Skateboarding Longevity and Determination Flashback Issue 1 of Thrasher Magazine

Today, I saw a post about the 500th issue of Thrasher Magazine on Instagram. I looked back at the first issue on Thrasher's website and noticed it had an article about Downhill Skateboard Racing and the Gold Cup Series that I had skated in. (I still have my first copy.)

Spread from the first issue of Thrasher Magazine flashback. 

A look back and realization that not being the top women's team rider changed me and probably helped me in the long run. At the Capitola Classic and I was ahead of all of the women even with a crash and sliding 25 feet down the double yellow in short shorts and hitting my head. 

After John Hutson won on a set of special Park Rider wheels that were super tall and fast, Jay put the winning wheels on Terry Brown's board and she beat me at the finish line. Winning is winning but I ended up with more photos and press because I raced my heart out. I wasn't the big name I ended up not getting the special wheels and placing second. In the long run it made me fight harder and continue to skate decades later. 

(For anyone that wonders why I stopped competing in vert it was the Winchester contest judges that made me stop competing in scored contests and just do timed events and that's another story. Because I get asked alot but don't usually tell why)

Decades later Terry told me she never considered that she won that race. It was good to hear but I will always remember feeling like the second pro rider for Santa Cruz and not as important. I was still honored and proud to be sponsored Santa Cruz Skateboards and Independent Trucks.

 Competition is competition it is cut throat and not everyone likes competing. You can have a career as a free rider in some sports like Surfing legend Santa Cruz surfer Josh Mulcoy and freeskier Cody Townsend. Skateboarding not so much.

Capitola Classic Downhill in Action Now with Michele Baker. Photo: James Cassimus

Capitola Classic shot by Dan Devine took that is in the Smithsonian Collection

If you had told me I'd still be skateboarding and racing in 2022 I would probably think you were cray cray. I remember another competitor asking me what it would be like skating in 20 years? I told her I probably won't be skating that was 18 years ago. 

This weekend I will be racing in Southern California my first head to head race since Morro Bay Classic 2019

Video by Gary Fluitt and crew

 

Capitola Classic video find 1982

Vintage Capitola Classic video 1982. Interesting find this morning. I'm standing next to Novak. The year I didn't get invited but I guess they let me help register people and hang out.

Road Rider youtube channel

Capitola and Skateboarding

I spoke last night at the Capitola skate park meeting. I had no intention of standing up but then somewhere toward the end of everyone speaking my heart just started pounding out of my chest. I thought you know I'm probably the oldest skateboarder here. I'm a mother of two boys that I drive to Scotts Valley and Lake Cunningham Regional Skatepark to go skate with my kids.

I wish I had, had a skate park locally to skate growing up. I don't count Derby, Frederick Street or Jose park as a real skate park because they are so small. I'm glad they are there but they do not take care of the skate communities needs of a place to skate that is not a drive for a kid that lives in Capitola, Aptos or Soquel.

One of my best memories of skating was my first slalom skateboard race down Monterey Avenue back in 1975 when I was 15. Then again the Capitola Classic downhill race several years later when I was 19. I think these kids are missing out on some great memories by having to skate in places that you get ticketed or kicked out of.

Skaters come in all ages, sizes and backgrounds. I am the president of Board Rescue a non-profit that helps get skateboards to kids. (Which I forgot to bring up when I spoke.) I have taught skateboard classes through Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation. Every class has been full with a wait list. It is sad to once again stand in front of the City Council in Capitola to ask about a skate park. Another generation of skaters from Aptos, Soquel and Capitola that has to skate in the roads, parking lots and school playgrounds.

The parks we have access to in town are limited. I never liked Soquel Skate Park. It had bad transitions and rough concrete. José Skate Park is too small and usually packed with a combination of scooters and bmxer's. Scotts Valley is a nice park but is a bit of a drive especially if you are under 16. The Santa Cruz Skate Park is a good park but it is usually way crowded and has a crew of folks that come over to do things unrelated to skating and I wish they would go else where.

The future generations like it or not love to skateboard. Give them a place to do it safely.

Capitola Skate Park T-shirt art by Jimbo Phillips

Available at the Santa Cruz Boardroom. All proceeds go to the Capitola Skate Park. Website in progress via Chris. I did a rough layout. Got permission to recreate the Capitola Classic font for use. Thanks to Dave Freil for printing the shirts in short order. Thanks NHS and Mr. Novak.
825 41st Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062
(831) 464-2500

Jimbo Phillips Thanks for your awesome artwork.

