Jay Adams; Lord of the board. Together with his aggressive determination and raw ability, he has managed to become the face of skateboarding, and with that has influenced skaters all over the world who look back fondly to his days as a pro. Adams’ can be known as the archetype of modern day skateboarding, the “original virus that infected all of us”, as fellow Z-Boys member Stacy Peralta puts it. So who were the Z-Boys? And just how did they manage to create the impact that they did using a board and four tiny wheels? It can be said that they were officially ‘born’ in Santa Monica, also known as ‘Dogtown’ during the 1970s, their name originating from the team they competed with together, the ‘Jeff Ho Zephyr’ team. Adams’ was to join the Z-Boys in 1974, along with Allen Sarlo, Tony Alva, Darius Anderson, Chris Cahill, and Stacy Peralta. At first the Boys main interest was surfing, becoming known in spots like the Pacific Ocean Park and Bay Street, but with the spo
rt being frowned upon by mainstream society, the surf community created a subculture of its own. This is when the wheels began rolling; with Adams and a few others also being budding skaters, they began imitating their favourite surfers away from the waves and created their own tricks, pushing each other to excel themselves further. Just one year later a separate skate team was created alongside the surf team, fronted by Adams himself. What was so unique about their skating was that it had its very own style; nothing like anyone had seen before, and nothing like the common upright style of trick skateboarding. Instead they had brought their surfing skills to the concrete, busting the same tricks with the difference that they had wheels this time. Adams’ and his crew had landed something new, and though neither they, nor anybody else knew it yet, were creating a revolution that would later spread worldwide, and was to gain them both fame and fortune. The Del Mar Nationals in 1975 saw the Z-Boys really get noticed, with Adams’ placing third in the contest; the first since the original skateboard haydays of the mid 1960s. Following that, they were soon to invent aerial skateboarding after the droughts in Los Angeles left many swimming pools drained, thus paving the way for Tony Alva to take his board airborne and fly over the coping itself, before landing back in the pool. It was after this that the original style of skateboarding had been replaced with the Z-Boys revolutionary ideas. But for Adams, living the high life took its toll, and in 1982, he was involved in assault resulting in a man’s death, for which he served 6 months in prison. After that, the skater was in and out of various prisons throughout the following two decades, struggling with drug addiction. Perhaps his reputation had been tarnished with his personal life affecting his profession; however it cannot be denied that Jay Adams was one of the most influential skaters of all time, bringing style, power, fury, aggression and destruction to the skate scene.
Jay Adams; Lord of the board. Together with his aggressive determination and raw ability, he has managed to become the face of skateboarding, and with that has influenced skaters all over the world who look back fondly to his days as a pro. Adams’ can be known as the archetype of modern day skateboarding, the “original virus that infected all of us”, as fellow Z-Boys member Stacy Peralta puts it. So who were the Z-Boys? And just how did they manage to create the impact that they did using a board and four tiny wheels? It can be said that they were officially ‘born’ in Santa Monica, also known as ‘Dogtown’ during the 1970s, their name originating from the team they competed with together, the ‘Jeff Ho Zephyr’ team. Adams’ was to join the Z-Boys in 1974, along with Allen Sarlo, Tony Alva, Darius Anderson, Chris Cahill, and Stacy Peralta. At first the Boys main interest was surfing, becoming known in spots like the Pacific Ocean Park and Bay Street, but with the spo
rt being frowned upon by mainstream society, the surf community created a subculture of its own. This is when the wheels began rolling; with Adams and a few others also being budding skaters, they began imitating their favourite surfers away from the waves and created their own tricks, pushing each other to excel themselves further. Just one year later a separate skate team was created alongside the surf team, fronted by Adams himself. What was so unique about their skating was that it had its very own style; nothing like anyone had seen before, and nothing like the common upright style of trick skateboarding. Instead they had brought their surfing skills to the concrete, busting the same tricks with the difference that they had wheels this time. Adams’ and his crew had landed something new, and though neither they, nor anybody else knew it yet, were creating a revolution that would later spread worldwide, and was to gain them both fame and fortune. The Del Mar Nationals in 1975 saw the Z-Boys really get noticed, with Adams’ placing third in the contest; the first since the original skateboard haydays of the mid 1960s. Following that, they were soon to invent aerial skateboarding after the droughts in Los Angeles left many swimming pools drained, thus paving the way for Tony Alva to take his board airborne and fly over the coping itself, before landing back in the pool. It was after this that the original style of skateboarding had been replaced with the Z-Boys revolutionary ideas. But for Adams, living the high life took its toll, and in 1982, he was involved in assault resulting in a man’s death, for which he served 6 months in prison. After that, the skater was in and out of various prisons throughout the following two decades, struggling with drug addiction. Perhaps his reputation had been tarnished with his personal life affecting his profession; however it cannot be denied that Jay Adams was one of the most influential skaters of all time, bringing style, power, fury, aggression and destruction to the skate scene.
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