Stacy Peralta

Stacy Peralta Instagram – Circa 1974. The first Zephyr skateboard has arrived at the shop and Skip and Jeff want it tested. We’re all told to meet at Marine Street which is every skater’s nightmare; a dreadfully steep and unforgiving hill. Everyone shows up and there’s a gang of us taking the drop and things are heating up as they always do. Tony’s on deck at the top of the hill and he knows we’re all watching. He looks at the bottom of the hill and sees a car heading up, simultaneously another car at the top of the hill is now passing Tony and beginning his descent. Tony carefully calculates the positions of both cars and then takes off. Within moments he’s drafting the downhill car in a tail-gate like position. At the midpoint mark of the hill, just as both cars are about to converge Tony makes a perilous decision and pulls into the center of the road, pitting himself between both cars – he’s now shooting the hill between both cars and has about a foot of clearance on each side, there’s zero room for error, the slightest wobble and he’s a skid mark under two tons of steel. We all watch in horror at what he’s doing because what he’s doing is mad. What’s he thinking? Is he thinking? He then shoots thru both cars and not only takes the lead on the downhill car but pulls in front of the driver and makes it comfortably to the bottom, one hand raised in victory. All of us shake our heads. Incredible! He must be insane. But if he is insane, his insanity on this day is usurped by his physical skill and balls-out confidence. Today many people refer to Tony as a legend, one of skateboarding’s best and brightest, I’m here to share with you that the legend began that day. | Posted on 03/Jun/2023 20:22:07