THE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SKATE SCENE CREWS LEGENDS, AND BEEFS: A REGIONAL LEGACY

Posted on 15 April 2025
By George Stix
Posted in SKATESCENE
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Southern California isn’t just where skateboarding was born—it’s where it brawled, blossomed, and built a world-changing culture. From empty pools in the '70s to schoolyard lines, sketchy DIY spots, and international icons, SoCal's skate legacy runs deep across its regions. Each zone—San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire, The Valley, Orange County, South Bay, and San Diego—developed its own rhythm, flavor, and set of heroes. But it wasn’t always peace and push—territorial pride, scene loyalty, and cultural clashes sparked rivalries and beefs that shaped skating’s edge and identity.

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY (SGV): Pool Kings and DIY Roots

SGV is hallowed ground in skateboarding, thanks to legends like Steve Alba (Salba) and his brother Micky Alba, who dominated pools and backyard sessions. Salba hunted out empty swimming holes like a mad archaeologist and elevated pool riding into an art form. Micky carved with surgical precision, laying the groundwork for the SGV’s tough, creative style.

Ben Schroeder, raised in Monrovia, brought towering power to vert and pool skating. His brother, Alec Schroeder, was right there too, ripping alongside Ben in the SGV’s garage ramp underground. Chris Strople rounded out this holy trinity of early SGV transition destroyers, helping to define the Upland Pipeline scene.

Street pioneers like Ronnie Bertino, Rudy Johnson, and Gabriel Rodriguez brought tech, style, and finesse to the curbs and ledges of the ‘90s. And the late Vincent Nava, with his boundary-pushing outfits and raw creativity, represented the next-gen SGV ethos—style over polish, always.

Crews like The Larb, spearheaded by Salba and Skreech, kept SGV crusty and punk, while Stix SGV, established in 1997, became a vital hub connecting old-school roots to the new generation.

INLAND EMPIRE (IE): Blue Collar Grit and Hammer Legacy

The IE scene was built on toughness. Spots were rough, the style was aggressive, and the mentality was "earn your line." Skaters like Mike Frazier and Justin Strubing emerged early on, pushing both vert and street with power.

By the 2000s, Garrett Hill and Chris Joslin brought notoriety to the region. Joslin especially, with his monstrous stair sets and video part hammers, proved IE wasn’t just a feeder zone—it was a full-on force.

Crews like the Corona Crew and Rancho Rebels formed their own local scenes, defending ditches, banks, and schoolyards with pride. Pipeline Skatepark, straddling SGV and IE, was a frequent battleground—especially during contests, when IE locals guarded their lines like gold.

THE VALLEY: Precision, Power, and Media Muscle

The San Fernando Valley pumped out innovation with an edge. Lance Mountain, raised in the Valley, merged humor, creativity, and vert mastery into a Bones Brigade legacy. Eric Dressen, Jason Lee, and Daewon Song followed, flipping the script on street skating.

In the 2000s, Paul Rodriguez (P-Rod) took the reins—technically flawless, media-savvy, and fiercely proud of his roots. Crews like Street Cinema, Chocolate, and Illegal Civ continued to rep the Valley in film and style.

The Valley had beef too—Venice locals often gave Valley kids heat for skating their schoolyards. “We didn’t have rules, but we had respect—and if you didn’t show it, we’d show you out,” said Shogo Kubo. The friction sparked creativity, especially as Valley crews used homegrown clips to earn their props.

ORANGE COUNTY: Polish, Power, and Creative Fire

From Sadlands to HB pier, Orange County walked the line between clean execution and creative flair. Early icons like Christian Hosoi, Neil Blender, and Ed Templeton turned OC into a scene built on speed, art, and attitude.

Templeton’s Toy Machine crew became OC’s voice of skate-punk rebellion. Later stars like Leo Romero (Fontana-born but OC-rooted) crushed rails and carried the DIY flag.

OC wasn’t always united—Huntington Beach vs. Newport was a real thing, with style and sponsor beefs sparking local rifts. One 2002 Skatepark of Tampa contest even saw Newport heads heckling a former crew member after a bail.

During a 1993 contest at Pipeline, OC skaters tagged the bowl and had their gear tossed by IE locals—a classic moment of pride vs. polish.

