I'm 52 and an Upland local. Skated the OG Pipeline and others when I was younger. Steve and Mickey were our local legends though and I've actually skated with Steve a few times in my older years at the "new" Upland skatepark. Of course, I've skated Baldy and many other unnamed spots in our area. I started skating when I was 12 yrs old. One of my first "pro" boards was the first Roskopp. I had a couple Gemco boards before then, graduated to a Veriflex, then got my first board with Tracker trucks, Bones wheels and thought I hit the lottery on Xmas. That day changed my life and I switched from a BMX kid to a skater. Some of my friends hated me, but I didn't care, I created a whole new group of friends that created memories for life.
Salba makes me smile man. Same age. Same memories. Only he actually did it all and I mostly dreamed of it all. It is what it is, but I love hearing his stories. You can tell he's a genuine dude and as real as they come.
Me too. I was never very good but was a local at Boulders Hi Roller and used to get a chance to see the pro’s every year during the Hester series or Gold cup.
I found it very enlightening that Salba talked about how Stan Hoffman instilled in them a good work ethic of cleaning the park before they could skate for free. I remember meeting Salba at a Warp tour in St. Louis during the the 90's. While the younger skater from the demo would go off and watch the bands Salba would stay behind and work, keeping the area clean. That left a good impression on me that day. He also signed the tattered Upland Pipeline shirt that day too.
Goddamn forty years later I still look up to these boyz.. and I agree I can listen to Steve for hours, AND he still has chops on that guitfiddle.. let's start a new band Steve, I'll drum! 🤣
It's 2 in the morning, I glanced at UA-cam, saw this, clicked IMMEDIATELY, and right now my wife sounds like a Charlie Brown teacher. Salba... what could I possibly say? I'll say this: listen to @Hunter Davis and get a weekly Salba show going like now! Did anyone see that zoom thing he did with his OGs? the guys who found Baldy and taught him to skate Pipeline. Sick. But, also, I wanna see Salba with young guys too: whoever he thinks is rad; him tripping off them, them tripping off him. Yo, Indy, people are starving out here. The Salba Show, like, yesterday!
Salba needs his own show. I was at that Gold Cup Final, took 2 hours on the bus to get there, I wanted Duane to win so bad. Micke Alba ruled The Pipeline. I remember skating the combi by myself and Salba walked up with a tape player and started playing the Circle Jerks and making the tile scream. I will never forget that.
Just recently watched Albas nine club stop and chat. Such an interesting dude with amazing stories. Could listen to him talk for hours, he’s so passionate and it makes you wanna hear more.
I sincerely hope you feel and realize how important and historical this interview with Steve Alba is... This interview should be in The Smithsonian archives it's that relevant...Ironically I rode as a amateur on Kryptonics West/ D. Moran and later I rode for SC in 1980 and I had the same Team SC shirt its so awesome that he still has his...GOD BLESS and THANK YOU STEVE you have always been a CLASS ACT. 🙏🏿🤙🏿
That park & that Combi bowl was Special as Hell…. No other place at that time EVER showcased that kind of talent that skated. I remember going up in early ‘78 and riding with some friends and thinking “ Man , this place is HEAVY”… Being a San Diego native we only had The 3 parks , Skateboard Heaven in Spring Valley, Moving on Skatepark by The 805 & 94 Freeways and the Park under the Bridge Where 805 dropped down onto I-8 …. None had the sheer size and amount of vert that Pipeline had …. It’s a special memory in my life …. Thanks for the Perspective Steve…. From one old Steve to the other… I’ll be 62 in just a few more weeks , and still skateboard occasionally, but not as crazy as I did 40 plus years ago. Enjoyed this one… 👍
Brings back so many memories! I was a Sophomore on that last day. Hitched a ride to Pipeline with an older kid and watched Salba and the Boyz take those final runs. The Hoffman's we're amazing people and that park was special 🤙!
So lucky I moved to Upland in 98. When the new pipe opened in 2002 I was there everyday got to hang around Salba and all those O.G. Badlanders. So cool he took me, my brother and buddies under his wing and showed us how to drain pools and not get caught. It was pretty epic looking back on it and when I skate Upland to this day I get nostalgic walking in the place. Steve is a legend and the real deal!
Recall the Alba decks were so dark but they way they skated plus there positive energy reminds me of the old cores from up here in Seattle. Such good stoke
I was lucky to have been able to skate Upland since the day that it opened up. The 15 footer broke me off pretty bad one day. Sad to say it was the end for me.....took many years to come back. And here we are today 40 years later still skating.
thanks independent trux, cool vid,i was lucky enough to skate, some good parks in the late 70s', one next disney land, good snake run,, a big one in buena park', and found a fun one in tijuana!. my home park was skate odysee. indoor park! very fun and long half pipe. uplands big pipe looked fun.
