-----This is the first group shot I took, and since
these guys were some of the first to befriend me, I
wanted to take a moment to remember them here, even
though some are long since gone.
-----In Lords of Dogtown it seems strange to me that
Santa Monica wasn't much mentioned. It was all Dogown
or Venice.But when this little group began to form in
front of the Pavillion there was no skate scene to
speak of in Venice, Most of the Local surfers didn't
skate. Alan Sarlo was a Z-boy but,
eerrr...c'mon,,,,Sarlo a skater? There muxt have been
pods of skaters all across the west side and the
Zephyr boys were going strong and having an influence
on everyone, but I always got the impression that the
Venice kids thought of the Bay Street boys as upscale
Santa Monica kids with glamour connections. Venice was
so poor that it could barely support a surf shop .
Nevertheless, It seems safe to assume that the notion
of Venice as an epicenter of skate must have begun
in........well......Venice! These guys were part of
that beginning.

[this gallery isn't meant to be a comprehensive overview of the Venice skate scene, It's obviously from my personal perspective...and there will be additions...please feel free to send me a private comment if you want to make a suggestion]