I think I only skated with Junior Wudruff (sp?) once. But it was inspirational. He and Ben Hooker and others were of the generation before us who we looked up to. I skated with him and Ben at the newly built Fred Meyer on Wheaton Way in East Bremerton. I remember Ben slappy 50-50ing the ledge, Danny Seargent style. Amazing. Junior, I just remember being goddamn good. No specifics.
Anyway, I don't remember who posted this photo I stole on Facefuck, but credit due, because it's epic. Rough ground, no nose, huge hydrant, and he's easily going to clear it. Nick White had similar power and finesse. I skated with him more often, so he was the dude I idolized the most. I geeked it completely and actually asked the proverbial (of old) grommet question, "what's the highest thing you ever ollied?" He humored me and after laughing, said, a tennis net. It floored me. What a little grom I was. Fuel for the fire. Ollieiing was the goal at the time.
What really pains me is I used to have that exact Natas board. And later, I treated it like shit, just skating it and not caring about the damage done. I left it in an L.A. garage to be thrown away by an unknowing mother. I just spoke with someone about that the other day. He said it sounded insignificant, like a vintage car that doesn't get seen or driven. I told him it was about the significance of actually having owned it when it came out, and it meant a lot to me as history. It's not about the commercial value, but the nostalgia value. Red Slimeballs, my first pro wheels. I had a mini Natas (w/ the kitten) for about one day before breaking it by dropping my launch ramp on it while trying to move it. My new board was focussed by a fucking launch ramp. Or rather, gravity and a lack of physics planning. (Wedge vs. fulcrum vs. counter-weight.)
So I kick myself about those old boards I vandalized. More on that note later when I shaw/talk about an old Greg Martin board I have that looks like drift wood. Not many people would understand what it means that I want to frame it professionally. To me, it is the symbol of passion and endurance in the face of a lack of means.
Q.
3 comments:
Although I never skated myself (well, except that one day where I failed miserably... still trying to find the photo Sarah took of me trying to ollie) I totally understand your nostalgic feelings toward skateboards. Remember the Matt Hensley board you gave me for my birthday? It was broken in half, but you could still see the collage of Hensley photos. I left a closet full of my stuff at my parents' house when I moved out. A few years later, their house flooded and all of my stuff was ruined. I never even got a chance to see it all before it was thrown away since I lived out of state. My broken Hensley board was among the items lost. Funny thing is, it's the one and only thing I can remember from that closet full, and probably the thing of least monetary value.
That's rad (yup, bringin' it back, trying to kill off "awesome!"), especially from a non-skater. I have a lot of my old boards, many broken or barely recognizable -it's actually one of my next posts. Sentimentality has no logic. Nostalgia is positively-charged memory. Don't question or suppress it. It's lightning that you never forget.
Ha! I told my 11 year old the other day that something was rad. She looked at me and said, "Ummm, Mom. You are no longer in the 90s!" Nostalgia is like a drug, always looking for my next fix... finding a long lost friend, a forgotten memory that suddenly plunges to the foreground of your mind, a photograph, a song... and it all comes flooding back.
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