wayne on June 27, 2008
Happy Friday! One of the reasons we purchased the house we live in now is because it has a pool. When we bought the house, we had no clue that one day we would invite a skater crew over to skate our pool. Here's how it went down.
The Pool
The existing plaster in the pool was good, but soon after we moved in, we realized that we had an algae problem. The prior owners had masked it really well and stuck us to deal with the issue. So we decided to re-plaster the pool. However, instead of looking at a big concrete hole in the ground for the next few weeks, Jacque and I decided to have some fun with it.
The pool's deep end is 8 1/2 feet deep and is oddly shaped, making skating it a bit more difficult that say a kidney shaped pool.
The Skaters
I always admired and had respect for skaters and what they were able to do on four wheels. Having never been able to really get into it, but being a punk back in the day, we felt it would be fun to have some skaters come out and skate the pool once we drained it.
We called a few places, and it was by sheer chance that we got in contact with SkaterBuilt in Seal Beach. We made contact with them and they honestly couldn't believe that a pool owner was contacting them to skate a pool. Normally skaters have to jump the walls of vacant houses or where the residents were not around to skate a residential pool. Skaters will drain a pool filled with stagnant water and clean it up just to skate it. That's dedication! Apparently this was a big treat and surprise for them.
Dave Hegstrom, the owner of SkaterBuilt, couldn't believe that a home owner was contacting him to skate his pool. Apparently, that doesn't happen very often, if at all.
He didn't know me at all, so I reassured him that this wasn't some type of prank and that we had a freshly drained pool. After a little convincing that we weren't yanking his chain, they came over.
They pulled up on January 30, 2005 to skate the pool. We cranked up the music, fired up the bar-b-que and made a day of it. It was an absolute blast, and the guys were great fun to hang out with.
The Video
The video is a collection of video clips we did with our camera at the time. It's raw, unedited video. I added the music for flair. Hope you like it.
Update - I've made a 3 minute version of this 30 minute video that captures the highlights and is more consumable for more people. I also found extra footage that is not included in this version as well.
Skaters: Dave Hegstrom, Jay Smith, Sean Mazza, Bill Wahl, Iggy Scott, Mike Gagnon and The Capt.
If you're a skater and need some wheels or a new, custom board, check out SkaterBuilt decks and wheels, and tell them Wayne sent you.
The Photos
Of course, we were taking snaps also
Thanks go out to all of SkaterBuilt, and to Dave for being so cool and helping to make an empty pool fun.
It IS a Small World After All
Just recently, the president of my current employer in Long Beach needed me to notarize some paperwork for herself and her husband. Yes, I'm a notary also. We had talked before about how her husband is a huge motorcycle fan. After the signing, her husband and I strolled off to the garage to check out his bikes. I noticed a sticker on his tool box that was from SkaterBuilt. Guess what? I was working for Dave's parents and had no clue until that moment. Coincidence or fate? Not sure, but it sure was fascinatingly ironic.
