Stop-n-Go

Origins

Stop-n-Go pool. Riverside. It was found in the late 1970’s or early 1980. The local Ripperside crew emptied it out and proceeded to tear it apart at every opportunity. Mike Coco was one of these and Tim Trudell was another. Rippers! The pool was a swimmer for many years but there would be little sessions from time to time. Over the decades, it was watched over like a treasured family keepsake. Others would ride its smooth round walls and lady-finger coping.

In recent years, Riverside Ed worked at getting the pool going as a permission. It had transferred ownership numerous times. Ed told me that he and Kevin were driving around one day & saw the slide. It was around 1983. They saw that it was an empty house so they drained and skated it then and there. They told Tim Trudell and Mike Coco about it shortly after. These four guys had the pool to themselves for quite some time. The Stop-n-Go pool was named after a local mini mart nearby. Stealth. Secrecy. You might find the Stop-n-Go mart and buy a couple bags of Skittles and a Coca Cola, but you weren’t going to find the pool! Over the years, it was lost to them. It became a swimmer. New owners. Families. They kept sharp eyes on it. Drive by. Recon.

Fast Forward

Recently, Alex Perelson called me. He wanted to skate some backyards and we set up a session day. Stafford, Hewitt and Al came along with Fick. They brought Dan Drehobl who I hadn’t seen since Woodward in the early 1990’s. It was ultra-hot. Over 100 degrees. We baked. Everyone tried to get something going but the suns glare cut us to the bone. Within an hour, everyone was gasping and the water supplies were gone. We managed to obtain a few photographs and everyone did have a good time. I told the crew the history of the pool and that I had images of Mike Coco ripping it in the early 1980’s. Everyone just shook their heads… amazed. The longevity of the place and its history were over shadowed by the pounding the sun had given us.

We rode for a bit longer and everyone tried to rally. Alex drove to a nearby store and grabbed water for everyone. This brought relief and a few more things went down but for the most part, the brutal life draining sun took everything that we had. It was time to end the day. Food. Water. Rest.

Thanks to the crew for coming out and Riverside Ed for keeping the pool going. Thanks to Ripperside Shawn for the session and thanks to Brian Fick for the images. Thank you to Mike Coco for being so rad! You rule dude… Skate- Ozzie