2700 Miles From Dogtown

[Note: This is the follow-up post to “Sidewalk Surfing”]

That neon orange skateboard was like a launch pad, and Skateboarder Magazine became the rocket fuel. I would anxiously await its arrival every month. Stacey Peralta became one of my heroes. I was always bewildered by the antics and otherworldly photos of Tony Alva and Jay Adams. I read every article, and studied every photo. I knew this world inside-out, and backwards.

There was no question though: I was a long ways away from the skateboard epicenter in Dogtown. Total distance? About 2700 miles. And I lived in Brockville, Ontario, a place where prime skating weather of the non-ice variety lasted about 4 months, a place where hockey players far outnumbered skateboarders.

Over time, there was a natural evolution in my skateboarding skills. It went from slalom and tricks to kick turns and carves. Then, there was the natural progression towards better equipment. A solid oak deck was fabricated in the basement. This skill development warranted, of course, some new Road Rider wheels. Then it was the cool green Kryptonics with the Tracker trucks. That was the combination that all the pros were riding.

I remember getting the itch for more. I wanted to ride ramps. So we built a small ramp that I could put on the sidewalk. I would race towards it, glide up, pull my best kick turn like I was carving a Santa Monica wave, then come back down again.

I was becoming a hard core Canadian skater dude. Well, ok, reality check: certainly not hard core. But I knew the sport inside and out, even though I was 2700 miles away in an era of snail mail and postal subscriptions.

I ended up having a half pipe in my back yard. Yes, a half pipe - it didn’t quite go to vertical, but it was a lot of fun to ride. You didn’t have to worry about skaters riding in swimming pools like they did in Dogtown since most of the pools were above ground! But skate ramps of the half pipe variety could easily provide plenty of challenges. Then there was the family trip to Florida with skateboard and gear in hand. Goal: to ride a real, honest-to-goodness skate park. Mission accomplished!

After a number of years of skateboarding passion, I segued into another era of my life. Sometimes, these things just happen, right? There is a time and season for everything in life. Of course, all of this left me with some great life experiences and memories.

Many years later, I discovered the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys", which was released in 2001. It was directed by none other than Stacey Peralta. I was mesmerized. I was blown away. There they were, in full motion, in living color: all my childhood super-heroes. There were my green Kryptos and red Road Riders. There were the photos from Skateboarder Magazine. And there were these kids, pushing the envelope, doing stuff that nobody thought could be done, in a land far away from me. It was "The Right Stuff" on asphalt.

It was like reliving my childhood.

I smiled a very deep smile when I watched it for the first time – and every time since. Once a skater, always a skater, I suppose. I had been 2700 miles from Dogtown geographically, but oh so much closer to the heart so many years ago.

Note: The website “Four Clay Wheels” has a tremendous catalog of images of skateboards of yesteryear. Check it out.

Photo credits: milesgehm