LIZZIE ARMANTO
“Skateboarding is a huge part of my life and I love doing it, and I think it’s one of the coolest things in the world. Once I went to that event, being around all that energy of people that were pushing themselves and just skating, and pushing their limits, it was contagious and I found the place I wanted to be.”
PEDRO DELFINO
“I enjoyed street skating more because it felt more global. You weren’t just dedicated to a specific spot in the backyard. With vert skating, you never left the backyard. It’s exciting, but it’s not as exciting as cruising down the street, watching bum fights and getting into altercations with homeowners. That’s the spirit of skating. We are a nuisance to the world.”
GREYSON FLETCHER
“The first concert I went to was a Motorhead concert in Australia, when I was nine years old. My dad ripped the filters out of cigarettes and stuck them in my ears as earplugs because Motorhead was loud. Lemmy was the king of metal and rock n’ roll.”
ELIJAH BERLE
“My parents pulled me out of the school that I was at because I was miserable and then I started going to Kenter Canyon Elementary with the famous skate yard. That’s when things started to turn around.”
JIM MURPHY
“Fullpipes have become legendary in the elusive search for terrain not built for skateboarding. The planning, timing, exploration and adventure to ride a fullpipe is half the fun and the journey is always part of the challenge.”
TOM GROHOLSKI
“It’s a full speed rush and you’re pushing yourself as hard as you can, and whatever you’ve got, it’s got more. It’s up to you how high you want to go. You’re riding really fast and on the edge of your wheels and the wind’s in your face and there’s a cool rhythm to the thing. I still have dreams of the place.”
ANDY ANDERSON
“Stop bitching about the fact that you don’t have the perfect ledge in your town or whatever. Just go! Go harder!”
PATRICK TRUITT
“You had the Texas boys, the Toke Team boys, the Ocean City boys, the VB boys. There were the crews from Baltimore and PA. Every one of those groups had a different personality, but we were all one big skate family and still are.”
AJ NELSON
“In Europe, skateboarding is treated how we treat football and basketball here in the States. Skateboarding is so big there. Even pedestrians that aren’t skaters look at it like, “We’re going to go watch some guys skate at a contest!” It would be like, “Let’s go watch the Cubs play!”
DAVE ALVIN
“Songs are like little visitations and you have to be in the zone. It’s similar to when you’re on stage playing music and the band is cranking and you and the audience are connecting and you get into a zone. It’s like being in the zone for a skateboarder or a surfer. That zone is where your high is.”
CHRIS PASTRAS
“Sean Sheffey, Jeremy Henderson and Mike Kepper would roll out and it was like, “This is the crew!” It would change the entire vibe of the contest, like a record scratch. Hip hop would start blaring and everyone’s eyes were on Sheffey and the SHUT boys. To be a part of that, it was special. Being part of the early days World too, I can’t even believe it. Talk about being at the right place at the right time.”
PENELOPE HOUSTON
“It was sold out and we had only played in front of 500 people before that. It was terrifying and then I slipped on a lugie on the stage. At the beginning, when I was speaking between songs, my voice was shaky because it was terrifying. By the time we got to the end of our set, we were jubilant and triumphant and had overcome our fears.”
TONY HAWK
“I don’t worry about the evolution of skating because it’s always getting better. There’s always some new milestone being made in skating and the technical aspects.”
FRED SMITH
“We went out there and we had fun and we put on a show. It just made people want to skateboard and want to skateboard with you. It was just an all around good time.”
JIM MUIR
"During that first skateboard craze, every company jumped on it and even orange juice companies had skateboards."
MARK SCOTT
"Pave the planet, be positive and power ride with the super rippers. We always do our best to build what they want and deliver a park that flows."
IAN MACKAYE
“I’m trying to stay committed to the idea of the underground. I don’t want to just polish up this gift and sell it to somebody. I’m trying to keep it in good shape, so it can be handed off to someone else.”
CRAIG STECYK III
“All skaters work on the avenues. That’s where they exist; I’m not speaking art platitudes or any sort of conceptual blather, but you go ride down the street, and you’ve got to remain open to whatever happens.”
LARRY BERTLEMANN
“I remember standing up and doing spinners and going backwards. It was unreal. I’m still looking for that same first wave, that same feeling.”
CRAIG JOHNSON
“If you skated, it wasn’t just something you did because you thought it was cool. You skated because it is cool.”
RICH NOVAK
“That’s how you stay ahead in this game. You find great people, treat them the best you can and wake up every day and do what has never been done.”
TONY ALVA
“Skateboarding has changed my life in a very positive way. It has given me a focus in life that is pure and the determination to do things positive.”
GLEN E FRIEDMAN
“The whole punk rock aesthetic of skateboarding was what people would call punk later, but Tony Alva and Jay Adams were doing that stuff before the Sex Pistols had even played their first song.”
ROBERT TRUJILLO
“I’m looking at 70,000 people going crazy. When I’m up there playing and feeling the energy from the crowd, it’s a rush. It’s probably the same feeling as getting double overhead Teahupoo.”
LEGS MCNEIL
“It was basically the reverse of the Devil Wears Prada. The girl goes into CBGBs in a mink coat and at the end of the movie she comes out in a black leather jacket.”
EXENE CERVENKA
“My goal wasn’t to get famous or rich. My goal was to reorganize our art, culture, and music along the lines of what I thought young people wanted to hear and needed to know.”