Capitola Classic 2011?

Working on it, the dates we are planning are the first week before or after US National Championships, San Dimas, California USA, October 8-9, 2011. The weekend dates October 15 & 16 most likely it will be a one day event on Sunday the 16 th. The pavement is not great but so many people have asked about it and I've wanted to revive it for decades. Will keep you posted. Permit process first with Capitola. I am working on it with Marcus Rietema president and founder of the IGSA. He's got the no how I have the drive.


IGSA on Facebook
International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA)

The Capitola Classic was a skateboarding event that received international attention and brought lots of excitement and energy to the Capitola village back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Capitola Classic was well known in skating circles for its annual downhill race, which was a head-to-head speed competition that drew top names in the sport, many local as well as international, including Santa Cruz, California local John Hutson, who held the world speed record for skateboarding at 53.45 mph and dominated the event each year.

I'm not Peggy Oki but I'm cool with the comparison

Back in the day I was often mistaken to be Peggy Oki or Shogo Kubo. I had to argue with a skater back in the 80's that this was really me in this photo taken in 1979. Well I came across this link and thought it was funny I'm still being called Peggy. Well that's an improvement from being mistaken for being Shugo who is a guy. The guy told me it couldn't be me because girls can't skate like that!
On this site longboarder.ru
Translated from Russian to English.

Steve Caballero and I, Winchester Skatepark 1979 photo Michael Goldman.


Peggy Oki Dogtown Z boys skater.

Shogo Kubo styling at Lakewood skatepark. February 1979.
Photo: Jim Goodrich

John Hutson Slalom|Downhill World Champion

Helping out a skateboarder from the East Coast who asked me if I could get John to sign a few boards he collected. I was glad to help and happy to hang out and talk skate with John on Saturday. He offered to help if I get the Capitola Classic permit. Dual slalom he suggests or Dual Downhill, we will see. Friday the box of skateboards arrived packed with pens a note which board with what color and a few of my old black and white Santa Cruz Skateboards photographs that John Krisik took as promo photos.

Go big or don't go at all

I never considered myself a risk taker or a social media person. But I guess if you consider I skateboard race down hills at high speeds and weave in and out of cones, learned how to tail drop on my 50 th birthday last fall and keep dropping in deeper and deeper bowls. I envision myself doing front side grinds like I did in 1979 but maybe not in a 10 foot vert pool and keep trying. I have over 500 hundred people on my LinkedIn, many designers, illustrators, marketing managers and founders of companies from Quiksilver, Croakies, Skullcandy, NHS, many longtime friends and some new. I avoided LinkedIn for years but realized what a great 411 tool it has become (thanks to Chris Adams). I've embraced the web, new media, but still try and keep my hand eye skills on paper. I teach my clients and friends if they are interested. I feel it is really important to share with people what I know. I'm probably to generous but don't care. My belief is you get what you give. If I don't have something lined up 6 months down the road I put something there.
I am working on a Board Rescue project that involves a host of talented skate artists and a 14'x 12' x 2' foot window display set for the month of July in Santa Cruz. More about that later. I am working on surfboard graphics with Doug Haut for a big event. I'm a bit of a freak because I'll wake up at 4:00 am and have ideas and things I need to get down on paper. I have a book ideas, things I want to sew, paintings started, video work in progress.
Talking with folks to try and put on a beginning skateboard clinic at Lake Cunningham Regional Skateboard Park to raise money for Board Rescue this spring. Possibly a park night race and of course the Capitola Classic this October. My wish is a downhill single lane race, demo slalom or single lane two run thing since the road is really really beat up and we want to try and do it in a day. Set up ramps at the Esplanade and have a vintage longboard swap. You know just a few ideas.
What I tell young designers is you've got to really step out to stand out these days. You can't just get by. It is important to love what you do because in the end it will show.

585 view Flickr Spike yesterday

I was super surprised to see such a huge spike in my flickr stats yesterday. Not sure if it was the Loopd Skateboard Featured Members feature or the Texas Longboarder post or Vimeo post, thank you. The Skatedaily always adds some killer stats as they have given some great shouts to the Board Rescue organization a few times. Thanks BK you rule. Either way I'm stoked to see downhill skateboarding images my dad took getting some love.

