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11-30-2005, 3:37 PM admin Joined on 11-25-2005 Posts 12 What's your Story? Post Stories, Experiences, History, Thoughts, Views or what ever is on your mind.    Report

11-30-2005, 3:45 PM Flood~Kontroller Joined on 11-25-2005 SoCal - Flower Street Posts 268 Re: What's your Story Here is my story... Born in Los Angeles, California 1964. I received my first skateboard in 1968 and rode the steel wheel slider in the back of a grocery store (Fab) double banked loading dock. It was a huge ditch type dock that I would ride up and down like a ditch. Plus there was a bank in front of an A&W restaurant in that same parking lot... From that moment, I knew it was on! By the early 1970’s I received my first clay wheel skateboard… the Indy 500. It was a little longer than a Black Knight and easier to ride then the steel wheel contraption from the years before. After those wheels crumbled I got a Caliente 500 smooth plastic deck with ball bearing Cadillac urethane wheels. By the following Christmas I was honored with a blue fiberglass Hobie Competition deck. All pre-grip tape days, including a flame plexi deck that broke instantly with Stoker wheels and this aluminum plank thing that flexed like a trampoline (Banzai)? But by the mid-70’s, with the hype of Skateboarder Magazine and the Dogtown boys, I was able to talk my parents into a G&S type wood deck, Tracker Trucks and OJ purejuice wheels, that were replaced with Powerflex 5’s. By this time I was riding home made ramps, ditches and any bank I could find around town. As Skateparks started popping up all over California, I worked and skated at Pivot Point in Riverside around 1977-78. (it just so happend to be built across the street from the Fab & A&W I rode at 9 years prior) I also tried to get into Skatetopia once, but had a waiver release issue so we sessioned a ditch on the way home. In the summer of 1979 I moved to La Mirada and lived 5 blocks away from SkateCity. This was my new home!!! I would hang out there with my friend Bobby Kaiser every day after school and on weekends. I bought a burgundy Madrid pig deck from this guy that had hundreds of them in his garage. We also sessioned this cool bowl from a closed down Miniature golf course on Imperial Hwy, Bobby's huge quarter pipe ramp and a local ditch. Then in 1981 I moved to the Riverside Sunnymead area. I got involved with the Wheels West Skateboard team and would do demo’s on their portable half pipe ramp. I also started riding my favorite Riverside ditch again and became a local at the Ranch Skatepark in Colton. After watching Eddie “El Gato” Elguera rip that park apart I bought his signature deck and wished some of his talent would rub off on me. After the Colton Ranch closed we would still jump the fence and session that place until the bulldozers arrived. Then we would bounce from bowl to bowl until the last piece of concrete was taken away. I graduated High School in 1982 and moved to Long Beach in ‘84. Fortunately the Paramount skate shop was still open. I bought my Uncle Wiggley argyle deck from there and was ready to find some new spots. I hit the ditches of Twin/Two banks, Kiddy banks, Lakewood Bank, bank and Hayte Street alley bank (Pre-Bones Public Domain video) Just about this same time, my High School friend Eric Gudice moved to Lakewood. He then took me to this ditch by his childhood home on Flower Street. This was it!!! I fell in love with this place. It was a ditch skatepark paradise. Different trannys, a launch and hip to pull off almost any trick you could possibly think of. I ended up sessioning this place through the 80’s, got married in 1990, still rode around Long Beach hitting mini-ramps, banks and ditches until I moved to South Orange County in 1994. Lost my skateboard at a club, Had two kids, got wrapped up in family life and didn’t buy another stick until 2000ish. I purchased a Santa Cruz 8.5 popsicle powerply with Indy’s and those little hard wheels. I probably would have been better off on the Indy 500. I couldn’t get used to it. But after several different set up’s. I decided to have a custom deck made for me. so I released the Flood Kontrol “Ditch Stick” it is 9.25 X 33 wb16. I currently ride this deck with an Indy 169 in front / Tracker Sixtrack in back and Rainskates wheels. Now I session some of the new skateparks but prefer the challenge and uniqueness of the underground ditch scene. Due to the lack of information on this movement, I decided to dedicate a website to all you Flood Kontrol riders out there and hopefully unite us all together with the forum. Plus photos from the coolest spots and eventually ditch events. I hope this help’s you all understand where I came from and inspire you to share some of your skateboarding experiences and history with us. Thank you, -Randy (Flood~Kontroller) Pivot Point Skatepark 1978 - Riverside CA    Report

