Wednesday, February 27, 2008

my mom's house 1993



this is me skating a long time ago. i was youngster.
my Mom is about the coolest person you could ever meet.
when she was broke in the in the mid 80's she was over renting in S.F.
she heard about an old iron works building in west oakland that was getting divided
up and rented out cheap. she was pretty punk at the time and the idea of having a huge raw space
to work with appealed to her. 3000-5000 square feet 60ft ceilings and an industrial bathroom was it.
the catch was....WEST OAKLAND..... it's still fairly rough there but at the time it was RUFF. the neighbors
threw bottles through my mom's door the first day we went there. i was scared. but she had big dreams
and my mom is tough. her boyfriend at the time skated an was my hero and my mom skated too so one of
the first things we did was build this vert ramp. all used or stolen wood. the ramp was big and gnarly but
kind of like a car with no third gear....once you got used to it you could tear it up. we loved it. it's where i
learned it all. my mom dropped in on it and her boyfriend terrorized it and everyone that came to skate it.
it was a one of the best times of my life. we made friends with the neighbors and got a lot of love out of
"lower bottom" oakland. thats my bedroom in the background and the kitchen above it. thanks MOM.
-ogden photo-

9 comments:

Huber said...

Your mom is a hero.

Unknown said...

what life is all about
struggle, good times, bad times, family, friends
i can relate to your story

take care
carlito

Big Dirty said...

I use to love coming by that place when you lived there.....I never knew what I was gonna see going on outside and inside was even better....Chevy's, Shovels and Skaten.

Your Mom is a Hip Hip Lady!!

Rulers!!

"Louie" said...

What a trip. moms found a big ass crazy wherehouse to post up. That looked like some fun times for sure .

RQ said...

Living outside of the box brought you so many good things.. Amazing story. "The sweet is never as sweet without the sour"

Anonymous said...

that is outstanding! here here to great moms...

Icky said...

Your Mom gave me a job when I needed one, maybe a few too many drinks and party favors now & then, and most of all, some sage advice shortly after my son was born.
I'm pretty sure she was somewhat pivotal in my getting my position at DLX as well. Glad for that, best job/crew ever.
Miss D. RULES.

Stevie Caballero said...

Your mom is awesome and a very sweet person as well. There's nothing like the support of a mother who allows you to build a ramp in their home, so i know your appreciation towards her.
Hope she's doing well?
If ya get a chance, tell her i said hello:)
Cheers,
CAB

Anonymous said...

now thats livin!!!!!