Collecting skateboarders is not a crime!

In terms of surfing, I was a total poser.  But growing up in the Bay Area, you either had a skateboard, a bike, or both.  I had both.  Bikes were my preference for the majority of my childhood, but there was a brief period in my life where all I wanted to do was skate.

It started sometime during the 6th or 7th grade when one of my friends started skating.  Within weeks there were five or six of us who had skateboards.  Not the kind you see these days... the wide ones with nose guards, riser pads, rails, lappers, and grip tape.  It seemed like the more accessories you added, the cooler you were.

And just like a person would choose a pet or car, I carefully selected my first skateboard.  The board I wanted was a Hosoi Hammerhead, but the shop I went to didn't have any in stock.  So I settled for a board ridden by a local guy named Steve Caballero.

If you're not familiar with who I'm talking about, Caballero was a member of the Bones Brigade... a team of skateboarders sponsored by Powell Peralta.  Earlier this year, he won the Masters division at the 2012 Pro-tec Pool Party... beating out fellow Bones Brigade teammates:  Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, and Mike McGill.

Last month the documentary, Bones Brigade, An Autobiography was released on DVD and shown at various theaters around the country.  As part of the promotion, the team members have been autographing personal items and selling them off to collectors.  I couldn't afford high ticket items like autographed decks or autographed trophies, but I did purchase this Caballero autographed copy of a Bone Brigade Intelligence Report from the 80's for $50:

I figure I'd frame it and mount it next to my autographed Tony Hawk skateboard deck:

I picked this up a couple of years ago for $89.95, when Steiner had one of the Christmas specials.  These days, Hawk's autograph is far from rare.  But he's the most famous person in the history of the sport and I wanted to add his autograph to my collection.

Now... if I could only find a Christian Hosoi autograph to make my collection complete.

Did you ever skate?  What board did you have?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!