12-07-2005, 11:03 PM ABDDAVE Joined on 12-08-2005 Posts 1 Re: What's your Story? My story is this.... Stuck in the I.E. (714 back then) met a punk named Randy and skated all over the place. We were the last to skate the ranch , remember ???Listend to too much good music and didn't skate enough, but the memories last forever. Thanks for those times and keep up the good work with this killer site !   Dave Anderson    Report

12-09-2005, 8:05 AM jck Joined on 11-28-2005 Houston TX Posts 9 Re: What's your Story? I enjoy riding a wooden toy with wheels. End of Story.    Report

01-02-2006, 11:59 AM pflocal Joined on 01-02-2006 Third Coast Posts 29 Re: What's your Story Thanks for setting up this site. I'm 42 and have lived in and around Austin most all my life. I learned the joy of skating ditches around 1983 at the Pflugerville ditch. My goal was to be able to flow around the Pville ditch for as long as I had the energy to do so. Once I attained my goal I really never progressed much as a skater; never got into ramps or pools much, &c. With the demise of the Pflugerville ditch I pretty much stop skating until about 3 years ago. To this day if I'm out at a ditch by myself I'll just carve and pump as long as I can, I really only do tricks/moves when skating with others and only so that I don't completely bore them out of their minds watching me roll around. I love the idea of skating 'found' terrain like ditches; making use of something that was never intended for the purpose we are putting it to. I like my ditches workable, that I can carve and pump for as long as the legs will last. Being able to move around a piece of wood with wheels attached, using only my own energy and a little help from gravity, really appeals to me. Carving a nice long wall is prolly the closest I will ever get to actually surfing. These days I hit most of the surfy type ditches around Austin with the Lil Surfer being my favorite and the closest thing I have found to the workability and vibe of Pflugerville, have expanded my horizons a bit to include longboards and parking garages, and just recently started to get my wiggle on with a bit of slalom action. After riding motorcycles for a few years and buying parts for them, skateboards seem so inexpensive. A complete deck is cheaper than most any part that is on my Ducati, so my quiver is up to about 9 boards and that is mainly limited by the chagrin of my wife. For flood control work I am mainly riding a Big Red X Ditch Digger with NoSkoolz and Trackers. I also have a 38" PPS Hammerhead (basically a stretched out Hosoi reissue) and a BDS Shogo Kubo. I'm suprised at how big a boards I ride now and the softness of the wheels. Back in the day the Schmitt Stix Yardstick seemed like such a big board, suitable only for cruising or garages, and now 36" is the length of  my primary stick. I don't think many wheels were even available under 85a, and now I regularly ride 78a's and am rarely found on anything harder than 81a. For garages and such I ride anything from a 10th Anniversary Pro 41 Flexdex, G&S Fibreflex Pintail on up to a 60" Flexdex. I've been showing my two groms the fun of rolling on concrete and really enjoy getting out with them. I look forward to hanging out with you fellow ditch lovers and thanks again for a site/forum like this. Pflugerville Dreaming... Trix are for kids    Report

