Streets on Fire – Santa Cruz – 1989
Last week we had something new, so for this week lets go with something old. Streets on Fire from Santa Cruz Skateboards was a pivotal skate video to say the least.
Natas Kaupas’ part pushed the boundaries of what could be done on a skateboard. I’m sure if you ask anyone what they thought of this video when it came out they will mention Natas’ part. There’s some good backyard ramp action, and with one of the best soundtracks ever, this video is in my Top Ten.
Featured Skaters: Steve Alba, Claus Grabke, Jeff Grosso, Jeff Hedges, Jason Jessee, Natas Kaupas, Jeff Kendall, Corey O’Brien, Rob Roskopp, Neil Blender, and Christian Hosoi.
run time: 40 min 46 sec – Check it Out
AWESOME flick, I agree. Jason Jesse’s acting leaves a bit to be desired, but Skip Engblom as the guard was cool (he was in Animal Chin as the doorman too). Natas’ fire hydrant thing was just mind blowing.
I remember parts of that video so well. Just watched the whole thing. Thanks for posting the link. Amazing how far things have evolved.
…Some things will always be gnarly though.
Love this vid. Also one of the few places you can see footage of The Turf.
[...] Speed Freaks from Santa Cruz Speed Wheels, circa 1989. This was the first video ever made by a wheel company. It gave Santa Cruz the ability to bring skateboarders from different board companies, and put them on their videos. This makes the video that much better, with a great mix of street and vert skating. Santa Cruz also put out Streets On Fire in 1989, which featured some of the best skating to date, especially Natas Kaupas’ groundbreaking part. More about the 80s and skateboarding after the jump. In the early 1980s three skateboard manufacturers handled most of the skate market, Santa Cruz, Powell Peralta, and Vision/Sims. By 1983, Santa Cruz was feeling the upsurge of skateboarding’s popularity. Santa Cruz picked up large accounts such as Madrid Skateboards, who had been making skateboards since the late 60s. Santa Cruz even made decks for Skip Engblom’s Santa Monica Airlines. [...]
Update:
Natas is here:
http://sakaroule.blogspot.com/2010/01/natas-panther-1988.html
Check it out !