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002 Who Am I or, Who I Am? Part Three: The Shoot 
(page 1) (2) So after coming back home, still skating & filming, I started feeling the skate depression of Salinas setting in & tried to figure out exactly why? I came to a conclusion that one reason skateboarding isn't the same here, as opposed to just about anywhere else in California is because of; the lack of industry. So let's go back to L.A, while San Francisco may be the Capitol of skateboarding. Los Angeles is the Wall Street of skateboarding. Just about every big company in the skateboard industry does business there. Numerous professional skateboarders live there. Some either passing through on business, or on a pilgrimage. Plus, you have the photographers, the videographers, the distributors, the reps, the employees, the shoe industry, the shops, a few guys who actually risked it all & moved there to fulfill the dream, the headstrong. Finally, you have the locals. People who were born there, that skate & those guys are fucking good, take my word for it! My point being is this, when you skate in L.A. all of these people will see you, or know what you're all about when you're skating. This is whether you are skating, or not skating. You could be chilling somewhere & some person who doesn't even look like they skate will approach you & tell you who they are & what they do, if you didn't know already. Basically the formula is just like the entertainment business, the more you are seen; the more you get in the scene. There are small companies, big companies, small shops, big shops, corporate sponsors & basically it's a system. A hierarchy, a ladder you climb. The more shops & companies that are out there, the better your chances are of skating still, if perhaps some sort of issue, or conflict arises between a skater & his sponsor, he basically becomes a "free agent," & the next company that can afford him, does & will. This area has never really had a thriving skate industry here like that. Here, it's more of a take it, or leave it vibe. More of an ultimatum than a choice, or even an option. Back then you only had your mega sponsor here, NHS, Santa Cruz Skateboards. You had your small indy brands that had been out there for a while as well, like Consolidated in Santa Cruz & Platipus Skateboards in Monterey. From San Luis Obispo to Morgan Hill, this was the span of companies that existed here at that time, or before. We are talking about a population of about, more or less, a half a million people. I am going to get more into all of these things, the next blog. (page 1) (2)