Iz Adan S
SKATEBOArding to me is life.
My first visions of meeting Jay Adams
were horrible. His girlfriend came to Del
Mar Skatepark and decided she didn't
like my face and punched it. So, we
fought. She bit my leg hard, like a mad,
hungry dog. I grabbed her hair and
pants and threw her into a truck
bumper and fucked her nose up. The
next thing I know, she's telling me that
her boyfriend Jay "Maniac" Adams is
going to come from Venice and stab the
shit out of me. I was about 14 then and
far from tough. He showed up 2 weeks
later looking for me. He put his arm
around me and said, "Don't worry bro.
It's nothing I haven't done."
In 1 year, 1996, Jay's dad died of cancer,
his brother got murdered by baseball bats,
his mother separated for 30 years from his
dad, died of the same cancer, his grandma
died, he broke up with the mother of his
son, Seven, and if that's not enough he
catches his new girlfriend cheating on him
and almost, and I mean almost, gets 20
years for it. He was the first guy with "Team
Pain" and "100% Skateboarder" tattoos.
Jay Adams proves skateboarders are
tough motherfuckers and at the same
time he has a heart of gold. A true king of
style. And if you're really not into reading
the rest in his own words just turn past
and say to yourself I'm thankful there's
people in skateboarding like Jay Adams.
If you can't do that, turn gay and look
up Jim Goodrich.
-Jason Jessee
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: IF JAY
ADAMS PUTS ON A HELMET YOU
KNOW SHIT'S GOING TO GET
RECKLESS, GONZO'S POOL.
FRONTSIDE EDGER. FAST TIMES AT
RIDGEMONT HIGH STYLE.
SCHOOLYARD DAZE, WEST LA. VIVA
LA RAZA. SHO60 KUBO-SCHWEELER.
Ever since the first
time I was introduced
to skating, it's been a
savior to me. Well, to
be honest, I can't
remember the first time
I ever saw or rode one.
It was over 32 years
ago. You're probably
thinking, "Yeah right, 32.
years ago skateboarding
wasn't even invented
yet." But they were, and
surfers and the brothers. Most people
stayed in their own group. But by the time
I got to high school, skaters had their own
little group of guys. Skaters have always
been mixed up, but at first it was mostly
white surfer guys. Later on everybody got
involved. I thought of myself as a surfer
who skated. But, later on, after I started get-
ting paid and getting to travel around the
world just to ride skateboards, I changed
my mind and knew I was a skater who
surfed. Surfers seemed so lame with their
long blond hair and stuck up attitudes. They
As far as im concerned
The professional part
of skating ruined it.
thank God for me, the surfer
guys who used to baby-sit
me had their sidewalk surf-
boards to ride when they
weren't in water.
I grew up in Venice Beach.
In the 60's skater's were
surfers. Shoot, in the 70's most
skaters still surfed. It wasn't
until skateparks were part of it that
skating took it's own path away from
surf moves. I mean, I'm sure in the
60's there were guys who skated who
didn't surf, but most of them I think
wanted to have that surfer look. And if
you lived inland and didn't'have the
beach in your backyard you could
fake it by surfing down your local hill,
pretending to be your favorite surfer of
all time. You could wear all the surfer
clothes and act like one at school.
When I went to elementary school
there were stoners, lowriders, jocks,
also had this real goodie-goodie image.
Skaters were rebels, full on thrashers. Just
getting crazy everywhere we went.
During the skatepark days skating got
pretty soft for awhile. You know some of
the people into it were into it for the money
only. Trying to make us all clean cut little
American dream teams, like some lame ass
baseball team or something, with matching
little team uniforms and stuff. But the real
skaters wanted nothing to do with their
lame little plan for our sport. Skating was
never a team sport for me. It was some-
thing me and my friends got together and
had fun doing, not being told how to do it.
That's what ruined it for me, you know, go
to the park, check in, put on safety equip-
ment, deal with the people in charge of
how you're supposed to ride, and last but
not least obey all the rules. "Lame." No.
more driving down the alleys standing on
the top of the car looking over every fence
to find another killer pool to get crazy in.