SOUTH BAY & DOGTOWN: Where Style Was Born

This is ground zero. Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, Shogo Kubo, and Paul Constantineau took surf lines to concrete, inventing pool skating in the process. The Z-Boys, from Dogtown/Venice, were anti-establishment artists with boards and attitude.

South Bay kids got caught in the crossfire—sometimes welcomed, sometimes tested. Still, legends like Mark Gonzales expanded the Dogtown lineage into street innovation, blending art and aggression into something new.

Crews like Santa Monica Airlines and Venice's H-Boy Locals made sure that respect was earned, not given. Even years later, Venice held tight to its rep. The Venice/Valley beef often flared up when suburban skaters rolled in to film—sometimes skating away, sometimes not.

SAN DIEGO: Clean Lines and Heavy Hammers

SD had the perfect mix of plaza smoothness and stair-set chaos. Early icons like Chris Miller and Danny Way showed that vert and mega ramp progression lived here. Matt Hensley, Ocean Howell, and Kien Lieu brought style and brains to SD’s '90s scene.

Later came the Zero era. Jamie Thomas, Tommy Sandoval, and Chris Cole transformed San Diego into the epicenter of rail hammers. Misled Youth wasn’t just a video—it was a manifesto. Crusty spots, dark streets, and no apologies.

SD wasn’t immune to beef either. Some LA skaters saw it as too polished. But Romero clapped back in On Video: “When you skated a 14-stair in Fontana, people would say, ‘Save it for LA.’ I never understood that. Why not make the IE the spot?” That same spirit applied to SD—make your home turf matter.

Crews, Conflicts, and Callouts

The rivalries weren’t always verbal—sometimes it was a tag on a bowl, a diss in a magazine, or a brutal clip in a video. Baker 2G’s rawness stood in direct contrast to The Reason’s polish. Welcome to Hell felt like a rejection of clean contest skating. Even Zero’s aesthetic seemed aimed at glossy mainstream coverage.

During a 1993 event at Pipeline Skatepark, OC skaters tagged the deep end with their local shop's name. Minutes later, IE locals reportedly tossed their boards over the fence. “You don’t walk into someone’s bowl and make it yours,” said a longtime Pipeline regular in a 2001 Thrasher interview. “Not unless you’re ready to pay the price.”

In a 1997 issue of Big Brother, an anonymous IE skater fired a shot at OC: “They’ve got clean shoes and cleaner spots, but we’ve got heart—and we’ll grind them under our trucks.” That quote echoed in sessions, sometimes even sparking small fights when crews crossed city lines.

On Video captured a raw clip of a young Leo Romero getting snubbed at a coastal park. Years later, he explained in an interview: “It was like, if you weren’t from their beach town, you were a joke. That’s why we built our own scene in Fontana. We weren’t waiting for their approval.”

Elissa Steamer, looking back on her early days skating schoolyards in the '90s, recalled: “You’d show up to a session, and you’d get this look like, ‘Who’s this?’ You had to prove it—every time. Especially if you were a girl or not from the area.”

In a 2010 interview, Salba described the SGV/IE divide: “There were dudes who lived five minutes away but repped a different zone. That mattered. You’d fight over pool sessions. You’d get kicked out of a backyard for not being from the block.”

Even videos became battle lines. In Misled Youth, Jamie Thomas’ heavy, unfiltered vision of San Diego skating felt like a middle finger to polished skatepark culture. And in Fully Flared, the contrast between gritty LA schoolyards and international trips created a tension that mirrored real-world beefs.

From Venice to the IE, the message was clear: skateboarding isn’t just what you do—it’s where you come from.

Still Territorial, Still Alive

Today’s SoCal skaters—Louie Lopez, Curren Caples, Riley Hawk, Rowan Zorilla, Zach Allen, Jesse Alba, and Beatrice Domond—ride with nods to their zones. Crews still roll deep, DIYs still matter, and pride still runs local.

Southern California didn’t just make skateboarding—it made skateboarding mean something. A trick wasn’t just a trick. It was a statement. A location. A crew. A legacy.

And yeah—sometimes, a beef.

Stix SGV has proudly served the San Gabriel Valley skateboarding community since the late ‘90s. With three locations across Los Angeles County, we’ve been deeply rooted in the local scene. Our Monrovia shop has been a staple since 1997, followed by our Claremont location in 2014, and our South Pasadena shop opening its doors in 2022. Our mission has always been simple: to uphold skateboarding culture and stay true to our community.