Alva skate memory in Santa Cruz back in the day

Lately I've been thinking I should write down some of the skate stories for my kids and for myself. I've had quite a fun life skating over the decades. I brought up the story yesterday of down hilling Rodeo Gulch with Tony Alva back in 1980 and it got me thinking I should document some of them.

It was the Friday night before the weekend of the Capitola Classic and Tony came by NHS and was hanging out. He asked where he could go shoot a hill around Santa Cruz, I told him Hutson and I had been practicing on a road close by. We jumped in my red 1963 bug and headed out a few miles away. I remember it was a warm afternoon and I was like I'm going skating with TA, cool. Rodeo Gulch is tucked away and is a windy redwood lined road that at the time was pretty quiet unlike today where you wouldn't probably want to be going full speed with all the car traffic. We parked at near the end where there is a lone tree you can drive around to loop back to avoid the single lane steep road that goes over the hill toward the summit. We got out and he asked if you could shoot it I said yes. It is always good to get the lay of the land. I told him just don't cross over the lines on the blind corners and to look out for deer. A week before Hut was in a full tuck and we were following him trying to get a rough speed and we were around 35 miles and hour. I remember noise to the right and a bunch of deer charging down a steep embankment right down to the road right in front of Hut's line. He stood up and clapped his hands and they spread a few went right and a few went left he threaded the needle and went right in between and even brushed his hands on one of them. He was so lucky that they split. He slowed down and was just glad not to get taken out by a deer.

After getting out of the car and a few pushes later we were hauling down the road. I was on a Jim Gordon cutaway downhill board and he was on a pool park board. I remember the cool spots in the shade as we were going down. I wasn't too far behind and when we got to the bottom he looked back and smiled as I was on his tail. Toward the end I remember weaving back and forth to slow down. We hitched a ride back up and there was another car with Roger Hickey and crew ready to boom the hill. The LA rivalry was in the air and Tony started yelling at them calling them kooks or something and we got in my car and left.

We went back to NHS and he forgot his board in my trunk. I still have the board as and I told him a for a few years after that when we ran into each other that I still had his board. He told me to keep it. It is a super wide laminated concave, hand written graphics on the bottom, Indy's, white now yellowed Alva wheels with the buttons that fit in the hubs, pizza grip tape with a few stickers on it.

The next day was the race and that's another story. As well as the weekend I spent in Malibu at his ocean view shack with my broken leg. The road trip from Santa Cruz to Clark Foam, which was the first weekend Royce Chancleer became the NorCal Gotcha rep and they dropped me off at TA's on the way down and I got picked up on the way back. Got to see first hand Alva's rock star skate status and the wild life going on in LA. He was always very nice to me and we remain friends to this day.

Capitola Classic Today

I set up a survey for the Capitola Classic on the Capitola Classic blog. The meeting is today.
Capitola Twitter
In the very early stages of planning this event and would like to find out what type of event people would be interested.
Please take the survey on the Capitola page
If you are interested in helping out or being a sponsor please send me an email directly:
slalomrankings@sbcglobal.net



Thanks for helping out.

Capitola Classic? Feb 28 Meeting Let's talk.

I'm planning on going and finding out if folks really want to do this event. I keep getting folks asking. I'll do it as long as I don't spend money out of pocket. I'll cordinate and get skaters... I'd love Jim Phillips or Jimbo poster design and a good crowd of skaters to take over Monterey Avenue with respect and bring in some tourist dollars.
Join us for a Capitola Call to Service brainstorming meeting!

Bring your ideas about how we can build a caring community by connecting people who need help with volunteers.

Come and help us figure out how to reach out – neighbor to neighbor. Many of us could use some help. ALL of us can give some help.

We will be developing an online service that can make it easy for people to get involved with and connected to their community and that can serve as a model for other communities.

When: February 28th, 10am – noon

Where: Jade Street Community Center , 4400 Jade St. , Capitola

For more information: contact Amie Forest at 831-426-3549 or email capitolacalltoservice@gmail.com
Capitola Classic

Skate or Die 18 years later SkateDaily post

BK of the SkateDaily posted this image he took from 1990, Skate or Die skate contest to promote the Electronic Arts Game. I worked on ad's for Thrasher, Spin Magazine and a bunch of Gaming mags. Mark "Gonz" Gonzales ripping with safety gear on. Imagine that pads. You don't see skaters wearing any protection these days.

