Peace

Kent Senatore

They say, “You can never go back”, it’s a lie. Yes you can. They also say, “Things change, but they stay the same”… some might argue, others would agree, but does any of what “They” say even matter? No, of course not, what matters is that we keep on going, happy or sad, right or wrong… no matter what they say we keep on going, because we simply have no other choice.

Tony Alva has kept on going through the thick and thin and so have BB, Deano, William, Lance, Rick, Ozzie, and I. We’ve kept on going because it’s all we know, because it’s how we identify ourselves, and how we challenge ourselves.

I’m grateful we had this chance to skate together, even though it felt odd to me, like some sort of surreal replay of a battle we’d fought decades ago, a battle of egos. I can tell you, from my perspective, nothing has changed. Tony still sat us all down, just like he always has. He remains the king! BB? Still as photogenic as ever! Deano, just hot man, sooo hot! Lance, nursing a recent injury, sat on the sideline hungry to join in, he lightened the mood with an occasional humorous tension breaker like only he can! Rick and Ozzie pushed us all with their own mastery of the coping, and William –as always –caught every instant perfectly… it was dreamlike. A day such as this had certainly never happened before, and it will probably never happen again. It was that kind of day. Thanks to all!

Kent Senatore, Deano Mueller, William Sharp, Tony Alva, Brad Bowman and perfect photobomb by Lance Mountain

William Sharp

Back in the late seventies, I was shooting for a magazine and was able to photograph a lot of rad skaters, like Tony Alva, Kent Senatore, Brad Bowman,and Deano Mueller, to name a few. We were all young and full of life back then, cocky in a youthful kinda way. Good times. I didn’t really know how good I had it back then. But I knew I dug it and was going to enjoy it as long as I could. Jump ahead, thirty-five plus years and here we are again, in a backyard pool, stoking to session like the old days. We had a great time reminiscing about past pools, stoked that we were all together again and pumped that everybody was still skating great and making new memories. Good times all over again.

Rick, Lance, Kent, TA, BB, Deano, Me

Rick Stine

Deano Mueller

It was amazing to see all of my old friends in one special pool. After many years, seeing Mr Bill Sharp again was great as well. It was amazing to see Tony, Kent, Lance, Rick, BB and Ozzie. There was so much style in the pool at once. The last time I was in the pool with some of these guys was at the Dogbowl Pro at Marina Skatepark competing with them. It was a professional contest and it was gnarly and heavy. You definitely left what you got in the pool. These dudes are the best in the world! I much prefer this time around. Hanging out, sessions in the backyard, truly doing and sharing what we love to do. I have an enormous amount of respect for each and every one, who brought their goods to the table and especially Mr. Tony Alva, Brad Bowman & Kent Senatore, for leading the way with their own style, grace and wisdom through out all the early years. Also, I must mention the wonderful Mr. Bill Sharp on how his amazing work, style and everlasting brotherhood has kept us all together in a way like no other.

“Much Love to All my Brothers in Arms “

Brad Bowman

Wednesday night text. Heads up! Dry and sunny tomorrow, skate session is on!

Thursday morning I woke up a bit unnerved from a text the previous night about

something/someone at work. I had no memory of it and, although it was nothing in the

end, I still was unnerved. Mostly because I had wracked my brain the whole night trying

to find the nucleus of the emotional unnerving but could not come up with it. Did I say

words that I actually have no recollection of? If so- life is getting scary now. Was I

entering the phases of temporary amnesia? Or worse- Ronald Reagans Alzheimers?

Age is a big factor in the science of memory, they say. Them. Those people that we all

designate yet never identify other than “them”. Whatever. I’m choosing Life, and skateboarding brings me life.

All I knew is that I needed a skate session to neutralize all of it. One that was comfortable and appreciated. An empty backyard pool. These are always appreciated and generally don’t take too long to become comfortable in, with the help of your crew. Uplifting comments, one liners and an occasional outburst are enough to make one feel the sense of belonging in these situations. And belonging means that your soul and mind are open and free to excel at whatever artistic expression one desires.

Positivity always carries weight, especially with comrades from decades past whom are still six feet above ground. In this age of instant globalization where one photo can be on seven continents and in millions of personal devices in the blink of an eye, its the personal things that still matter most. Face to face meetings, story sharing and raw energy bouncing off of each other. Always there is a nucleus, one thing that brings all the elements together. Today it was one Ozzie Ausband. A nucleus that many want to be near these days for his knowledge of perfect cement holes in the ground we call play places. An east coast man with a long life story of adventure, destruction, reassessment, reinvention, contentment and love. He put together a skateboard session for the ages with a crew that hadn’t been assembled for possibly thirty years.

It was a sunny, fast, hard session that will stay burned in my memory for, hopefully, the remainder of my time vertical here on the rock.Thank you Rick Stine, Ozzie Ausband, William Sharp, Tony Alva, Kent Senatore, Lance Mountain, Deano Mueller & Rose for making it a fantastic afternoon. And in the future- if you see a skinny balding pre-senior caucasian wondering around aimlessly, point him towards Hollywood and send him along his way. Muchas gracias.

Tony Alva

Tony Alva Who would have thought, that all my West side boys would be either gone or just over the idea of skating a good pool. I still love it. Especially after surfing Zuma in the morning. Back in my youth, we never associated amicably with the dudes from the valley. My how times and brotherly love have changed that type of thinking. We had an awesome time ripping during this session. No attitudes, all fun. I'm stoked on my old school posse' that is still riding pools. When in the Val, do as the Valleys do. Shut up and skate. For your information, I was outnumbered four to one. Wisdom, tolerance and peace prevails. Thank you to William Sharp for the images and words. Thank you to Kent Senatore, Deano Mueller, Tony Alva, Rick Stine, Brad Bowman, Lance Mountain for helping out, being there and being who they are. I am grateful. Skate- Ozzie