Ozzie Ausband

California Free Former contest - 1977

Free Former World Championships Skate event program with rider names Dennis Martinez -'Vert Wall' Ellen Berryman Long Beach Arena Stacy Peralta I am posting this tonight, as I won't be able to do so in the morning. I am such a ‘skate history’ dork! Recently, I went to San Diego & was visiting Jim Goodrich. We were going through his old slides & photo-albums. I noticed a few slides from the California Free Former 1977 contest held in Long Beach that year. He also had a ‘program’ & the ‘rider listing format’ in his possession. Just look at the names on that list…amazing! Tony Alva, Bob Mohr, Ty Page, Bruce Logan, Paul Hoffman & Robin Logan, just to name a few. I quickly asked if I could photograph the priceless items & received the ‘go ahead’. Jim told me that the ‘vert wall’ you see in the Dennis Martinez image was gnarly. The contest organizers were giving a hundred bucks to any rider that reached the topmost letters that say ‘professional’. I think they kept their 100 $. People came close…I suppose contests & all have changed. That is a good thing. I love progression. Bruce Lee stated that “Change is the changeless state.” I’m not quite sure what he meant by that, but it sounds cool…and Bruce Lee said it, so it has to be meaningful. Anyway, I know these are not pool images, but they are a super reminder of where we all came from. Thank you to Jim Goodrich for being so gracious with us all. You rule Jim! Skate-Ozzie