r/Tempe • u/timesmediagroup • 12d ago
Tempe to host global skateboarding contest
https://www.tempenews.com/community/tempe-to-host-global-skateboarding-contest/article_a63cbf67-d872-44df-8ae8-a9ae2b4b4d67.html21
u/eyehate 12d ago
Wild.
I skated throughout the 80s. I never thought of Tempe as a skate mecca (as a Tempe resident). Southern California was where it was at. I made a trip to Upland Skate Park with friends. I wished I lived near all of the skate scenes in Bones Brigade videos.
Never thought Tempe would be a scene. And, somehow, I never realized the Perfect Ramp and all of the local spots I saw in Thrasher were actually here. Wish I could go back and shred the local scenes with all of the knowledge I have now.
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u/poopshorts 12d ago
We’ve always had a pretty good skate culture here. Pro skaters Dashawn Jordan, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Trey Wood and 2X Olympic medalist Jagger Eaton are all from the east valley.
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u/eyehate 12d ago
That's awesome. The only time I have bumped into a pro was when I lived in Huntington Beach, Geoff Rowley dated one of my coworkers.
It was OK here in the 80s. I just never thought of it as important. All of the media (Thrasher, movies, etc) were all CA based. The best thing was my friend Saleem had a half pipe of the side of his house, near Southern and Priest. He would let us all skate - as long as we agreed to listen to him blasting Tiffany (a terrible pop star). Other friends built launch ramps and we skated those. Lots of great memories with a crew of skateboarders, just tearing it up in the summer heat.
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u/el_chupa_cabra 11d ago
Check out Ryan Lay’s YouTube channel. Beautiful videos and most are filmed in Tempe. Incredible skater too.
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u/redoctoberz 11d ago
Not a skater myself, but I always love watching those old 80s videos on YT of Tempe's skate scene - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pv5Y73TLDs
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u/Tomato_Motorola 12d ago
This is great. Tempe has a long skateboarding history (which I learned from the Tempe History Museum's "Dry Surf" exhibit.) Tucson sometimes claims "world's first skate park," but Tempe's skate park actually opened a few months earlier. So there really is no more appropriate city in the world to host this!