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El Skate Schlap |
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Skateboarding San Francisco
Just recently I got the crazy idea to go skate San Francisco, more specifically the emb (embarcadero). So I decided to hop in my car, with a few friends and go there. The drive there was unbearable. I couldn’t wait to hit all those nice ledges, manual pads, and sweet rails. I was first inspired to skate San Fran by all those 90’s skate videos. They all showed the spot as skater heaven. This spot had become so popular that Thrasher: Skate and Destroy designed a level after it. Upon entering the city I got a pure rush of adrenaline. When I arrived at the spot I quickly hopped on my board and rushed to the first ledge I saw. The wind in my hair, blood pumping, I braced myself for the trick. Just as I got ready to jump onto it I noticed this metal bar blocking the edge of it and I suddenly reverted, and stopped… As I began looking around I was completely bummed to see that the spot had been completely shut down by anti-skateboarding devices. Making the spot and no-fly zone for skaters.
The loss of this skate spot was a crushing blow, not only to me, but to the skate community. Thrashers from all over the world used to come to experience the skateboarding dream, but now it seemed that the dream was almost crushed. What made this worse, was that these devices were not only being used at the emb but also at many other skate spots, making them virtually useless. Down the street from the emb was an example of this, Pier 7. These oppressive devices had reduced the spot to a couple of manny pads and a 2 step. I simply couldn’t believe that the skateboarding mecca had banned skating. To me this was like placing stone walls on a parking lot to stop kids from playing football or soccer. At this point it seemed all hope was lost.
The Brightside
Everyone knows that a skater without a spot is like Mickey D’s without happy meals. Knowing this I set off to find out what new spot skaters called their own. Luckily, for me I didn’t need to look far. Just down the road I found a group of skaters hitting up a spot known as Third and Army. Serving as a substitute for the emb, this place had been home to countless demos and contests for the past decade or so. This new spot consisted mainly of ledges, steps, and gaps. The sickest of these had to be the infamous rock gap. This gap had first been hit by Mark Gonzales, whose onlookers at the time dubbed the trick the Gonzollie.
If you prefer the less known skate spots of San Francisco you could go to Mc Ateer High School. It’s a spot yet to be fully discovered by the skate community, which means the pigs will give you little heat here. It’s got long square ledges and nice rails that are just waiting to be caked with wax.
For those of you who are really crazy and determined you can choose to try and make all of San Francisco your very own personal skate spot. Bomb down every hill, hit every pedestrian that yells at you for skating, and most importantly hit every rail, gap, or stair set not yet closed off. John Cardiel showed us just how to do this with infamous union square rail 50-50. Like a pimp to an incredibly large hoe, John Cardiel completely owns this golden rail of death.
So at the end of the day I guess San Francisco can still be called the skate mecca… only not for its traditional and overcrowded spots, but for the endless amounts of spots that have yet to be discovered.
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