On August 21-22, 2004, JUICE Magazine and the U.S.S.A./ W.S.A. hosted the first ever Guinness World Record Wall Ride at the Board Gallery Grand Opening Skate Jam at Hollywood + Highland in Hollywood, CA. The two-day skateboarding contest featured world-class skateboarders competing for the first ever Guinness World Record Highest Wall Ride.
The “World Record Wall Ride” was moderated by Jim O’Mahoney – director of the World Skateboarding Association (WSA) and the U.S. Skateboarding Association (USSA) and judges included C.R. Stecyk III and Don “Fish” Fisher.
O’Mahoney is the creator of the first televised World Record skateboarding events in 1975 for the Guinness World Records at the request of Sir David Frost, ABC Television and Guinness World Records. The first world records for skateboarding included the barrel jump, high jump and fastest speed on a skateboard.
The Guinness World Record Wall Ride” was not a roll-in approach. This was a contest based on pure human skill. Skateboarders approached the wall from a flat surface under his or her own power. There was an 80-foot runway up to the wall ride. Skateboarders were required to skate up to a 4-foot wedge ramp set up at a 45 degree angle straight to a 17-foot vertical wall. The wall was 12 feet wide.
No fakies. No grabs. The skateboarder had to remain on the board and come back down the wall, then down the wedge ramp back to flat ground while remaining in control of the skateboard. The Guinness World Record Wall Ride was measured by the highest point reached by the back wheel of the skateboard on the vertical wall.
The two-day event featured appearances by wall riding legends: Christian Hosoi, Eric Dressen, Aaron Murray, Pat Ngoho, Bennett Harada, Eric “Tuma” Britton, Chris “Cooksie” Cook and many more.
Guinness World Record Wall Ride – Hollywood, CA, August 21-22, 2004. The first official Guinness World Record Wall Ride Record Holders are Aaron Murray and Brad Edwards. Check out the video footage HERE.
Eddie Reategui and Dave Duncan built the required 45-degree bank to wall ride structure in the middle of the courtyard at Hollywood + Highland to meet the Guinness World Book technical specifications for the first ever World Record Wall Ride. The two-day event was a skate family reunion of epic proportions and good times all around to celebrate the grand opening of Ray Flores’ Board Gallery shop in Hollywood, California.
The WSA and USSA and Guinness World Records have certified that on August 22, 2004, Aaron Murray and Brad Edwards established the first skateboard world record for the World’s Highest Wall Ride at a height of seven feet and six inches at the Juice Magazine USSA WSA Board Gallery Hollywood Skate Jam.
Aaron Murray has spent a lifetime skating and surfing and is now passing down the surf skate traditions to his sons, Dez and Jayce. As Christian Hosoi once said, “Murray approaches everything he does with a smooth, aggressive, yet calculated style. Simply put, Murray is a Koping Killer, one of skateboarding’s pioneers.”
Unfortunately, in 2017, Brad Edwards passed away while in Tulsa, Oklahoma building a skatepark. Brad was a tremendous skateboarder who always lifted up the skate community with his good vibes and inclusive attitude that skateboarding was for everyone and all are welcome. We lost a truly special human and a good friend when he passed away and we will never forget everything that he contributed to the skateboarding family. R.I.P. Brad Edwards.
We’d like to pay 100% respect to the first and only Guinness World Record holders for the Highest Wall Ride, Aaron “Fingers Murray, and Brad Edwards. Aaron Murray and Brad Edwards still currently hold the World Record for the Highest Wall to this day.
AARON MURRAY INTERVIEW (2004)
Who did the first wall ride?
I don’t know. Someone might quote me on that and then we’re going to have a big controversy on who did the first wall ride. I heard it was Dan McClure. He will tell you that, but it could have been, as far as I am concerned, Natas or Jesse. Everyone did wall rides in Venice. It was standard.
The first time you rode the wall in Hollywood, what were your thoughts?
I have to get on this wall. You have to get on the wall to get back down the wall. You can’t ride the wall unless you can get on the wall.
How did it feel to set the record first?
In trials, I set the record and then “Tuma” took it away. Anybody could have won.
You had two strikes, and you had to pull it on your third try. What were you thinking there?
What did you say, “Seabiscuit”? It was more like “DT biscuit”.
Tell us about that whole day. You got there kind of late.
