30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, December 6, 2012

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!

27 comments:

jacobmrley said...

I never did skate, but I hung out with the skateboarder kids because they were cool and knew where to get the good pot. I may have said too much.

The Angels In Order said...

Ah Dude, nice collection. I skated in the late 70's on a plastic deck with wide clay wheels. Back then for me at least, a skateboard was a mode of transportation. I couldn't afford the urethane wheels which were relatively new, but my buddy could so around 1979 we mounted trucks to a kids size snow ski and took off bookin down the streets. He was in front as the steerer and I was on back hands on his shoulder as the kicker. Total blast!

Spankee said...

My first board was a cheapo with a pig in a cop uniform. It was badass. Then, I upgraded to the new style in the '90s and my parents got me Tony Hawks signature board. I loved that board so much. I would give anything to know where it ended up.

I'd also like to add that Gleaming the Cube is a great movie and needs to be rereleased on DVD.

Fuji said...

;-)

Fuji said...

That's awesome! When I was a lot younger... maybe 6 or 7, I had something similar... I think it was called a banana board. It was made of yellow plastic and I guess was technically my first board.

Fuji said...

Gleaming the Cube was a great movie. Haven't seen it in years, but can totally picture Slater with the Asian girl.

The Angels In Order said...

Email me your address. I'm sure I must have something I can send you.

Spiegel83 said...

I remember watching the Bones Brigade skate films back in the day. Skating was fun as a kid. Now, I am probably too scared to get on a board and speed down a hill.

Gleaming the Cube is Christian Slater at his best.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure you can call it "skating" but I definitely had a skateboard and took it very seriously for a couple of years around 3rd or 4th grade.

I had a Dog Town "Aaron Murray" board. It was the coolest of the ones on the discount shelf at BareCover. I wanted a Tony Hawk Powell & Peralta like the other kids on my block, but my parents wouldn't spring for it, thought skateboarding was just a fad for me. They right, but I'm still bitter.

Found a link to the Dogtown Board I used to have on ebay, so this link has a short shelf life.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOGTOWN-Aaron-Murray-Pool-Skool-Skateboard-Deck-10-25-old-skool-White-/190760843701?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Skateboarding_Skating_ET&hash=item2c6a3b79b5

Commishbob said...

I was too old to be a skateboarder when the craze was at it's peak (I did some inline driveway skating) but my boys were seriously into it. Spent many a Saturday at Van's Skate Park (RIP) watching some great skaters. I remember my boys' Element and DarkStar decks. One of them had a Toy Machine deck for awhile. I was equipment repair and replace guy as my golf club equipment came in handy. I worked on my kids' friends stuff and it got to where I was considering being a deck assembler at Vans.

I still have a big tackle box full of wheels (Spitfire and Pig were the wheels of choice as I recall) and trucks in all possible condition. Anyone want some Shorty's deck hardware?

Fuji said...

That design is sweet! Looks like something you'd find on a wall at my parent's house.

Fuji said...

We had a Van's Skate Park here in the Bay Area too... but it's been closed for a few years now. Sounds like your boys skated just around the same time I started teaching. That's when a lot of my students rode Element decks... and I remember Spitfire wheels too.

Fuji said...

Thanks in advance... I'm sure I have some Angels cards I can ship in your direction.

Commishbob said...

When they closed down the Van's here in Houston they told me it was because the insurance premium was becoming prohibitive. And I can believe it. Always seemed to me that not a weekend went by without an ambulance pulled up near the front door to attend to some poor kid who couldn't quite pull off a trick.

Unknown said...

Nice posting "Skateboards " .I have no words. THIS IS AMAZING!! Congrats!!

skatewinkel said...

I am a big fan of skateboarding.

skateboard winkel said...

Skateboarding helps us to enjoy our life at its best.

Fuji said...

Me too. At least back when I was younger.

Fuji said...

Back in the day, it was a way for a way for us to forget our problems.

inline skates kopen said...

Skateborading is not a crime.

Unknown said...

Skateboarding is a good sport...we have to give big Applause!!!! for them.skatewinkel!!!

Unknown said...

I never did skating but it is a greet sport.
skatewinkel

skatewinkel said...

In my opinion Playing skateboard feels the mind relaxing and body free. Skateboard is a great sport...

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing the Experience...Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.

skatewinkel

Unknown said...

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