Spread: The entire congregation
clenched their hands and dropped
to their knees, pleading to the
good Lord to have mercy on the
foolish boy playing skateboards on
the roof of His house.
Left: A kick to Alan Gelfand's
groin: Rocky knocks the handrail
world on its ass with a bunny hop
to seven-stair boardslide.
WORDS AND PHOTOS
BY MICHAEL BURNETT
THE ROCKY NORTON STORY
"Whoa! Check it out!" Rocky Norton says suddenly, pointing out
the car window. "It's like compress, compress, pop, then drop."
"What? Where?" I look for the skate spot he's describing. "Is it
a ledge or something?"
"No. Up there!" A thick arm gestures skyward. "See that roof?"
A quick U-turn and we stop next to a building.
"Now what spot is here? What am I missing?"
Before I can get an answer, Rocky's hoisting his massive frame up
a fence that runs alongside the building. He Tarzans up, hand over
hand, and is staring down at me in a matter of seconds.
"Oh yeah. This is doable," he says.
What follows is a long description of a line that will take him
over a gap and off the ten-foot roof. The soliloquy would seem like
a fingerboard fantasy if not for it being punctuated by the solid
thwack of the orator barreling off the drop to a perfect landing.
"Do you think that would be worth shooting?" he asks, rolling up
to me, smiling.
I nod my head and unzip my camera bag.