Truck Bolts Blog

In the January 1978 issue of Skateboard World magazine there is an article entitled ”Mt. Baldy Remembered”. It was penned by Stuart Swinson and featured Stan Sharp photos of Jerry Valdes, Curt Cortum, Gregg Ayres, Rodd Saunders and Mark Smith. As a young Skateboarder living in rural Georgia, I studied the photos for hours dreaming of ridding the “Skateboard Mecca” that Mt. Baldy pipe was in my mind. Even as the author touted superior skatepark terrain as a reason why Baldy wasn’t being skated, I still yearned to roll in the birthplace of pipe skating. Besides in Georgia there were no good Skateparks to speak of and a full pipe was just a pipe dream. Mr. Swinson went on to describe the water damage, $500.00 fines and multiple applications of tar that seemed to regulate my hopes of someday Skateboarding in the Mt. Baldy pipe to my dreams forever.

After relocating to California in 1985, I was pleased to learn from the brothers Alba that Baldy could still be skated if you had some soft wheels and didn’t mind the ruff bottom and leftover tar patches. My reply was a swift “When do we leave?”  The feeling I had the first time I walked into the concrete cylinder of my childhood fantasies has never been duplicated in my life. I’ve had quite a few sessions at the Baldy pipe over the years and I too began to lose my passion for the old pipe with its harsh surface and it’s hard to reach local. Then on the first year of the new “Go Skateboarding Day” holiday, some coworkers and I were thinking of where to celebrate “GSD” (on the clock) …. I suggested the rumored to be resurfaced (by skateboarders) Mt, Baldy pipe! All agreed and we headed to the womb of Skateboarding to be reborn. It was radical! I sampled the new surface on my hard wheels and it was fantastic! I never even put my pads on…… I felt like a kid inside….. I was feeling what it must have been like for the privileged early skateboarders I’d seen in that article all those years ago.

Skateboarders are still making memories at the hallowed hole in Mt. Baldy and if it ever becomes truly unskateable it will be remembered.

Go Skateboarding Day

There are so many social networking devices and applications that one can call into play these days it’s hard to know which one/ones to indulge in. Although I resisted them at first I must admit I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and family, sharing childhood photos and tales as well as updates on our current lives. Yet even “Saint Jobs” himself never possessed a more powerful social networking tool than my skateboard. It connected me to all my best friends, provided me with a trade, influenced my taste in music, art and fashion. It’s my personal trainer and my shrink. It influenced me to learn photography, graphic art and woodworking. I live where I do because I skateboard. I even met my wife at the first Warped tour after having snuck in riding a skateboard through the athletes gate while pretending I was in the demo.

For me a skateboard is the most powerful search engine on Earth.

Truck Bolts

Spike and the cat with no name Ft.Mead Fla 1981

In the very early 80s I was living in my Granny’s old house in Ft. Mead Fla. It’s a very small town that still only has one stoplight to this day. I’d always been a dog person until this stray white female cat wandered in our house. She took a like’n to me so I named her Spike and bought some cat chow. Spike turned out to be quite an talented cat ……. she brought me a few squirrels and learned how to skateboard. After leaving my board on the wood floor in my room Spike, completely on her own would pounce on the skateboard then glide across the room while clawing at the front wheel as it spun. She repeated this to and fro for hours. I just started keeping my deck in her favorite spot. I tried to tell my friends about it but they thought I was bullshitting. In this day and age I’d just put Spike up on youtube and she would have been in the Rose Bowl parade.

Then one day I came home from work and my friend Randy had been waiting for me in my room so we could go skate. Randy charged out of the house and proclaimed “Chuck your Mother F’n cat skateboards”!!!!! I laughed and said “I told you guys that” But Randy could not hear my words. He said “You don’t understand!!! “Your Mother F’n cat skateboards”!!!!! He repeated this many times until I just gave up and listened.

Spike didn’t care who knew she skated …. she just liked the feeling. Self satisfaction is really what skateboarding is about. Sure it’s great to hear everyone hoot when you pull a trick …… Yet sometimes they’re cheering while inside you know that you’re not satisfied with how it felt …… You know the feeling of when it’s done your way and won’t really be happy with less.  But when you do execute a maneuver just how your physical being yearns for …….. It’s matters not who’s observing the event ……. The feeling lingers longer than any applause.

Now go get that feeling……..   Truck Bolts

Yes it was a very good pool!

Chris Robison R.I.P. and Chuck Hults Super Ditch Fun!

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