IMPERIAL
Pool
Dother
pools
Uncle Salba's
BLUE HAVEN
MASTER
POOLS
Riviera
Padding
oolriding to me is the most underground thing to do in
skateboarding's brief 40 year history-it is an art form
its own right and what was once a proud proving ground
for pro skaters has now been turned into a watered down
remembrance of times past where
simulators produce the next wave
of riders who can't skate anything
but perfect trannies. This is not all
bad. considering the amount of
expertise it takes to ride a simulator, but the fact
Pool Primer
of the matter is that most skaters today. whether they're into street
or vert can't ride within the environs of an empty swimming pool.
Six weeks after knee surgery Phil Shao could hardly
keep himself from ripping the SFO pool.
On the other hand, there are quite few skaters whose sole existence is finding and
grinding something not really made to actually skateboard in; rather, through trial
and error by others before them, and searching for another way to produce a feeling
already achieved by surfing-by mimicking movement-poolskating has and will
flourish as long as there are people willing to take the chance of trespassing to get
a thrill only it can provide. The rollercoaster ride that poolriding evokes is a magi-
cal sensation-half pure adrenaline rush and half balls-out risk-taking, making
poolriders a special breed that in my opinion separates the men from the boys.
While plaster is the main canvas that poolriders enjoy the most, concrete in partic-
ular is the stuff that true skaters crave to showcase their own individual riding styles
that reflect their backgrounds, attitudes, and where they're from. In the past we have
talked about the riders and places that will be no more due to the wrecking ball. Pools
will always have a special place in skating's history, and it's the unsung heroes who
actually made the swimming pools of yesterday that the skaters skate in today that I
wanna talk about: the pool contractors and Gunite companies, the re-bar people, all
the people who have made something for one purpose only-to swim in-who didn't
have a clue what would take place in the future. Talk about evolution.
The info I'm about to give you, the reader, is not scientific fact, but more or less
observations made from experience in poolriding for more than 20 years. Plus I did
actually call some companies to talk shop with some of the old-timers. I've come to
appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of some of the pools I've ridden over the
years, and it is this particular "quality" that I want to relate.
Most of the pools I wanna talk about have a look or logo that represents what
their particular company is all about. Some companies are better than others
in the quality of transitions, surface finishes, coping, overall pool shape and a
couple other minor variances that really make a difference in my criteria of
what makes a good pool. Area dictates a lot of what makes up a good pool; for
instance, in Arizona they use a lot of tile coping 'cuz it gets so fricking hot out
there that it commonly cracks regular cement coping. Makes sense, huh? Big
plunge pools are generally real good to skate, or gnarly, depending on if it's a
diving pool (most are) or a general purpose swimming hole for
the family-structured deal (swimming lessons, etc.), and most
plunge pools have what I call spitgutter coping. So every situ-
ation warrants a different scenario. Usually, the older the pool,
the better it is, because generally the yards were bigger when
they first made tract homes or planned sweet suburbia way
back in the day. With more housing and population booms that
spanned the '70s, the pools got smaller and tighter with less
room in the backyards and so forth. There are always excep-
tions to the rules but you will find truth in the way you find
it-ya gotta experience it for yourself.
"There's nothing to it but to do it."-Kelly Bellmar
●●●●Blue Haven, in my opinion, makes by far the best pools as
far as quantity goes. You'll always get the bang outta your buck
when you roll on one of these babies. Blue Haven has offices all
over So Cal, Arizona and Nevada. They've been around since 1964.
and really increased output during the mid-'60s building boom that
followed the influx of lost souls looking for somewhere to plant
their roots in the rush out west. Fontucky, Rialto, and San Berdoo
sport tons of these beautiful pools that lie across the base of the
San Gabriel mountains, where during the summer months the
approximate temperature is over 100 degrees every day, so Blue
Haven was making a killing not even knowing that later we'd be
thanking them. They are literally all over the southland, from
Palm Springs to the Valley west of the 405. On a 1 to 10 scale I'd
Usually, the older the
pool, the better it is
give 'em a 9 1/2 for killer rideable trannies, good surfaces, good cop-
ing (either ladyfinger tile or killer diller smooth-as-a-baby's-butt,
rock-hard-marbly-perfect coping), decent obstacles like stairs,
loveseats or deathboxes, and the ever-present logo we poolriders
have come to worship. They regularly feature cool tile patterns
which showcase their love affair with the elements of water; usu-
ally fish or dolphins are used on every other tile, which makes for
inspiring skating.
Anthony pools started out as Anthony Bros in 1946, and was
based in El Monte/Southgate. They became a corporation in 1959
and at approximately that time they became a nationwide com-
pany which built pools all over So Cal, Nevada, Arizona, and were
especially big back east. Personally I've never ridden a killer
Anthony pool; they are usually decent with just barely enough
accessible trannies (6-7 ft trannies with 2 ft minimum of vert)
and for some unknown reason these pools always have 3 inch
safety coping (the gnarly stuff!). Also, these pools have no ride-
able midsections to bank off of and terrible shallow ends.
Generally speaking, Anthonys were built into smaller backyards
(we're talking '70s here), crammed in to get the most out of the
situation. But don't get me wrong; these pools can be challenging
and fun as long as you go into it thinking you're not riding the
best find but something just to cruise and warm up in. On a scale
of 1 to 10 I'd give 'em a 4 1/2.
●●●Swan pools was founded in 1954 and they were at one time
the largest residential and commercial pool builders in the state of
California. In the last 10 years or so the company has downsized
because of the continued frenzy of new pool builders coming onto
the scene (sounds like the saturated skate market) and are now
located only in So Cal. This particular brand of pool has been
known to produce some beauties with wonderful transitions and
nice smooth plaster finishes. I've skated a lot of these over the
Hoams pool in Palm Springs. Cabrillo Ave.
Hj brand. Pomona Swim Club.
Sunburst Kidney. Conroy brand.
Anthony Pools San Dimas.
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