Another Birthday with great friends

I had a great birthday. It started off with a drive by with two motorcycle Highway Patrols in front of my house. I want to think they read my letter with the photo of our blood splattered “Slow Down Children at Play” sign and my concern for the kids playing in the road and the drivers that constantly drive up the wrong side of the road in front of our house. A message from the US Postal office was another great gift after months of talking and two letters. They came out and marked a new spot to move the problem boxes (finally!) All the neighbors on our street are stoked. Skateboarding at lunch at the Scotts Valley Skatepark was a blast. The four home made pumpkin pies with whip cream at work made by Lisa who has three kids and Neal and still fit it into her busy schedule was tasty and thoughtful. Thank you to all my friends for the phone calls, e-mails and posts. Mike Goldman for the Happy Birthday to you song on my voice mail was priceless and a great way to end the day. Colette we’ve been friends for 45 years, Stacy my first skateboard and horse riding friend for 38 years and Ravitch 6. It goes by fast. I’ve learned to keep moving forward and avoid negnoids. Life’s to short for drama.

If you vote and live in Capitola vote for Mike Termini and Dennis Norton for Capitola City Council. They believe in the future of Capitola. Both want a skateboard park and to bring back the Capitola Classic event. Both are backed by the Sierra Club and want to plan for the future of Tola. Unlike the current major who is a skater hater, Tiki hater and pro development.

Found Skate Memories

Today I was going through some old boxes of skate stuff and found this old photo taken by John Krisik when I skated for Santa Cruz Skateboards. I remember we were at a the Sierra Wave in Sacramento and it was cold and windy out. Stayed with the Merricks and remember skating a contest there with Jamie Hart, Dave Criddle, Tom Merrick and Cliff Coleman. Fun days.

I also found the schedule for the ARA Another Roadside Attraction Slalom Series in Colorado, my worn number from sliding down the double yellow during the Capitola Classic, the Skateboardmania 6 month tour schedule that never happened, other numbers, the Hester Series fliers and scribbled race times from days gone by. A proof sheet with shots of Blackhart, Randy, Bryan Buck and myself at Winchester.

Newark, Winchester, Del Mar, Campbell. We too had so many skateparks that we were getting picky. Skated Campbell to warm up, Winchester to session and Milpitas to push one step further if you hadn't had any hard falls during the evening. The owner DOM would always try and give me a kiss. (That was one of the things I hated most about skating that park.) Loved the capsule and the snake runs and the water slide we could go cool off in right next door.

And then in a heart beat they were all gone.

Working on the World Slalom Records Documentation

50 cone start John Ravitch



100 Cone dry heat









Overall Winner for NorCal out of retirement for the day like Lance!





When you start your day in the am you have time to bake a pumpkin pie and make a crock pot dish to cook all day so dinner will be ready when we get home. Work on documentation of the Worlds event, download and reduce file size of photos taken at Sunday's event. The simple life of a working mom that likes to skateboard race for the hell of it. Cause she still can.

Gorge Games Slalom Race Highlight

One of the best highlights of the weekend was having a blast from the past stop me as I walked up the hill from my final run of the weekend. Lisa on the left in this photo which is from our first slalom race in Capitola in 1975 when we were 14 and 15 years old. We had not seen each other in over 30 years. We had lots to talk about and had a great visit. Never even heard what the final run was. After Lynn shot that cone in front of me at the finish and having the camera guy on my right I didn't go for the last few cones since it didn't really matter at that point and I had kids and a job to return to. I can't believe I'm still out running cones and getting second place to the 5x World Champ who is almost 10 years younger and has no kids. I enjoy representing the mom's and want to see more girls and women on the hill. Not on the sidelines.

Designs with impact

I started Maximum Impact Design in Santa Cruz, California in 1987, doing all surf, skate and snow graphics. I have worked with Billabong, Sessions, Electronic Arts, Santa Cruz Surf and Skateboards, Hotline Wetsuits and many other well-known brands. We create everything from stickers, advertising, logos, packaging, signage and tradeshow booths to forecasting the latest color trends to styling for American Express commercials.

My latest project was a Public Art Wave project for the Santa Cruz Skate Park. I teamed up with Jimbo Phillips and David Pettigrew from Diamond D Concrete. We stained the wave, sandblasted and sealed the 17 plus foot wave.

The next public art project I will be doing is two large 4 x 8 metal panels at the Felt Street Skatepark along with Eli Atkins the art director for all Giro and Bell graphics.

I spend my early mornings trying to help the next generation of skaters get a public skatepark in Capitola and revive the Capitola Classic.