I’m trying to remember what age I was exactly when I first started skateboarding. It’s hard because I don’t tend to look back and keep track of events in my life with any sort of detail, so narrowing things down can be a little tough.

However I do remember the first time I ever saw skateboarding in a way that truly ignited the spark within. Naturally I was aware of the existence of skateboards, as all kids who grew up in the 80’s did. Bart Simpson rode a skateboard, Marty McFly rode one, there were plenty of cartoons and fictional characters that had skateboards. But they were more like accessories, something a “bad boy” character might be carrying in a movie. Someone who listened to Guns n’ Roses and wore jeans with some cool sunglasses. Certainly I wasn’t that cool of a kid but I was really into bikes and rollerblades when I was younger, so wheeled pursuits were already part of my DNA.

In the summer of 1993 I was at my Grandparent’s house and watching Nickelodeon (as you do), when a program came on showcasing various sports. That’s when I saw it – a professional skateboarder named Kien Lieu, with his two long braids flying behind him, ollieing over a car on a skateboard. A freaking car!! In my mind’s memory he was flying over this car straight from flat ground, and because of his legendary pop I can almost believe that to be true. But in reality I’m sure he was going off of a jump ramp.

Either way, something in my brain exploded and very suddenly the idea of riding a skateboard was the coolest thing I could imagine! Who cares that I didn’t think I’d ever be launching over a car (I never did), or that I didn’t know what tricks existed, I just wanted to get one.

Over the next few months I begged my mom, dad, grandparents or anyone who’d listen to get me a skateboard. This was different from the regular toys that I wanted. For one, it was more expensive.. and two, I’m sure they thought it was dangerous. Not to mention they were not the easiest thing to obtain. K-Mart didn’t have them, I never saw one at the mall, and definitely not in the Sears Catalog. The only place I knew of was Sports Authority, with a selection of probably 4 – 5 different boards, all of them fully assembled but out of my reach.

My mom was dating a man named Richard, and his son Justin had a skateboard that we’d share by taking turns going up and down the sidewalk, but this was an 80’s board – super wide, giant kicktail and no nose, fluorescent yellow grip with yellow wheels.. Not exactly the kind that I saw Kien Lieu riding. Looking back at old photos I can see that Justin’s board was a Kevin Staab Sims with a multicolored graphic of a pirate ship and rainbow parrot flying above. Classic heavy-ass vert board. It scratched the itch a little bit though it was no substitute for the real thing. However at the time, beggars could not be choosers.

Eventually we stopped in to Sports Authority and I was able to pick out my very own skateboard! It was from a brand called Nash (not sure if they are still around?) who mostly sold inexpensive skateboards to toy stores. Not exactly the best but it was a double-tailed deck, black plastic trucks, crappy white wheels and really crummy bearings. The griptape wasn’t even tape, it was somehow molded to the board, maybe sprayed on?? None of this mattered to me, it was a skateboard and I didn’t know any better to be let down. It was a muted dark blue with a sawblade design on the bottom, with the word NASH written across the blade. The graphic might’ve been on the griptape as well.

…

At some point I got better trucks to replace the crappy black plastic ones. A pair of Ventures with black hangars, silver baseplate and green bushings. Funny how the visual is seared into my memory but I can’t recall when or where I got them. Eventually I must’ve gotten better wheels & bearings too but I don’t remember that either.

What I do remember is waking up on Christmas morning that year and seeing a brand new deck under the tree with my name on it. It was a Santa Monica Airlines deck with the minimalist airplane graphic on it. The gift was from Mom and I felt absolutely horrible telling her that this style of deck – wide with a small nose, big tail and way too much concave – was outdated and one that I didn’t really want to ride, so could I please exchange it? Hopefully her feelings were not hurt and she took me to the local skate shop – whose name I can’t remember – over on Orange Blossom Trail in what is now the Osborne Plaza to get a new, modern, board.

Stepping into a “real” skateshop was NOTHING like going into Sports Authority or Kmart! I can still remember walking in and seeing two whole walls filled to the ceiling with decks, with any kind of graphic you could imagine at the time. There was a whole clothing section of jeans and t-shirts from skate companies, a small TV playing a skate video, and at the counter a huge selection of wheels, trucks, bearings and grip tape. This was the real deal and those guys working at the shop were Real Skaters™.

I can’t imagine how old these dudes really were but to my eyes they were full grown adults who held the keys to this other world that I was really unaware of, slightly intimidated by, but very interested in discovering! Luckily I ended up swapping the SMA board for a new one that had a really cool graphic of a guy on some weird alien landscape about to step foot off of a cliff – Indiana Jones “leap of faith” style. There only seems to be one photo of it in the ol’ family archives – I’m holding the deck in Grandmom & Poppy’s front room, no trucks or wheels yet, this thing was brand spanking new. The resolution in the photo is too low for seeing any of the finer details so I’m not able to tell which brand or pro it was. I went a long time thinking it was a Santa Cruz but I realized what I thought was the SCS logo was actually a moon. The pro’s name (and maybe company) are on it but are too small / blurry to read. It’s been a years-long hunt to find out what board it is but so far I haven’t had any luck.

This board felt like it was my ticket to finally being a “real” skater. Now instead of being just some kid who owned a skateboard, being a skateboarder had become a part of my identity. Real board, real trucks, real wheels.

There was a day, pretty sure it was the first day back to school from Christmas vacation, where I had to decide how I was going to transport myself to school in the morning. Typically I’d either ride my bike or I’d take my rollerblades and stash ‘em in my backpack like other kids did in middle school. But this January morning I had a choice to make – do I take the rollerblades? Or do I fully embrace the skateboard? Not as simple as it seems – skating wasn’t super popular yet but there was already a small crew of skaters at school. Bringing my board to school would be a loud declaration – one I couldn’t backtrack from – that I AM A SKATER.

I left the rollerblades home and never looked back.