I was late, so I called Dan on the way up there. I was caught in heavy traffic. I ran a few red lights and went a couple of wrong ways. Then when I got there, I jumped out of my car and just left it in the parking lot. I barely made it. Thanks to everybody for holding up the whole show for me. That was cool. I would have broken bread with all of you if I had taken the money.
When you came off that wall on your third run, you had just gone 7’6”. You came back down and you hit the concrete and your foot almost came off your board. What happened?
Yeah, my foot almost went through my tail, but somehow it just held. That was it.
You are known as an aggressive skateboarder. How does that happen?
I don’t think you can be a skateboarder without being aggressive.
Has that helped you get to the top of the wall, so to speak?
It has helped me get to the top in all aspects of my life.
Talk about some of the people you competed against the first day.
I got to skate with some of the guys who were doing wall rides at the beach way back when. That was the cool part about it. Jesse, Dressen, Christian and “Tuma”, all those guys were cutting it up 20 years ago.
What set up did you ride that day?
Koping Killer 33” by 9 1/4”, with Independent trucks and Bulldog wheels.
BRAD EDWARDS INTERVIEW (2004)
Who did the first wall ride?
Natas Kaupas or Tommy Guerrero in the mid-eighties. It blew my mind and opened up endless new possibilities for skaters worldwide.
Who do you remember skating with during the contest?
When I got to the contest site, the first person I saw was Christian Hosoi. I walked up to him, introduced myself. I told him it was great to finally meet him and see him back skating again. He was really nice. Once practice started, the field of competitors had me both excited and a bit intimidated. It was Dressen, Hosoi, “Tuma”, Ngoho, Hirata, “The Greek”, Santarossa, Murray, Martinez, Stacey Lowery, The Rueler, Cook, Reategui, Bennett, Patch… I grew up watching all of these guys kill wall rides. I figured I was doomed, but I was gonna give it my best. There was also a bunch of other really good skaters, like Heidi Fitzgerald, the only girl to enter the contest, and friends like Jim Gray and Zach Grove.
What was your strategy for the contest?
Nobody knew what to expect, so strategy was pretty useless. The only strategy was to go fast, stay smooth and not get bucked off. I also put on softer wheels because thrusters weren’t working. I figured maybe I could stick to the wall.
What about your winning run? How did that feel?
Aaron Murray had just rocketed into first and everyone went nuts, including me. I figured he’d won. I had one more shot with nothing to lose. On my last run, I went for broke. When I came down, I figured I had a pretty good one but certainly not the winning attempt. I couldn’t believe it. Next thing you know, I had a trophy in my hands and I was surrounded by my heroes. It was a dream come true. It was quite surreal at the moment. I guess the answer to the question is, “My last run felt good.”
What about the other competitors who were in the finals with you?
The finals were dominated by the others. My first two attempts sucked. “Tuma” set the bar high early on his first run. Hirata was looking unbeatable when he could stay on with one of his beautiful frontsides. My teammate Dustin Taylor was getting really high too but was also having trouble hanging on. Alec Beck was going super hard to the wall. Santarossa had a style technique that was like a double pump up the wall. “The Greek” rode really solid, and Bennett kept himself atop the board all day. Lowery seemed to want to save himself for the street contest.
What set-up did you ride that day?
I rode a 40″ Gravity deck, the B40, Tracker Darts, 90a 66mm Gravity Street G’s and Crooks rails. That’s my normal setup that I ride all the time.
Do you have any final words about the fact that there was a different kind of contest being put on?
I really enjoy coming out to contests to see friends, meet people and to just skate, but many of the contests lately are just hectic jam-style snakefests. I love the contest formats that “Juice Magazine” has been coming up with. Creative ways to compete and have fun is a lot more conducive to the soulful side of skateboarding. Contests only fit the non-jock pool skater mold if they’re about letting skaters explore and push themselves without fear of being knocked down by judges. I hope events like this will continue. Wall riding is a perfect example of a contest format that is set up to challenge a skater in a given discipline on a given obstacle. It forces the athletes to bring all their years of experience to use. Thanks again to everyone at “Juice Magazine” for putting on such a well-organized five-star competition.