Whoa Eric Johnson is my friend, I guess I forgot about him breaking his leg in the Combi. We grew up surfing together after the Pipeline era. I never got that high level in skating, but the culture the Pipeline brought to the community changed so many lives including mine. Anyone who wasn’t there reading this… skaters made it cool before it was cool to like everything. You could hear Black Flag, New Order, and Metallica back to back on the ghetto blaster when the heavies were skating. Memories I will carry with me to the end. A really really happy and special time.
I remember back in the day, like 87, I was the biggest Salba hater. I'd only ever seen him in videos and back then pool skating wasn't cool, and I remember the first time I went to pipeline. I instantly went from hater to fanboy, I just remember walking into pipeline for the very first time and seen Steve and Mickey doing a doubles line and it just blew my mind 🤯. After that nothing but respect for Salba.
Jim Grey has home movies of the final days/sessions at Upland on his UA-cam channel. Since you spent years there you'd probably get a kick out of it. Cheers
I left half of my chin in the bottom of the square, just after my buddy broke his ankle in the shallow back in '86. Had the blessing to skate with Salba, and the rest of the Santa Cruz Team that same year. They all came to our ramp, Christmas Tree, celebrating Livmo Joe's birthday. That's the same ramp that Phelper, RIP, got his first photo in Thrasher. Riding his Madrid longboard, back when he was just a shop rat working at FTS.
im getting older for me i wear 70s style hockey helmet so sick man SALBA and Grossos love letters got me back and i skate the best i ever ave and i enjoy it the most i ever have you guys are true heros of mine and a true insperation to my future manifestations of starting a deck company peace and keep fucking shit up now is the time for true anarchy we skaters would rule this world better and the vibratin of this plane s changing i feel like a damn kid again yesssssssss
Stevey Alba is just Pure Class!!! Only thing missing is Grosso disagreeing with everything he says lol. I love watching old skateboard clips from the early to mid 80s. I street skated in the 90s
Man, this was fucking sick. Let’s get some vintage looking Indy products out on the market. Let’s get Salba some pro models. And let’s make him the new host of the Love Letters!
a true King of skating....really awesome interview and information here. In 1993 I made a really bad mistake....I moved and several months later realized I hadn't brought my box of skate magazines from around 1986 to 1993. I'm sure whoever moved in chunked them in the trash. :(.
Could we get a “hangin with salba” regular show? Like weekly? I could listen to him talk for hours
Yes. New Salba show talking about skating.
YES!
We need something similar to loveletters.
Seriously the best idea
I'm 52 and an Upland local. Skated the OG Pipeline and others when I was younger. Steve and Mickey were our local legends though and I've actually skated with Steve a few times in my older years at the "new" Upland skatepark. Of course, I've skated Baldy and many other unnamed spots in our area. I started skating when I was 12 yrs old. One of my first "pro" boards was the first Roskopp. I had a couple Gemco boards before then, graduated to a Veriflex, then got my first board with Tracker trucks, Bones wheels and thought I hit the lottery on Xmas. That day changed my life and I switched from a BMX kid to a skater. Some of my friends hated me, but I didn't care, I created a whole new group of friends that created memories for life.
Salba makes me smile man. Same age. Same memories. Only he actually did it all and I mostly dreamed of it all. It is what it is, but I love hearing his stories. You can tell he's a genuine dude and as real as they come.
Me too. I was never very good but was a local at Boulders Hi Roller and used to get a chance to see the pro’s every year during the Hester series or Gold cup.
The amount of respect Salba has always had for Micke's skating is very telling.
Pizza 🍕
🐟🐠
Indy 500
Tony hawk ment quarter
50/50 GRINDS
Salba is a treasure of history and passion.
Salba is the reason why I started skating. Couldn’t agree more, make him a regular like Vans did with Grosso!
I found it very enlightening that Salba talked about how Stan Hoffman instilled in them a good work ethic of cleaning the park before they could skate for free. I remember meeting Salba at a Warp tour in St. Louis during the the 90's. While the younger skater from the demo would go off and watch the bands Salba would stay behind and work, keeping the area clean. That left a good impression on me that day. He also signed the tattered Upland Pipeline shirt that day too.
Salba needs his own show
Goddamn forty years later I still look up to these boyz.. and I agree I can listen to Steve for hours, AND he still has chops on that guitfiddle.. let's start a new band Steve, I'll drum! 🤣
It's 2 in the morning, I glanced at UA-cam, saw this, clicked IMMEDIATELY, and right now my wife sounds like a Charlie Brown teacher. Salba... what could I possibly say? I'll say this: listen to @Hunter Davis and get a weekly Salba show going like now! Did anyone see that zoom thing he did with his OGs? the guys who found Baldy and taught him to skate Pipeline. Sick. But, also, I wanna see Salba with young guys too: whoever he thinks is rad; him tripping off them, them tripping off him. Yo, Indy, people are starving out here. The Salba Show, like, yesterday!
