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.
It's 2 in the morning, I glanced at TH-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!
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! 🤣
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.
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… 👍
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. 🙏🏿🤙🏿
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 TH-cam channel. Since you spent years there you'd probably get a kick out of it. Cheers
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.
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
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. :(.
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!
There's an hour long home video on Jim Gray's channel of the last sessions at Pipeline 1989. Tons of great skaters including some footage of Steve and Micke.
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
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 is the reason why I started skating. Couldn’t agree more, make him a regular like Vans did with Grosso!
Salba is a treasure of history and passion.
It's 2 in the morning, I glanced at TH-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!
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.
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! 🤣
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.
Salba needs his own show
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… 👍
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. 🙏🏿🤙🏿
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 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.
thanks for sharing this.
so rad knowing Salba has a pool block from the original Combi
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!
Salba is a living Legend. Watch, listen, learn🤙🏽
Thanx Salba 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I grew up with this stuff.
Skateboarder mag was my refuge 'cos nobody else I knew was into it
I used skate Pipeline every weekend when I was kid living in Riverside.I have alot great memories of Upland.
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
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.
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
Thanks for this. Just curious has anyone thought about building a Del Mar key hole replica?..
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.
Awesome video! Salba rules
This was great. Salbas a personal hero of mine in the game.
All Hail Salba and The Pool Gods 🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘🔥🤘❤
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
Soooo, dope!!!!!!! Van's should let Salba continue Grosso's Loveletters To The Most Amazing Thing On The Planet
Are there any videos on the old Denny's pool w/the big Manson Youth logo in the middle of it?
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
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 TH-cam channel. Since you spent years there you'd probably get a kick out of it. Cheers
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.
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
Respect guys !
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
Hanging with Salba is on! … bring the cold Beers! 🍺🍺🍺🍺😃
How many stories can Salba tell us.... And shirt he is sporting is so sick...I need to cop one of those.. .
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!
Salba on Malba. So cool. Radical.
love to see it
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!
4:08
*A little explosion of radness*
Salba was on the cover of the first Thrasher Magazine I bought, April issue 1988 ❤️
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
pomona boyz " badland " mad respect great channel
Awesome!
I first saw Salba in the Santa Cruz Video "A reason for Living"
Come skate the combi in Bowling Green, KY
Is there any footage of micky on skates?maybe my memory is dusty but if it's correct he was bad ass on them!!!
Alba brothers 👍 . All Badlands legends.
Well spoken, well respected, knowledgeable, with a good memory? What’s not to like? Hey thrasher, give Salba his own show
Great history lesson.
Salba is the realest. He never stopped!
Malba used to place top 5 in the NSA vert contests before vert died...he was a Fuckin machine...
Did thrasher ever do a throw back issue like the 1981 ?
Hair game is always on point, hail salba
Fancy Feast. Eyes stuck on those boxes... Aiyaa!
😹😹😹
Always considered Upland the ultimate proving ground.
Black Lodge skateboards will see you in La Quinta Nov 12th Steve.
What a fancy feast of insight to the past. Sorry I'll leave now.
There's an hour long home video on Jim Gray's channel of the last sessions at Pipeline 1989. Tons of great skaters including some footage of Steve and Micke.
Thank you so, so much for tipping that video off! 70's, 80's and early 90's skate footage gives me life!
So cool
I wanna be like Salba when I'm his age 🤘🤘🤘
Salba rules!!
Salbas Horror Stories are Very Good 👍
Micke RRRIIIIPPED!! I always thought he was the best
Salba will forever be the greatest of all time.
What amp is that?
The Loveletters concept or something similar with Steve Alba NEEDS to be realized.
The good old family is still here .
shit, opening day at pipeline skate park, best day ever
Sick
1:05 the simplicity of just the sound of the copping, seems like nothing but to a skater
Upland is holy
Salba is a national treasure.
Our history is awesome.
salba is a legend
I remember seeing Lester at the pipe.
Oh No!!!!! The OG Indy logo. The snowflakes are melting.
Them red laces are suspect.
You can tell he misses his brother in good health
Upland, Pomona, Glendora pipeline,boogie bowl, the best was Lakewood Center Skateboard World
Salba & Malba 👉Savages💥
Malba reissue needed!💥
Bonk The Coping. Hell Yeah!
Italy?
fuck yeah peace love and light
The good old days, when skating was about lines and style, not how many times you can flip and spin your board.