Back in the day, I was one of the RN's in the Emergency Rooms, these skaters would occasionally land in. They were not treated well, and some of it was brought on by their asocial personalities- but we all knew they were a talented bunch of "wonderkids" even then. They deserved better care than they received, I'm afraid. They had "attitude" in spades.
I'm so glad I caught this documentary on IFC tonight- it will be on again at 1 am and I'll be watching again!
Little attention was given to them until the rich dying kid was able to talk his parents into draining the pool- and the film really highlights that as the taking off point....it was an amazing time, and deserved to be recorded. Stacy Peralta is due all the praise heaped on him, and long may those Z-Boys enjoy their memories and contribution to the real sport of skateboarding. As for the few "sour grape" reviews contained herein, there always were and there always will be "wannabees" and hangers-on who never do more than dream...the Z-boys lived it, breathed it, were it.
Nice to see the vintage films and even the lone girl, "Peggy" who was so talked about as being the only female to win their respect.
Thanks to IFC I get to really take the occasional drug-free head trip of my youth and relive the heart pounding excitement again.