01-18-2006, 3:36 PM Zenklee Joined on 01-19-2006 Posts 1 Re: What's your Story Great site! Let me know if this is posted in the wrong spot and I'll correct it. I grew up on the east side of Long Beach (right on the Orange County line), and our house was right up against the Los Coyotes ditch (a big, trapezoidal ditch with a smaller trapezoidal ditch in the bottom for "low flow" water).  Because of the water in the middle (even in the depths of summer) you really could only ride one wall at a time.  Although I began skating on steel wheels (eventually progressing to clay wheels), I never really skated ditches until urethane wheels arrived.  The Los Coyotes channel was where I first learned berts and many other old school trucks.  I can still feel my roughed up hands from any contact with the cheese-grater-like concrete finish.  I eventually reached the point where I could drop in from the top of the ditch (and it's a big ditch - 20-25' tall, 45 degree banks, and virtually no transition to the flat).  I also hit many other sites in the area, the Euclid "V", Flower Street, the ditch across from the La Mirada drive-in theater (where I was once cited - by a CHP officer), Lampson, etc.  It's great seeing pics of some of these spots on this site.  Although I moved on to skateparks (Concrete Wave, Skatopia, Lakewood, Whittier Skate City, Marina Del Rey, Upland, etc.), ditches continued to be fun (and free). Although I never really stopped skating, it did slow down quite a bit for me in the late 80's to late 90's.  I always owned some skateboards.  The re-birth of skateparks got me buying new decks and equipment again.  I now live in Santa Maria, CA.  I've become a big fan of Bulldog Skateboards.  I now own 3 with 2 more on the way.  The 2 new ones (36" "Long Pig" and 44" "Super Pig") will be primarily for ditch riding.  I'm also eyeing one of those Pocket Pistols Ditch Killer decks.  I like big decks (never got into the "popsicle stick" scene - they feel little and squirrely to me).  I generally do most of my skating in skateparks now (primarily Solvang and Los Osos, occasionally Etnies), but still hit ditches on occasion.  I've also skated La Pipa Grande (24' full pipe).  Someday, I hope to make a pilgrammage to Albuquerque to hit its amazing variety of fast ditches.  Looks super fun! Thanks for the great site, and I look forward to joining like-minded skaters here.     Report

01-29-2006, 9:14 PM Radar Joined on 01-15-2006 Spring,Texas Posts 6 Re: What's your Story This site is way cool. I hope more poeple find out about it and get somemore ditches dug up for us! I was born in Houston, Texas Jan of 1974. I grew up in Spring where I found my addiction to skateboards in about 5th or 6th grade. The first time I saw Bones Brigade 2 was what really lit my fire.My first board was a Veriflex (caught more heat for that than you could imagine). Me being in Texas I ended up with a Zorlac shrunken head model as my first "real board". Me and the guys I grew up with built numerous jump ramps and grind rails that helped keep us going til one of us was old enough to drive. Then we hit all the ditches in our area, even the famed EZ7 ditch was hit once a month. We also rode the Vagabond pool in I-45 north on an occasional trip to surf Galveston. Where I spent most of my time was at the Skatepark of Houston. Almost everyday after school and every weekend I was there riding the street courses and mini ramps til I destroyed my knee when I was about 16. I had surgery and it didn't do awhole lot of good for it, I actually think it made it worse in some ways.(I also broke an arm when I was in 6th grade skating) I half assed healed up and I was riding again til I was about 21 and I had to quit due to knee pain and working alot. I always wanted to get back into it but work and building trucks kept me busy and all of the people I skated with went seperate ways due to school or getting married etc. I have a little cousin who has been into skating for about 10 years hisself and he's talked me back into riding again and it has been a friggin blast so far. I went and bought another Zorlac board and I'm back in the ditches! I wish I wouldn't have wasted all that time but I guess I figured if I can't ride like I used to it wasn't worth me doing anymore. Man was I a dumbass. I'm married now with a son and I can only hope he gets interested in something like skating that he will have the same friendship and comraderie (did I spell that right?) that I have felt. Hell, I went to a new ditch in the area and some 16 year old kids thought I was there to run them off til I told them I was there to skate, then they were cool as hell and talked my ear off and we just met! I miss it. I'm not leaving again. I still have all of my old boards at my parent house. I didn't realize how many I had! Looking forward to trading ditches/pools as I find em. Todd in Houston.    Report

01-30-2006, 8:29 AM Flood~Kontroller Joined on 11-25-2005 SoCal - Flower Street Posts 268 Re: What's your Story Todd, Thanks for sharing. Great story. We are glad to have you on board. Although there was nothing wrong with the "original" Variflex products. What deck did you have?  I rode the Eddie "El Gato" Elguera deck and loved it. I am currently looking to purchase the El Gato & Gresham deck. I was also a local at the Ranch Skatepark in Colton with all the Variflex team.  Not only were they the top team... They were & are some of the coolest skaters you will ever meet. They got slack because they progressed the sport and left all the 70's & early 80's riders behind. Anyways, enough of my rant. Thanks for posting & we would like to see pics. Here is one of me at the Variflex Ranch skatepark with my Variflex El Gato deck, Variflex trucks & wearing a Variflex shirt.            Report

