekend the pool
endured the assaults of Duane Peters, Digger,
Astorga, Julien, Phil Shao, and the Hellride crew.
The pool stayed empty this time for a little
over two weeks. We skated it almost daily-we
bled, we punched the lip, we ran from the
cops. One evening as I fell asleep, I decided this:
When I go, scatter my remains in the hills over-
looking the Blind School. -Curtis Hsiang
este
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