Salba needs his own show. I was at that Gold Cup Final, took 2 hours on the bus to get there, I wanted Duane to win so bad. Micke Alba ruled The Pipeline. I remember skating the combi by myself and Salba walked up with a tape player and started playing the Circle Jerks and making the tile scream. I will never forget that.
Sick to see the skating!! Salba is such a class act, always keeps what he has to say positive about everyone!! I admire that about him.
Just recently watched Albas nine club stop and chat. Such an interesting dude with amazing stories. Could listen to him talk for hours, he’s so passionate and it makes you wanna hear more.
Same here man.
so rad knowing Salba has a pool block from the original Combi
I sincerely hope you feel and realize how important and historical this interview with Steve Alba is... This interview should be in The Smithsonian archives it's that relevant...Ironically I rode as a amateur on Kryptonics West/ D. Moran and later I rode for SC in 1980 and I had the same Team SC shirt its so awesome that he still has his...GOD BLESS and THANK YOU STEVE you have always been a CLASS ACT. 🙏🏿🤙🏿
thanks for sharing this.
That park & that Combi bowl was Special as Hell…. No other place at that time EVER showcased that kind of talent that skated. I remember going up in early ‘78 and riding with some friends and thinking “ Man , this place is HEAVY”… Being a San Diego native we only had The 3 parks , Skateboard Heaven in Spring Valley, Moving on Skatepark by The 805 & 94 Freeways and the Park under the Bridge Where 805 dropped down onto I-8 …. None had the sheer size and amount of vert that Pipeline had …. It’s a special memory in my life …. Thanks for the Perspective Steve…. From one old Steve to the other… I’ll be 62 in just a few more weeks , and still skateboard occasionally, but not as crazy as I did 40 plus years ago. Enjoyed this one… 👍
Brings back so many memories! I was a Sophomore on that last day. Hitched a ride to Pipeline with an older kid and watched Salba and the Boyz take those final runs. The Hoffman's we're amazing people and that park was special 🤙!
Salba is a living Legend. Watch, listen, learn🤙🏽
Thanks for sharing this. Nice to hear Steve tell the inside story.
So lucky I moved to Upland in 98. When the new pipe opened in 2002 I was there everyday got to hang around Salba and all those O.G. Badlanders. So cool he took me, my brother and buddies under his wing and showed us how to drain pools and not get caught. It was pretty epic looking back on it and when I skate Upland to this day I get nostalgic walking in the place. Steve is a legend and the real deal!
I used skate Pipeline every weekend when I was kid living in Riverside.I have alot great memories of Upland.
Thanx Salba 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I grew up with this stuff.
Skateboarder mag was my refuge 'cos nobody else I knew was into it
The O G of the skateboard.Love the tiger deck!! Keep killing it Salba..
Upland tiles had the best sound. Yeah Salba!!!!!! -Nordwall (come up to Oregon this summer)
Upland cali ?
@@Gsrdb81999 Yes.
Recall the Alba decks were so dark but they way they skated plus there positive energy reminds me of the old cores from up here in Seattle. Such good stoke
Unreal. Inside story from the master of the Upland pipeline and pool ruler extraordinaire!
I was lucky to have been able to skate Upland since the day that it opened up. The 15 footer broke me off pretty bad one day. Sad to say it was the end for me.....took many years to come back. And here we are today 40 years later still skating.
This was great. Salbas a personal hero of mine in the game.
thanks independent trux, cool vid,i was lucky enough to skate, some good parks in the late 70s', one next disney land, good snake run,, a big one in buena park', and found a fun one in tijuana!. my home park was skate odysee. indoor park! very fun and long half pipe. uplands big pipe looked fun.
That was one dam good Interview!!
Hey Salba, hope you’re brothers doing alright. Indy thanks for the rad content like always. Ride the best
Steve is cool AF. Had a chance to talk skateboarding and art with him. I see Mickey at Montclair skatepark every now and again. Rippers
All Hail Salba and The Pool Gods 🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘❤
Whoa Eric Johnson is my friend, I guess I forgot about him breaking his leg in the Combi. We grew up surfing together after the Pipeline era. I never got that high level in skating, but the culture the Pipeline brought to the community changed so many lives including mine. Anyone who wasn’t there reading this… skaters made it cool before it was cool to like everything. You could hear Black Flag, New Order, and Metallica back to back on the ghetto blaster when the heavies were skating. Memories I will carry with me to the end. A really really happy and special time.
I remember back in the day, like 87, I was the biggest Salba hater. I'd only ever seen him in videos and back then pool skating wasn't cool, and I remember the first time I went to pipeline. I instantly went from hater to fanboy, I just remember walking into pipeline for the very first time and seen Steve and Mickey doing a doubles line and it just blew my mind 🤯. After that nothing but respect for Salba.