WORDS FROM A FEW OF THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD WALL RIDE COMPETITORS
“It needed to be done. It was a real underground event. The wall set-up made the playing field even for everybody. Nobody could claim anything. It was all fair in love and war. That’s the standard for the wall ride now. I think everything about the wall ride was great including the fact that Murray was nowhere to be found until his run. Then he came in and just destroyed everything. It was beautiful.” – ERIC “TUMA” BRITTON
“That wall ride was no joke. It felt like a wall ride to a wall ride, because it was steep and you could feel the kinks. The second kink was the hardest point to push through, but I was pumped up. I thought I was going pretty high in practice, but I only got a couple tries. That made it even harder. You either pulled it or you didn’t and you were out. It wasn’t easy, but it felt good. The people were cool and it was a big rush to be there. Props to “Fingers”, Chris Cook, Eric D., Venice Beach and Natas Kaupus.” – BENNETT HARADA
THE FIRST WORLD RECORD WALL RIDE SPONSORS:
Thank you to the sponsors of the first ever World Record Wall Ride. Sponsors included: The Firm, Independent, Alien Workshop, ‘eS, Etnies, Krooked, Think, Vans, Baker, Flip, Juice Magazine, Black Label, Red Kross, Fury, Bulldog Skates, Skaterbuilt, Daggers, SPAUSA, Z-Cult, Z-Flex, Alva, Shizzle, Dogtown, Outlook and Skaterade.
The Board Gallery was located on the third level of the Hollywood + Highland shopping and entertainment center at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. About Hollywood & Highland: Hollywood & Highland consists of over 387,000 square feet of retail space leased to national, regional and local retail tenants, a variety of restaurants, several of Hollywood’s hottest nightclubs, the popular upscale bowling alley and lounge, Lucky Strike Lanes, and a six-screen state-of-the-art cinema adjacent to the world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
The center also contains the elegant Grand Ballroom, site of the annual Governors Ball following the Academy Awards® ceremonies. Special thanks to Ray and Manny at the Board Gallery and everyone at Hollywood+Highland for hosting this killer event.
THE U.S.S.A. AND W.S.A.
The United States Skateboard Association (USSA) and the World Skateboard Association (WSA) has been the sanctioning body for the sport of skateboarding since 1975. The U.S.S.A. was formed in 1975 to establish safety standards and competition judging formats as well as establishing the first world records for the sport. The founder and current director of the USSA and WSA is Jim O’Mahoney, who has now also been inducted and recognized as an ICON in the SKATEBOARDING HALL OF FAME.
1975
* 1st World Skateboard Championships in San Diego Stadium with CBS Sports
* 1st Official Skateboard World Records set with David Frost and Guinness on ABC television
* Santa Barbara County Skateboard Championships.
* Huntington Beach Skateboard Championships.
* Long Beach City Skateboard Championships.
* South Bay Skateboard Championships.
* San Pedro Skateboard Championships.
* Northridge Skateboard Championships.
* Signal Hill Downhill Skateboard Championships.
1976
* International Track Association (ITA) and WSA Pro Slalom in Salt Lake City, Seattle and El Paso.
* 2nd Annual Signal Hill Downhill Speed Run
* 1st World Masters Invitational in New York.
* Challenge of the Sexes on CBS with Robin Allaway and Chris Chaput.
* Long Beach World Pro Invitational.
* California State Championships at Escape Country.
1977
* 2nd World Pro Invitational at Long Beach.
* Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes – Christy McNichol and Grizzly Adams
* 3rd Annual Signal Hill Downhill Speed Run.
* USSA State Contests: California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Utah, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado, Michigan, Vermont, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Arizona, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio
* WSA Sanctioned Contests: Canada, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, England, France
1978
* 3rd World Pro Invitational at Long Beach.
* 4th Annual Signal Hill Downhill Speed Run.
* Cal Jam II – USSA Demo in front of 400,000 spectators – remains the largest live demo ever!
* Concert Demo Series – Anaheim: Beach Boys, Peter Frampton, Santana, Boston, Black Sabbath, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen
* Concert Demo Series – LA Colliseum: Jethro Tull, Rick Derringer
* 1st World Bank and Bowl Championships at the Runway Skatepark in Carson.
* Steve’s South Bay Bank and Bowl Championships – 1st World Pipe Championships.
2004
• Guinness World Record Wall Ride – Hollywood, CA
GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS
Juice Magazine is proud to be the exclusive media sponsor of all U.S.S.A. and W.S.A. events. Please visit www.juicemagazine.com for more.
Story above reprinted from Juice Magazine #58 – 2004.
