In the fall of 1999, Tony Alva phoned & asked me to meet with him, as he had something that he wanted to talk to me about. It was important. I drove to Oceanside that night & we went out to get some Sushi. TA told me that Stacy was going to make a Dogtown documentary. They had started working on it already. It was pretty hush-hush at that point. TA knew that I was always out searching for pools. He had been riding them with me for awhile.

A few days later, TA & I drove up to Los Angeles & met up with Stacy Peralta & Craig Stecyk. I must admit that I was tripping when I met Stecyk. Here was this man who had helped forge my identity in so many ways. His Dogtown articles were of paramount importance & made me want to be a writer. These men were a huge influence. Stacy stated that they wanted to get a few pools going for the documentary. They wanted pools for some current footage of TA riding & as an interview location. TA told him that I was their man. I nodded in agreement. In the following months, the time I spent with them was epic.We found a few good pools in Beverly Hills & several in the hillside neighborhoods of Los Angeles. We also had one permission pool in Simi Valley. TA was interviewed in the shallow end of that Simi Valley capsule pool.  It seemed as if my life had come full circle. My own contributions were minimal–I think–but to be a part of that process & subsequent success will always remain as a highlight in my life. Full circle. I was just a poor, broken kid from PA, who had looked up to the Z-boys. Amid the shadowed woodlands & unending cornfields of Pennsylvania, I skated alone– frequently– & emulated them. Now, thirty years later, I had a small part in helping  tell their story to the world. I consider it an honor.

Stacy was such a nice man & a wealth of skateboard knowledge. Whenever we were driving somewhere or eating, I would sit quietly (rare) off to one side, listening. I love skateboard history. He had more than a few stories & I was delighted. I admire Stacy for his contribution, style & talent. He was always a great skater and Salba told me that Stacy was one of the first riders to pull FS lipslides. He did it back in the 1970s! Stacy Peralta will always be regarded as an iconic figure among our people. He has created a body of work that will stand the test of time. His career, company, videos, & subsequent films continue to inspire generations everywhere.He is currently extremely busy with his next project & told me that he has “….been on the road jobbing it..” The Bones Brigade documentary is in the works. If it’s anything like his last projects, we are in for an awesome treat.Thanks Stacy. Thank you to Glen E. Friedman, J.Grant Brittain & Jim Goodrich for the images. Skate- Ozzie