Skate Or Die Inside Of San Francisco’s Jungle

June 25th, 2007 Davis Posted in Photos, Uncategorized |

If you click through the photo, you can use portals to see the jump in action.

Last week, I was walking through the city, when I heard this strange drumbeat coming from one of the nearby blocks. It was a loud series of clacking noises followed by cheering and pandemonium. I wasn’t sure what it was, but was glad that I had taken my camera with me on this trip. As I arrived at the block, I saw a large group of kids watching another kid skateboard in front of the Levi’s building near Union Square. There were probably about 30 kids in total and they had only been there for a few minutes at best.

I was never very good at skateboarding, but I could tell that the kid they were watching, was really talented. He was a natural, every move made it look like the board was an extension of him. While I was watching, he was trying to jump at least 10 feet worth of stairs, without landing head first into rush hour traffic. If I was this kid’s dad, I would have been totally freaking out, but as an innocent by-stander with a camera, I was more than happy to start snapping off shots of the blood and guts successful landing on his amazing jump.

Each time the kid jumped, the crowd would give him more encouragement. After watching him eat it three times, I thought he was ready to give up, but finally he landed another one and when he did, the response was amazing. You would have thought the kids were about to start rioting. Immediately, all of the kids started banging their skateboards on the sidewalk chanting again and again. It was a very surreal experience, it was way outside my normal day to day life in the city. It was as if I stumbled onto a lost tribe in the middle of San Francisco.

Eventually, the kids attracted the attention of security and had to take off, but watching them celebrate this accomplishment, reminded me of what it was like to be young again. They really weren’t hurting anyone with their skating, but you can bet that it was a lawsuit waiting to happen for the property managers. It seemed strange to be able to see both sides for once.

When I talked with the kids, they were really excited that I got pictures, but made me promise that if I sold the photos, that the proceeds had to go to them. I don’t know why they thought I would be able to sell them, but they must have taken one look at my Canon Rebel and thought that I knew what I was doing. My images are not exactly stock photography quality, but these kids were so excited by what they had seen, it didn’t matter. You should have seen their faces when I told them about Zooomr marketplace. I asked them what I should charge and they wanted college savings money, but eventually I talked them down to $100. It’s not enough to pay for any future hospital bills, but it would at least be enough for the kid to buy a helmet. If you are interested in licensing the images of this death defying act, feel free to send me a Zmail and we can work out the details.