12/4/1963 - 1/8/2000.
This quote is from Max Schaaf:
"I probably met Curtis when I was 14. He came to skate our ramp in the old Phoenix Iron Works Building in West Oakland. What I remember is him skating a longboard, it was a Schmitt Stix Yard Stick and he had on some weird Rector pads that had a trippy zebra polka type pattern on 'em. At the time both those things bothered me. Cause I was a punk and thought the only reason people rode a longboard was to get attention. Why would you ride a board that made it harder to skate? And the pads just were too ugly. Anyway, Curtis dropped in and he was about the sketchiest skater I had ever seen. His feet were all over the place. He wasn't cheating with the longboard or trying to get attention. It was a tool for survival."
The photo is by Bryce Kanights.
Thrasher - September 1989 Volume 9 Number 9
5 comments:
R.I.P SKATE EVERYDAY LIKE ITS YOUR LAST!
FYI, Curtis passed away mid-session walking off the ramp.
But this is not why I am writing. I am writing because I had the extreme pleasure of knowing Curtis through skateboarding since I was 11 year old. He and his small crew (basically, Curtis and the Chavez Bros, Dave & Joel) from the Berkeley area would come skate eat Clayton Valley Skate Park. The thing about these guys were the had no egos, they would just as soon talk to me a snot-nosed 11 year old skate grom, than they would anyone else at the park. These guys were heavy mind you, like Max said, they were on their own trip and ripping heavily.
As I grew up and skateboarding became a very eclectic tribe Curtis and I became quite well acquainted. His was an intellectual, which was funny to me as seeing him skate, I could not imagine anything was on his mind!
Curtis Hsiang along with Dave & Joel Chavez have a profound influence on the person that I am.
I commend you for having the good taste to include him in your blog.
Thanks for sharing that story. I was always a fan of Curtis and was bummed out when I heard he died. He wrote some good little stories for Thrasher. It was cool to see photos of him every so often because he came off as a regular guy who loved skateboarding. Gone but not forgotten.
My pleasure Justin. Great archive you have here. Sounds therapeutic for you. Keep it up, quite enjoyable.
I hung with Joel Chavez (and pals) during those days and lost touch / left the area in 1988. Id love to reconnect tho it’s been 40+ yrs. Joel was super sweet to me (and sexy af) and I never forgot that. Fond memories for sure 🥰
Post a Comment