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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So the other day it happened that Natas sent me this note
along with the attached photograph.
Natas is still cooool.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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
39 comments:
just to get this one
outta the way.......
"THIS ONE TIME AT SKATE CAMP..."
Amazing stories. How cool would it be to see Natas roll by on a chopper?
They banned natas t-shirts in school when I was a kid 'cuz they said it was code for satan, but I really think it was 'cuz the principal was a square!
i swore i needed the swiss bearings for my sweet wall rides. had the ojs.
natas is god.
man, thanks again Max, your shit is the illest. takes me back :)
best of luck to Bonnie!!!!
Another amazing story. You know some of those kids had to think you were a plant. To be in the front row laces at the ready.
Wow, did you know if you spell NATAS backwards it = SATAN...OMG OMG OMG........
Fuck I got chills reading that...all of it. Best friday post ever.
Right fucking on man. I've got two Natas decks hanging on the wall in my shop. He was and still is a true ruler!
thanks max. thanks natas. thanks skateboarding.
keep writng.......
natas rules...i remember seeing him ollie over a van in thrasher, and i think he was one of the first to ride walls...great story max.
thanks for posting this. i really enjoyed reading it
Rad words 4Q. Stories for days.
yes as child i lived by natas photos and video parts. did whatever i could to emulate his style and skating. the dude rules. and yeah skate camp was so ill. i went to woodward the first or second year it opened. we got a lot less pro exposure on the east coast, so going there, skating, chilling with and getting to know the pros was epic.
where is the pics of the natas board?
Thanks for sharing that story.
was that the same skate camp where chris borst came and did mctwists. i think he was the first am skateboarder to do that. i rode the train up with matt hensley. natas tried to buy my clockwork orange shirt off me, but i wouldnt sell it to him. i was scared because of that penetrating cold stare he has, but i still said no.
Really good stories from both Max & Natas. When I was a kid we had a black cat named Satan. My Mom always welcomed Natas panther & kitty stickers on the fridge and thought the Natas=Satan thing was amusing.
Sick read. Thanks Max. My mom made me return the first Natas Etnies because she said Natas is Satan backwards, typical. She didn't believe me when I told her the whole Natasha story. So lame. Natas is king.
Wow, crystal clear memory guy. Thanks for writing about Natas and skating in general. I know you do it for personal therapy but I get a lot out of it and seems many others do also.
Natas, what a guy. We are so lucky to know people like that. I wish I had the used board that Natas gave me. I had the other one but you know, sold it to Cliver, he deserved it I felt.
Enjoy the sun.
Memories are the reason why we do what we do. My close buddy was just talking about his first time he started rolling, and when he saw the gonz - His first time - Met him wearing his "brain washed" shirt...
Either way, thats why we do what we do, its the enjoyment. Great story, thanks for this blog and sharing everything, it really makes my day.
Hey Max, rad story for sure! Funny about the high school comment to!
See ya around town,
-Steven M.
wow, you're really lucky, I don't think I'll ever have a chance to meet Natas.
Another Great Story as Always!
That's DEEP!
Yeah MAX!!! Great story. Keep em coming. To this day Natas is still one of my favorites.
dude, i was at that skate camp. grew up down the street. what year? maybe 87 88? i can't remember...
Every element of those stories are great on every level! Bike/skate/dog life.
I was 6 when my first dog cookie died I cried for a week - I learned about manhood watching the dogs, wine them dine them K9 them, ya heard ...
awesome story.
Best Sunday morning read ever.
Thanks for sharing!
Max, I'm not a skater but after reading your story i think I understand what it's all about.
Re Natas' story, a kinda similar thing happened to me. I'd taken a ride down to Venice on the Yam with a highschool GF. We stayed at her mom's little shack near the beach & next morning i noticed something peaking out of the sand in the backyard. A harness buckle, probably pre WW1, but certainly as old as Nata's message in a bottle. I've worn that harness buckle as a belt buckle ever since. 40 years ago, this May. There's a lot of history in those SoCal sands!
Got inspired to take a pic of it, i'll send to you.
fantastic
SO COOL! Natas was the best. I must admit to having a pair of Etnies spray painted just like his!!! So lame but he WAS THE MAN !Keep on hittin us with your old tales Max
Definetly a childhood hero. Glad to hear someone that you always thought was a bad ass and cool cat, turns out to be one. Kudos Max, great story.
I remember in 4th grade when natas and gonz came and signed my shirt at Rick's Surf City in CT. There was no surf here, and Rick was an asshole. Then he came on the Cadillac tour and I saw Mic-E try to pick up chicks at the Xpect Discounts parking lot across the street.
Diggin the long-winded stuff... thanks fer sharin the story homes. Larry from PA
Damn Max, sick story for sure.
That demo the Real team in 2005 during Go Skateboarding day in Toronto was still one of the favorites for me. Got to meet you, Jasin, Ern, Chima, Ramondetta, Dompierre and Bravo.
Actually, I got a story of my own. Two days before that demo, I took a trip to Toronto to skate by myself on a sunday I believe. I was winding down at CBC, and all of a sudden Bravo, Dompierre and Ramondetta show up. That was really crazy, and we all just skated the ledges at the CBC broadcasting plaza for a bit.
I said what's up to Ramondetta cause he had a sick interview in Thrasher at the time (the one with the Neckface art on the cover) and he was really stoked that I mentioned it. Then, this douchebag of a security guard gave us all the boot, which was weird because that spot you usually never get the boot from. I said that to Peter and he said "Figures..."
So, that's my story for ya.
so how's it feel to be ahero yourself Max? cuz you are too ya know, so how's bout givin me one of ya 4Q Vans? i'm a size 8 hehehehe...great story btw, Natas Kaupas will always be on every sk8ers lips!
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