Take it to the streets series - Part 3

A piece of my past and streets of Hollywood.

This is really just a continuation of the streets of Los Angeles but as I grew up skating the streets of Hollywood I thought I would devote another post to this.

My first skateboard, was a tiny orange plastic skateboard when I was in the second grade and it's amazing to think back now how well I could ride that thing. I rode it for several years and I took it everywhere with me. I rode it in the dirt, in the grass but mostly a rode it around the concrete school grounds during recess periods and in my backyard when I got home from school.

Embarassingly, what I graduated to from this was rollerskates as my best friend was a roller skating fanatic. And it was really about competition and getting better than he was which I quickly did. This was one of those friends you remain competative with your whole life, it seems, no matter what the circumstances are. You always are comparing what you've done and accomplished in your life to this person. One such instance was at a skating rink, on a school field trip, where I raced against him and about 20 other kids and adults of all ages. I was probably the smallest kid there and I new that if I could muster up all my youthfull energy at the starting line and got off to a fast start I would avoid the inevitable collisions that could occur around the first turn.

As I predicted, almost the entire crowd of kids were fighting for a little patch of free space and literally tripping over each other as I sped to the lead, free and clear and led the pace for the three laps and only came in second at the last second because I slowed down, on the last lap, and wasn't paying close enough attention to the group of frenzied skaters gaining on my heels and frantically trying to catch me. Anyway, that was one of those fond childhood memories you later look back on.

I lost my point to that story and I was really only leading up to the fact that I soon graduated from spending my days rollerskating to purchasing an actual real wooden skateboard that I bought at a shop on Hollywood Blvd, about a block West of Vine called The Spot. I bascally had very little idea what I was buying and just bought it based on the cool skull graphics it had. Anyway these were the days of nose guards, rails, skid plates and lappers (a piece of plastic that goes over your back truck so you could lift the nose of your board over curbs and get up them with ease (this was in '81 or '82 before ollies, or atleast nobody I knew could ollie).

Anyway, now I was skateboarding home every day. (to be continued...)

Take it to the streets series - Part 2

The Streets of Los Angeles

I grew up in Los Angeles, in the Hollywood area, and I have lived here all my life. When I tell people that (if they didn't themselves grow up in LA) they usually respond with some sort of derogatory comment about how bad it is here and how much better it is where they came from. This may or may not be true and may be why I like it here so much (some kind of ingrained attachment to your home-town which sticks with you) regardless of anything you can say that's bad about it. For me the reason I love it here in LA is the climate, the fact that you can go snowboarding the same day you sunbath on the beach, the fact that you can find basically anything you want to here, at anytime of the day or night, the entertainment industry, including some of the best theatres in the world and when you skate, there's an unlimited supply of concrete here.

Here is a list of some of my favorite places to frequent, in LA (these are not listed in any particular order):

Universal CityWalk is one of my favorite places to go to just catch a movie and eat. There's a wide variety of good places to eat and plenty of shops to look around in (to buy stuff you probably don't need). The fact that there are so many screens also means that even if you don't check what's playing or what the times are you most likely will find something playing that you want to see.

Melrose Avenue is basically where I grew up and I went to Fairfax High School which is on Melrose Ave. This street became popular while I was growing up and is now (and has been for awhile) one of the trendiest places in LA. One relatively new addition has been the Church of Scientology Mission of Melrose.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). Though I have to admit I haven't been there that many times, it is a place you need to visit if you're making a trip to LA. They have a state-of-the-art Museum that was featured on CNN. The Museum features 14 documentaries with statements from a number of health professionals, attorneys, educators and other experts; both historical and modern-day footage of psychiatry's barbaric treatments; and interviews with victims of psychiatric brutalities ranging from electroshock and involuntary commitment to political torture, psychosurgery and the devastating effects of psychotropic drugs. They have a whole bunch of information on Celebrities (including Kurt Cobain, Marilyn Monroe, etc.) and how their abuse and deaths are directly related to Psychiatric brutality.

Hollywood and Highland is also a cool place to see movies as they have the Kodak Theatre and are right next door to the Graumans Chinese Theatre. They also have a Hot Topic, Banana Republic, Cold Stone Creamery and Johnny Rockets.

Celebrity Centre International which recently hosted its 37th Anniversay Gala. The guest list included many of the Church’s well-known members, including John Travolta (the man), Kelly Preston, Jenna Elfman, Leah Remini, Giovanni Ribisi, Jason Dohring, Anne Archer, Sofia Milos and Nancy Cartwright. The legendary guest performer Chaka Kahn entertained guests including parishioners of the Church, local and federal government officials and community leaders.

Just as a little background, Celebrity Centre was founded in 1969. And there are mony other Celebrity Centres are located around the world including New York, Paris, Dallas, Nashville, Vienna, Florence and London. Celebrity Centres, like all churches of Scientology worldwide, are open to the public. I'm very familiar with Celebrity Centre International, in particular, as my best friend growing up lived there and I would play around there after school. Back in those days it wasn't as beautiful as it is now and a lot of the grounds were just dirt hills and ravines. Perfect for a kid to run around in, throw rocks at each other and build forts. Anyway, it was built as a luxury hotel/apartment house in 1929 and in 1992, the building and grounds were exquisitely restored to a level that exceeds its original design.