01-30-2006, 11:16 PM Radar Joined on 01-15-2006 Spring,Texas Posts 6 Re: What's your Story Thanks for having me. A really cool site! The Veriflex I had was one from Wal Mart, or the equillivant back in the 80's. Knowing my folks they got it at Sears! lol. It didn't hold up to much abuse. It sure as heck served it's purpose. I went thru so many boards thru the years and as I said in my last post, I thankfully kept all of them, broken and unbroken. That's a great pic! I need to dig out some of my old pics and post them on here.        Report

03-22-2006, 4:59 PM dan c Joined on 12-07-2005 Posts 10 Re: What's your Story My name is Dan Colburn. Born  1966 A friend let me check out his board with new urethane wheels 74-75 and I was hooked. Had (still have most) all Skateboarder mags except the first 2-3. Skated Carlsbad (first skatepark) in 1976 on loose ball bearings and had never worn shoes while skating. Lived in Anaheim down the street from the Hirsch brothers (Variflex team) and went to High school with them. Concrete Wave was built in Anaheim and skated that but mostly street, ramps, ditch's (flower street, sadlands). By 1980 was skating Big O in Orange and got on the team at the very end of the skatepark era. I had started playing guitar by then, and the punk scene was happening. With skateboarding all but dead and everyone quitting, I spent the next 15 years partying, chasing chicks and playing music. I have been in a lot of bands, the most notorious being The Adolescents, DI, Rikk Agnew,Mind over Four and Tender Fury (w/ Jack from TSOL). Toured the US a few times and Europe twice. Skated occasionally on these tours but my drive to get stoned overpowered my urge to skate back then. Broke both arms skating in Switzerland. (good story but long). Finally got married in 1999, started skating again in 2000. These last few years have been the best !!! I once again live near my old friend Mike Hirsch and enjoy skating with him as often as I can. Dan C    Report

03-23-2006, 12:55 PM dan c Joined on 12-07-2005 Posts 10 Re: What's your Story I had forgotten about a time I skated Flower street with Ron Emory of TSOL. Ron had befriended my high school buddy. He came and picked us up and we skated there. There was nowhere else to skate back then 83?. I was a star struck little poseur. Dan C    Report

03-23-2006, 1:14 PM Flood~Kontroller Joined on 11-25-2005 SoCal - Flower Street Posts 268 Re: What's your Story Kool story,  Damn, you are a lucky guy. Flower Street was definately the best skate park-ish ditch in the mid to late 80's & probably the best ditch ever in SoCal. Although my years of FS were from 84 through 87. I'd like to see pix of the very bottom part. It was mellower... but still fun. When were you in DI? I have pix of a couple Galaxy shows & We played with them at the Dungeon / Santa Ana in '83.      Report

03-23-2006, 10:24 PM dan c Joined on 12-07-2005 Posts 10 Re: What's your Story I joined The Adolescents in 86. Joined DI in 1990 for their first European tour. Skated Big O in 81 with Duane Peters, Mike Weed (my hero), Steve Olson, Neil Blender, Steve Hirsch, Bob Serafin , Ricky Tanner, Mike Hirsch, Jack Houghey. I remember Steve Olson showing up in a women's V neck sweater and punk gear and not understanding that his look was part of punk culture. This might have been 79-80. Skating and punk were truly intertwined at that point. I had never seen punk up close before. It was truly a " changing of the guard". Good memories.   Dan C  p.s. I had been to shows at the Galaxy and Dungeon. Also Cukoos Nest and Ritz (in Riverside), and others.    Report

03-24-2006, 9:08 AM Flood~Kontroller Joined on 11-25-2005 SoCal - Flower Street Posts 268 Re: What's your Story We may have already gone over this but... Were you in the Adolescents when they played Fenders Ballroom in Long Beach? I was at that gig. My band played the Cukoos Nest & I was at almost every gig at the Ritz & the "real" Galaxy in Fullerton 1980 to 1984-5ish. About the time Fenders closed (late 80's) I felt punk died & finding skate spots got harder. I only hit Big-O once after it closed, jumped the fence and rode the 3/4 pipe. Dude, you were in some great bands... Adolescents - Blue Album & Welcome to Reality - Classic must have's. DI - Richard Hung Himself (killer) Rikk Agnew - 714 Imbedded in your Brain... that is good stuff!!!      Report

04-10-2006, 7:20 PM walktogether Joined on 04-06-2006 Posts 24 Re: What's your Story ...    Report

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