La Costa: “ultimate skate scene”

Which photographers provided you with inspiration in the early days?

“There weren’t too many skate photographers around when I first started. Warren Bolster and Craig Stecyk were the best at the time and who inspired me the most in the beginning.”

What memories do you have of the infamous La Costa scene from back then?

“It was the ultimate skate scene and Mecca for skateboarders. It brought every skater together and was the place to be on weekends for many years until they started building skateparks. Many life-long friendships were started there, and it gave everyone a chance to meet and compete with virtually every other Southern California skater. There’s never been anything even close to it since then.”

 How did you get noticed as a photographer?

“All my early skate buddies were stoking on my photos, even though I wasn’t very good and only shooting for fun. The first serious recognition of my skate photos didn’t happen until I started skating and shooting at La Costa since Warren Bolster used to hang out there and shoot photos. I was showing my photos to some skaters one day when Warren walked over and asked to see them. A few months later I got my first photo in Skateboarder Magazine, and several months after that they hired me as a staff photographer.”

[Inset: Goodrich at Upland, July 77 | Opposite: Steve Sherman, La Costa, 1977]