Feb 3, 201202:21 PM

A Guide to the South Bay Surf and Action Sports Scene

Skateboards and Swimming Pools

 

I try not to think that something’s impossible; in my mind, I just say that it’s improbable. Time travel? Doc Brown already made a flux capacitor, so the hard part’s over. Teleportation? Totally possible, I’m just not big on splicing myself with flies. Drive the speed limit? It can be done; it’s just really hard.

However, I recently experienced a challenge that was so difficult and frustrating, that I had to label it as “completely impossible.” No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t do it: I tried to convince a lifelong New Yorker that LA is far superior to NYC (daunting task, I know). Unfortunately, that “debate” took up two hours of my life that I’ll never get back.

Said New Yorker hit me hard with one particularly painful point: despite the laundry list of things he could claim had originated in New York (e.g. Jell-O, Kodak and toilet paper—rather appropriate, right?), I could only come up with three local LA inventions: film noir, the Dodger Dog and modern skateboarding. Sadly, he had me beat on that one (if you can think of something that was created in LA, please let me know).

OK, in retrospect, I wasn’t really prepared for that battle. I went in guns blazing and had to turn tail and run. So next time, I’m switching tactics on him. Sure, NYC can take credit for coming up with a slew of modern inventions, but do any of them truly capture the city’s character and persona?

For instance, over-the-top similes and hotdogs aside, modern skateboarding is something that’s not only native to LA; it also captures the city’s eccentricity and love for extremes.

The first skateboards date back to the 50s; they were generally just a two-by-four with a set of clay or metal wheels. Skateboarding enjoyed a surge in popularity during the early 60s with the rise of surfing, but that began to taper off in the late 60s and early 70s. The early boards weren’t very reliable, and people generally considered skating to be a passing, childish fad.

The sport probably would have fallen into obscurity had it not been for the invention of the urethane wheel, which transformed skateboarding overnight from a kid’s hobby to an extreme action sport. The new wheel allowed for a much smoother ride, and with the invention of the self-contained skateboard bearing, skaters could now focus on pushing the limits of what was possible on a board.

In the late 70s, local Santa Monica skaters/surfers, the Z-Boys, started to ride empty swimming pools. At first, they mimicked surfing maneuvers on the pool’s sloped concrete walls. Gradually, they started coming up with new tricks, departing from traditional surf-skate styles and developing what we know as “new-school” skateboarding. The Z-Boys, in particular Jay Adams and Tony Alva, were some of the first skaters to go vertical and gain air, thus ushering in a new trend of extreme skating. Everything past that point, including the rise of the Bone Brigade and the birth of the X-Games, can arguably be traced back to the pool-skating days of the “Dogtown” Z-Boys.

Modern skateboarding was born in Los Angeles. The Z-Boys utilized their experiences as LA surfers to add their own special twist to the sport, creating new tricks and styles that were based on LA’s surf culture and history. They capitalized on the city’s features: our hills, pools, and abundance of concrete proved ideal for their new style of skating. But, above all, they created a new sub-culture—something that’s distinctly West Coast in its persona and attitude. The prototypical image of a skater—the clothes, lingo, and overall style—is based on the LA’s skaters of the 70s.

As far as I know, LA can’t take credit for inventing any household items, but at least we can lay claim to creating a unique sub-culture that’s popular throughout the world. I know it’s not much compared to the almighty TP, but you know, at least it’s something.

Your move, NYC.