the first time i met Natas Kaupas i was
14yrs old and at a skate camp. i think at cal poly.
my dad split the cost with my mom and i remember it
being a really big deal that i got to go..... and for me
it was. skate camps then were a totally new idea. there
was no formula for it like there is now. woodward hadn't
happened yet. some kids got sent there by parents
that just wanted to ditch their kids, some kids just thought they
wanted to go... once there they wanted out.
not me i could have lived there. i wanted to skate all day.
perfect ramps like i saw in videos and tons of skaters... there
were "skaters" at my school but that just meant they wore vans.
on one of the last days of camp they announced NATAS was gonna
do a Demo. every true skater was physced. at the time i was wearing
white converse CONS with blue laces.... just like natas wore.(so i thought)
they started the demo... i wiggled up to the front. he ollied a
huge stack of boards like 8 or 9.... probably taller than me. Natas snapped
the tail off his board quick.. not clean off but broke so it was dragging
on the ground. natas or his friend had another complete setup and he
carried on with the demo. shredding. then his shoelace exploded and
the demo kinda slowed down again.
they called out "anyone got a shoelace?"
i kinda got the chills and panicked a bit. cause i knew
right then and there i had a brand new BLUE converse shoelace
in my pocket. to describe me at the time.... young, akward, and shy as
all hell. i kinda wiggled back and forth for a second, tried to say
something........... then all at once he looked right at me.
and with all my might these words stumbled out of my mouth,
........."HEY MAN I GOTTA SHOE LACE"
out from my pocket i pulled the baddest, strongest, most bitchen,
blue shoelace you had ever seen. willie wonka golden ticket shoe lace.
he kinda stepped back and was like..
"oh whoa it's even blue"
smiled,
said
"thanks"
laced up and carried on with the demo.
every kid looked at me bewildered.... like what the fuck??
you just a carry around a blue shoe lace??? i'm sure someone said it.
well here's where the drum roll starts to kick in.......
after the demo Natas walks up to me in front of everyone and
hands me the board he broke......
Complete board!
New thunders!
New OJ freestyles!
Swiss bearings!
shaking i reached for the board.
he kinda smiled and laughed and said
"thanks for the shoelace".
FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKK
it was insane. i hid that board under the mattress for the rest
of camp. i slept on top of the lump of board. when kids asked about it
i told em "i sold it"........ cause i had to get it home.
i still got got it. broke in two. hanging in the garage......
had to use the trucks and wheels though.
the graphic was his first panther graphic.... but a graphic
of a dudes face in screened under that.. they never did that graphic so
the first boards he got they just screened over with the panther.
when your a kid, days like those..... are so huge. -max
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So the other day it happened that Natas sent me this note
along with the attached photograph.
Natas is still cooool.
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"because i think of your blog as a motorcycle, skateboard, dog loving blog i do have a neat story that i think at least you would enjoy.
we are doing a remodel on the santa monica house, the one you have stayed at . while digging a new foundation we found a bottle with a note. the note was written by Charles, about the truest, most loyal dog, Prince. lived 11 good years, died 1919. we found bones around the bottle. (see pic).
i took the photos and am planning on burying the bones close to where we found them. we think its one of the things that made this house so special. (maybe why you liked it here?)
added heavyness is my dog, Bonnie, was diagnosed with cancer a year ago- she's eleven and responding to chemo like a champ. still going strong, swimming and chewing on her dog, a long haired dachhound, Cidney. but made me think of old Prince. dogs lived okay way back then as well.
best wishes max- i'm starting a bike build really soon. will keep you posted."
nk