"wild in the streets, running wild in the streets,
running wild in the streets,
we're running wild in the streets!" - circle jerks, from the movie "Thrashin'"
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| a 1978 Hobie Skateboard, vans sk8-hi, aldo porkpie |
it was in my fifth year in grade school, near the summer of 1977 when i saw this kid in our quadrangle riding this "blue, four-wheeled thing called skateboard" (alam ko lang kasi dati rollerskates...). this boy happens to be our neighbor, a distant relative at that, went to the exclusive, all-boys school Don Bosco Technical College, and goes by the name reynan guillartes. my first instinct was to befriend him, with "maybe-he-would-let-me-ride-his-board-kinda-thing" running in my mind, hehehe. well he did, a friendly fella he is. i gotta have one of these skateboards...
when summer did came, my father, a tennis aficionado, would tag my cousins and i along to the municipal hall tennis courts, where he would let us whack some fluorescent-colored balls past above the net. after the "tennis lessons" and out of boredom, we would go to the multi-purpose hall/events area (Mandaluyong Gym now) where an entrepreneur would rent out skateboards by the hour for ten pesos. and boy, did we enjoy this new ride!
before the summer ended, my cousins and i made sure that we were always tagged along by my father for his tennis matches at the municipal hall, not only for the tennis lessons, but for the skateboarding sessions, riding along the tree-lined park as if surfing the smooth pavement...whoooohaa!
the next summer, my father brought me to Rizal Theater at Makati, to watch "Skateboard", which starred the then teenybopper Leif Garrett. after the movie, there was a skateboard exhibition at the theater's parking lot by american skaters (blond kasi kaya american...?). ang galing nila! there was a half pipe, where the skaters did their tricks, but most of the tricks were done on the ground (flatland) mostly wheelies or manuals, board transfers, tail manual 360°...no ollies, no grinds, no airs yet, but still i was in awe, (translation : nganga!). little did i know, when we came home, my father showed me a box, wherein this yellow, with red polyurethane wheels, skateboard was neatly tucked between styrofoam boards. one happy, kinda spoiled little boy.
the next day, i showed the board to my cousins, and took turns riding the concrete "waves" of our street. lito, one of my cousins wanted to have his own, and asked his father if he could have one, too. by the weekend, two boards were now cruising our compound and the streets around our neighborhood. we hooked up with reynan so that we could skate inside Don Bosco compound, and by then we met the De Jesus Bros., alan & bobby, and the Estoque Bros., bong & ronald, all from the College grade school. every Saturday afternoon, we "thrashed" around the college grounds -- acid drop a flight of stairs near the Hanging Court, slalom down the corridors near the Clinic of the Grade School Bldg.; we even made use of an old ping pong table, took off the nets, removed one of its stand and placed a piece of plywood to its end near the floor so that we had something like this --
ang hirap mag-explain, ah...hindi kasi documented, very scarce ang camera at wala pa smartphones nu'ng time na 'yon.
by that time, we had reached neighboring San Juan in search for places to skate, specifically the Little Baguio area, where the streets are quite empty and rolling up and down up to Wilson Street and eventually inside the Greenhills Shopping Center. there we found rich kids (mga coño) with expensive boards and decked in Vans sneakers, being monitored by their nannies as they skate by the parking lot area. wow, basag kami du'n, ah! "dapat naka-Vans din tayo!" sa magazines (Skateboarder, ActionNow, Thrasher, BMX Plus) lang kami nakakakita ng Vans, wala pa kasi flagship stores dito...sa mga PX Stores lang meron.
noong nag high school na ako, may na-discover kami na overrun store -- Laureano, sa Pasong Tamo across Don Bosco Makati, there we found this "boat shoes", Tsubane Seahorse ang brand at made in Korea, mukha sya'ng Vans kaya lang ang sole para'ng sa Robertson, single colors lang, either white or light blue, mura lang kaya pinag-ipunan namin nila lito from our school allowances. we started experimenting with colors, using textile paints, we copied from magazines and tried different color combinations, even made a checkerboard pattern that was totally rad. soon my friends would bring their sneakers to me for a "paint job", syempre for a fee! then one day, somebody came, with sneakers on-hand, he was a fellow Bosconian, and went by the name Francis Magalona (R.I.P., brother) i knew that he was also from Mandaluyong and frequently joined dance showdowns in and out of town. i made him a checkerboard pattern with lightning bolts on the side, good thing he liked it...so much for that.
but i think the movie that captures the humble beginnings of skateboarding is "Lords of Dogtown", which depicted the lives of skateboarding pioneers - Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams, the original Z-Boys. it even starred Tony Hawk in a cameo role.
it's been years since i hit the streets, let's see what this baby can do...