Was fortunate enough to see Salba and Mabla at Upland from '84 till it closed in '89!
Jim Grey has home movies of the final days/sessions at Upland on his UA-cam channel. Since you spent years there you'd probably get a kick out of it. Cheers
I left half of my chin in the bottom of the square, just after my buddy broke his ankle in the shallow back in '86. Had the blessing to skate with Salba, and the rest of the Santa Cruz Team that same year. They all came to our ramp, Christmas Tree, celebrating Livmo Joe's birthday. That's the same ramp that Phelper, RIP, got his first photo in Thrasher. Riding his Madrid longboard, back when he was just a shop rat working at FTS.
Glad your still kickin ass
Soooo, dope!!!!!!! Van's should let Salba continue Grosso's Loveletters To The Most Amazing Thing On The Planet
im getting older for me i wear 70s style hockey helmet so sick man SALBA and Grossos love letters got me back and i skate the best i ever ave and i enjoy it the most i ever have you guys are true heros of mine and a true insperation to my future manifestations of starting a deck company peace and keep fucking shit up now is the time for true anarchy we skaters would rule this world better and the vibratin of this plane s changing i feel like a damn kid again yesssssssss
Stevey Alba is just Pure Class!!! Only thing missing is Grosso disagreeing with everything he says lol. I love watching old skateboard clips from the early to mid 80s. I street skated in the 90s
Thanks for this. Just curious has anyone thought about building a Del Mar key hole replica?..
Respect guys !
Salba on Malba. So cool. Radical.
Awesome video! Salba rules
How many stories can Salba tell us.... And shirt he is sporting is so sick...I need to cop one of those.. .
I don’t understand why we don’t have the alba History show! We can talk so much about skating be super cool to see a weekly show
Hanging with Salba is on! … bring the cold Beers! 🍺🍺🍺🍺😃
Thanks Indy. Thanks Salba!
Man, this was fucking sick. Let’s get some vintage looking Indy products out on the market. Let’s get Salba some pro models. And let’s make him the new host of the Love Letters!
Salba was on the cover of the first Thrasher Magazine I bought, April issue 1988 ❤️
I first saw Salba in the Santa Cruz Video "A reason for Living"
a true King of skating....really awesome interview and information here. In 1993 I made a really bad mistake....I moved and several months later realized I hadn't brought my box of skate magazines from around 1986 to 1993. I'm sure whoever moved in chunked them in the trash. :(.
Watch some old Mickie footage.... he was a gnarly beast!
pomona boyz " badland " mad respect great channel
Are there any videos on the old Denny's pool w/the big Manson Youth logo in the middle of it?
Well spoken, well respected, knowledgeable, with a good memory? What’s not to like? Hey thrasher, give Salba his own show
love to see it
Awesome!
Alba brothers 👍 . All Badlands legends.
Always considered Upland the ultimate proving ground.
Great history lesson.
Did thrasher ever do a throw back issue like the 1981 ?
Malba used to place top 5 in the NSA vert contests before vert died...he was a Fuckin machine...
Come skate the combi in Bowling Green, KY
What a fancy feast of insight to the past. Sorry I'll leave now.
Hair game is always on point, hail salba
4:08
*A little explosion of radness*
Fancy Feast. Eyes stuck on those boxes... Aiyaa!
😹😹😹
The Loveletters concept or something similar with Steve Alba NEEDS to be realized.
Is there any footage of micky on skates?maybe my memory is dusty but if it's correct he was bad ass on them!!!
Black Lodge skateboards will see you in La Quinta Nov 12th Steve.
Micke RRRIIIIPPED!! I always thought he was the best
Salba will forever be the greatest of all time.
Salba is the realest. He never stopped!
Oh No!!!!! The OG Indy logo. The snowflakes are melting.
The good old family is still here .
So cool
Salbas Horror Stories are Very Good 👍
shit, opening day at pipeline skate park, best day ever
Salba rules!!
Sick
Our history is awesome.
I wanna be like Salba when I'm his age 🤘🤘🤘
Salba is a national treasure.
Them red laces are suspect.
1:05 the simplicity of just the sound of the copping, seems like nothing but to a skater
salba is a legend
Upland is holy
Upland, Pomona, Glendora pipeline,boogie bowl, the best was Lakewood Center Skateboard World
You can tell he misses his brother in good health
I remember seeing Lester at the pipe.
The good old days, when skating was about lines and style, not how many times you can flip and spin your board.
fuck yeah peace love and light
Bonk The Coping. Hell Yeah!
Love ya SALBA
Rad!!!
Awesomeness it’s 1980 it’s the gold cup
Ace trucks !!!!