These Celebrity Centres are the arts and cultural branch of the Scientology religion and as such work with those whose broad visions for social enhancement are the catalyst for positive change in society. L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology and he held artists in a very high regard. L. Ron Hubbard’s words from 1951, “A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists,”

As far as skate spots, I would have to say all up and down Wilshire Boulevard from the beach to downtown LA, has a wide variety of choice, spots. From stairs to handrails to ledges to all kinds of random stuff. For some reason Hollywood High has been a popular place for the past couple years and you'll almost always find skaters out in front. I would have to say that almost everywhere I go in LA I can find something to skate. Even if it's just a little random curb that doesn't look like anything particularly, I may find myself skating there for hours. One of my daily skate routines used to be skating down Hollywood Blvd to Vine and then skating down Vine, which turns in to Rossmore and then all the way down hits Wilshire. From Wilshire I would skate down to La Brea and then down to Olympic to a friends house. Sometimes from there we would literally skate up to Santa Monica and then skate all the way down to Santa Monica beach and then up and down the coast, Venice, etc. And always hitting the good spots along the way.

Anyway, enough of this, I'm going skating...

Take it to the streets series - Part 1

The Streets of San Francisco

Though I've visited and traveled through San Francisco literally hundreds of times (having lived in Sonoma County) I unfortunatly never got the opportunity (or made the opportunity) to skate there. The times I did happen to drive through with my parents or the countless lunch and break times while I was studying at the Church of Scientology in San Francisco (taking a study course) I frequently pondered the terrain.

Most commonly I looked to the steep hills and how they were a literal concrete playground with driveways and ledges and various other obstacles. It also always reminded me of watching the Search for Animal Chin video section with Guerrero effortlessly skating these downhills with the utmost precision and confidence. I literally watched these downhill sequences more times than I can remember.

Now while traveling through San Francisco not only do I admire the skate terrain but I also gravitate to the beautiful architecture of the old historical buildings of the area. Which brings me back to the Church of Scientology of San Francisco and their beautifully restored, historic building.

In the heart of San Francisco, directly across the street from the world-famous TransAmerica Pyramid, is the sparkling new home of the Church of Scientology of San Francisco.

Bordering on three of the most vital and active sections of the city — the financial district, upscale North Beach and sprawling Chinatown — this building is an important historic landmark built in 1909. The rich style of the original building is carried throughout, with the dark beech wood furniture, velvet drapes and other details. You can go through the photo tour of the org here.

This organization was also fortunate enough to have the Keynote address for this opening delivered by Mr. David Miscavige who is the Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center. If you go the the Church's website you can read through the full opening.

In this opening Mr. David Miscavige speaks of L. Ron Hubbard and his fondness for the city. Here's a little excerpt from his address during the opening, "It was here, as a young boy, he boarded the U.S.S. Grant for a cruise that would take him through the Panama Canal, en route to Washington DC. Yet more significant than his destination, were the events of that voyage. Specifically, it's where he met and befriended Commander "Snake" Thompson, a man who had studied under Sigmund Freud, at the behest of the United States Navy.

"And while LRH soon discovered those answers left much to be desired, in terms of unlocking the riddle of the mind, it was the catalyst for a young L. Ron Hubbard to embark on a life's journey to find them.

"Then, four years later in 1927, it was San Francisco again where LRH boarded the President Madison en route to Guam. It was an era when very few Westerners, of any age, had experienced, let alone knew about the ancient wisdom of the East extending back thousands of years."

If you want to hear more about What Scientology is you can read "An Overview of the World's Fastest Growing Religion - This is Scientology", by Mr. David Miscavige. This was delivered at Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles, CA.

After having said all that, I am vowing to make an effort to visit this city in the near future and bring my board, this time. And when I do I will make sure I update my blog with all the skate photos, I've taken.

I'll end this post with a photo of Tommy Guerrero ripp'n it up in the streets of SF. :)

Professional Skateboarder, Actor and Scientologist - Steve Berra

Stephen (Steve) Berra, is one of the world's best professional skateboarders, a very talented actor and dedicated Scientologist. He was born on May 10, 1973 in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.

He's had many sponsors to support his skating career. Examples are:

The Foundation Super Company
Birdhouse Projects
Orion Trucks
Pig Wheels
Billabong Clothing
Airwalk Shoes

Read an Active interview with Steve Berra.

Trick Tip - Kickflip Backside Tailslides By Steve Berra

1. The secret to this trick is the backside tailslide and a decent backside flip.

2. The angle on this one should be pretty much parallel-not totally, but more parallel with the ledge than not. Another key is to really look at your board. I've found that sometimes when I don't look at my board, I don't seem to make it. I'm either looking at the ledge, the ground, or somewhere else. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you'd be amazed how often it happens.

3. Anyway, look at your board and roll parallel with the ledge. Do it like you're backside flipping, but really focus on your board flipping into your back foot. It should hop right on the ledge.

4. Make sure your head's down and you're looking at your board-that's what makes it easy to ride away fakie. To land

forward, look over your shoulder like a debutante; and to ride away fakie, look down, keeping your shoulders rotating backside and your back foot sweeping behind you. Hell, I guess that's it-roll away and feel sweet.

5. These things are so hard to explain-there's just no substitute for practice.

Actor and Scientologist - Jason Lee

Jason Lee has a rather unique background for an actor: he started out as a professional skateboarder. In 1995, Lee made his feature film debut as Brodie Bruce in Kevin Smith's sophmore effort, Mallrats. Lee went on to play the wise-cracking roommate Banky Edwards in Smith's next film, Chasing Amy, and then acted in the made-for-HBO movie Weapons of Mass Distraction, the Will Smith-starrer Enemy of the State, Kevin Smith's Dogma, and Lawrence Kasdan's Mumford...

Read the rest of his interview.

Jason Lee is a Southern California boy, as I am, and I grew up admiring him as a professional skateboarder and buying his decks and stuff. I only found out a couple years ago, through Celebrity Centre International, that he is also a Scientologist and I have admired him and his career even more, ever since. He had one of the main roles in one my my all time favorite movies Almost Famous where he plays the lead singer. He also played opposite Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky which I also thought was really great. This was even cooler because of the fact that Tom Cruise is also a Scientologist, as I'm sure you already know.