my top skaters that i enjoyed watching:
tony hawk
bob burnquist
mike vallely
rodney mullen
christian hosoi
john hutson
andy macdonald
kilian martin
willy santos
jay adams
the next day, i showed the board to my cousins, and took turns riding the concrete "waves" of our street. lito, one of my cousins wanted to have his own, and asked his father if he could have one, too. by the weekend, two boards were now cruising our compound and the streets around our neighborhood. we hooked up with reynan so that we could skate inside Don Bosco compound, and by then we met the De Jesus Bros., alan & bobby, and the Estoque Bros., bong & ronald, all from the College grade school. every Saturday afternoon, we "thrashed" around the college grounds -- acid drop a flight of stairs near the Hanging Court, slalom down the corridors near the Clinic of the Grade School Bldg.; we even made use of an old ping pong table, took off the nets, removed one of its stand and placed a piece of plywood to its end near the floor so that we had something like this --
by that time, we had reached neighboring San Juan in search for places to skate, specifically the Little Baguio area, where the streets are quite empty and rolling up and down up to Wilson Street and eventually inside the Greenhills Shopping Center. there we found rich kids (mga coño) with expensive boards and decked in Vans sneakers, being monitored by their nannies as they skate by the parking lot area. wow, basag kami du'n, ah! "dapat naka-Vans din tayo!" sa magazines (Skateboarder, ActionNow, Thrasher, BMX Plus) lang kami nakakakita ng Vans, wala pa kasi flagship stores dito...sa mga PX Stores lang meron.
noong nag high school na ako, may na-discover kami na overrun store -- Laureano, sa Pasong Tamo across Don Bosco Makati, there we found this "boat shoes", Tsubane Seahorse ang brand at made in Korea, mukha sya'ng Vans kaya lang ang sole para'ng sa Robertson, single colors lang, either white or light blue, mura lang kaya pinag-ipunan namin nila lito from our school allowances. we started experimenting with colors, using textile paints, we copied from magazines and tried different color combinations, even made a checkerboard pattern that was totally rad. soon my friends would bring their sneakers to me for a "paint job", syempre for a fee! then one day, somebody came, with sneakers on-hand, he was a fellow Bosconian, and went by the name Francis Magalona (R.I.P., brother) i knew that he was also from Mandaluyong and frequently joined dance showdowns in and out of town. i made him a checkerboard pattern with lightning bolts on the side, good thing he liked it...so much for that.
a new era in skateboarding, five-ply maple boards came out, new breed of thrashers were born-much daring than their predecessors, new technical tricks were invented. it was around this time that i got my very first pair of Vans sneakers - a red, black and white checkerboard slip-ons, Marlon (R.I.P., my dear friend) and i got at Virra Mall, Greenhills for ₱700.00.
movies with skateboarding theme came out - Thrashin' and Gleaming The Cube, the first being the typical boy-meets-girl, boy-must-prove-something to be part of the group ("Daggers"), and the second, boy-seeking-vengeance for his half-brother's death -
but i think the movie that captures the humble beginnings of skateboarding is "Lords of Dogtown", which depicted the lives of skateboarding pioneers - Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams, the original Z-Boys. it even starred Tony Hawk in a cameo role.
recently, i came across a Facebook Group named Vans Shoes Pinas'. most of the members post shoes for sale or for swap or just merely showing off their prized possessions. pero ung iba, panay ang reklamo, "ano po ang gagawin ko, kumupas po ung black gumsole ko po?", "paano po magiging mabango ang Vans sneakers?"...at nakakatuwa rin naman ang reply ng iba'ng members - "gupitin mo na lang", "kung ayaw mo bumaho o madumihan, huwag mo'ng isuot." hindi nila alam na mas cool ang Vans o anumang sneakers kung madumi, hindi ung bagong-laba look. palibhasa mukha'ng puro pa-cute ang karamiha'ng members dito sa Vans Shoes Pinas'. they never knew the history behind the brand, which started manufacturing and selling shoes since 1966...or the US punk rock movement and subculture, whose music history were tied to the Vans legacy. may mga thrashers at bmx riders din ako nakita sa mga members, meron din longboarders, o baka naman pang-profile o cover pic lang nila? eh sino pinaglololoko nila? tsk,tsk,tsk...
nowadays, when i pass by a Vans Store, i can't help but shake my head in dismay...they don't look as good as it was before...it's all made in China now, the part of the toe that runs up to the front of the sole - that's the part that they can't quite duplicate well, and the sides of the sole is not sticky anymore, well i can't compare it to the ones i grew up with, the kids today, they love it - hope they try to know the real Vans behind the sneakers, hi tops and gumsoles they have, the brand that helped create a culture with attitude and individuality...puna-puna lang, ang tamaan sapul, ang mapikon yamot - until the next post, see you guys, hang loose!
it's been years since i hit the streets, let's see what this baby can do...
my top skaters that i enjoyed watching:
tony hawk
bob burnquist
mike vallely
rodney mullen
christian hosoi
john hutson
andy macdonald
kilian martin
willy santos
jay adams
