Classic Skate Teams | Jeff Grosso's Loveletters To Skateboarding | VANS

Skating is an individual pursuit but sometimes teams of guys get put together for whatever reason and make an impact on the skateboard world. Grosso sits down with Tony Alva, Scott Foss and Tony Hawk among others to discuss what made some teams classic.
Music: "Intro 2" by Mount Schuylkill Civic Association, "Money Biz" courtesy of Soundfile Productions, "Night Tryst" courtesy of Soundfile Productions, "Time to Skate" by The Loud Ones, and "Band Rubber" courtesy of Soundfile Productions
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About Jeff Grosso’s Loveletters to Skateboarding:
Legendary skateboarder, Jeff Grosso's Loveletters to Skateboarding. Jeff pays homage to some of the most influential people in skateboarding. Sit back and feel the love.
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Classic Skate Teams | Jeff Grosso's Loveletters To Skateboarding | VANS
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[@streetbeers6536]

When Alva was just talkin about how influential the posse was, you could tell grosso was thinking, "really? You're pulling this shit again?"

[@jacobjones2766]

chris yap zu yu he seems really narcissistic

[@JAWS1376]

I could be wrong but didn't that team spawn Bill Danforth. that team was fucking awesome. First skateboard to have a crazy ass tail.

[@jonedsweeps6379]

They were for sure influential, but the 80s was goofy and I feel like the Alva team fits that well

[@commandZee]

In the mid-80s, as far as attitude, the Hosoi team has got to be up there. They looked like the vampires from The Lost Boys, but instead of taking your life they just gave your girl HPV.

[@CorvetteRene]

Performing over 2,000 Pepsi Pro Skateboard Team demo's ( -as Captain of the Orange County Pepsi Team ) was definitely one of the GREATEST times of my life ! The other was being a care-giver for my Mother Delia when she had congestive heart failure....until she passed away ! @ 2:06 in this video - is yours truly......@ 2:34 is my brother David Carrasco ! ...Praise God !

[@drdpirate]

Mad props

[@t100base]

props

[@deomeslives]

Awesome!!👊🏽🤟🏽🛹✌🏽

[@mchepen]

that pic is rad as fuck!

[@AtilioEscobar]

i love how all skaters, old and young have a similar sound and look to them..proud to be a skateboarder.

[@SpaceCadetLaC]

I dont look like you but I still love you.

[@CaptainFantastik1]

"We wanted to be the opposite of the Powell team". You certainly accomplished that in the contest standings. LOL

[@NCAlien910]

That fucking Alien Workshop team in Mindfield is the best team in the modern era of skating. Jake Johnson, Grant Taylor, Dylan Rieder, Arto Saari, Heath Kirchart, and that's not even half of em.

[@Bazukosoniko]

This series made me so happy... Grosso you re great old man!!! Sk8 and destroy till death!!

[@seekah1]

Fuckn' Grosso, bless him and the original skate spirit, I aint never quitting my love for this stuff.

[@jarkokoo]

Yes!!! ZORLAC!!! That's what I'm talking about!

[@seekah1]

The Pushead Metallica connection back in the day, I think Kirk and James skated, shit that sounds like a lifetime ago now.

[@sessionclips1219]

I love this so much rip grosso

[@evrgreen_69]

Watching this is crazy..my sister was friends with a girl who’s dad worked at Pepsi and at the time (late 70’s) the only boards I had seen were plastic..skate banana ? I think was one of the first shitty boards I had and the bump up from that was a GT? board..Open ball bearings total shit..My sisters friend saw that I skated and she asked me if I wanted her Pepsi board that her dad gave her..I of course said yes and the board was rad! Made outta fiberglass and was the first board I had with real urathane wheels and precision bearings..and grip tape!!..And here is where I trip because my next good board that I ordered from Skateboarder magazine was an 8 inch Alva with the die cut grip tape with ACS-580’s and green Kryptonics..After that board no joke the next board I bought was the red and black striped Duane Peters..Didn’t skate for awhile after that but when I did I bought a Lance Mountain and after that ..The Grosso bat..”The Letters” are an amazing tribute to skateboarding..Thanks so much to Jeff for being Jeff!..Skateboarding rules!

[@bennyshambles]

Best team from my era was probably Stereo. They just had such a defined, unified aesthetic that was its own niche within skateboarding. Nobody else skated or dressed like they did. Who didn’t want to wear midcentury vintage gear, have a clean haircut, smoke Camels, read Bukowski, listen to Jazz and then go out and do big, stylish and simple tricks after watching A Visual Sound? Mike Daher, Carl Shipman (best frontside flips ever), Ethan Fowler, Greg Hunt, Matt Rodriguez, Dune and (of course) J. Lee (style god) all had their own thing but totally fit together.

[@chetrok1]

Fkn gnarly to see Fred Smith ..that was also my first deck I skated that shit till it was twice dead

[@mackm3875]

Bones Brigade Animal Chin era & Alva Posse. Alva Posse didn't get the publicity because they were "Bad boys" and PP had squad in movies & shot, like Gleaming the Cube. They went hella commercial, but it worked for them.

[@user-uu5mu1fs6d]

At 1:25 it says Jay Adams Del Mar Nations circa 1967. Off by about 10 years I think.

[@ohfrickitsphil]

A loveletter to Whittier would be awesome! You could feature Lance, Lucero and other cool dudes in that episode! What do you think?

[@ronaldhickman9953]

And a love letter to the Big-O skatepark.....

[@nkmcfrln]

Duane Peters and Eddie Elguera skated together on the Hobie team. Lance, Grosso and Lucero skated for Variflex.

[@kimrice394]

6:37 Had the page/picture hanging on the wall for years.

[@feral5404]

this episode could have been 45 minutes longer. seemed like we were just getting started

[@SnuggelPoos]

loveletters to Grooso!

[@ray.bun11]

I love how it just kinda ends with him and tony Alva arguing, I miss you grosso!!

[@dudeseth92]

Flip team 2001 best team ever

[@jbyrdmb]

"Stevie was a fetus" Best fucking line in the whole video

[@markprice2225]

This dude Steve who was like 4 or 5 years older than me, had one of those TUNNEL long sleeve jerseys that looks exactly like a Moto-X shirt nowadays 🤔

[@JimiBerkeley]

its all about the Anti-Hero team really though isn't it?

[@espada9]

Jak's Absolute Music!

[@JustMe-qk1mt]

So much more history. This was cut way too short

[@robskatesurf9125]

Stevie was a fetus! haha Love the Letters!

[@jacobjones2766]

You guys should do a love letter to the frontside Grind

[@vans]

Thanks for the input! You can check out the rest of Grosso's Loveletters here: bit.ly/2bR4KVm

[@ronaldhickman9953]

how about something about Cherry Hill Park I rode there in 78 when it first opened was invited from my skatepark team and I saw all the big boys there and I was a young punk.... Might have been 79 it was something like that

[@robertriestra8919]

7:16 my man David Z yeah. Nice letter Grosso

[@TH3SAMMYG]

do a jay adams love letter

[@vans]

TH3SAMMYG for sure. man, we love Jay and miss him so much. I'll pass on the feedback, thanks.

[@samkupper]

+Vans i love jay RIP

[@ronaldhickman9953]

Do a brad Bowman.... Loved his death box signature deck..... He was a major player in the late 70s....

[@homunculusSZN]

Grosso should do a loveletter to speed freaks and Santa Cruz skateboards

[@vans]

Oscar Fox haha. not sure even Grosso could manage a 30 sec clip.

[@cron205]

if grosso had a sk8 team i would wanna be on that team

[@crazycatman5928]

All time favorite: H-STREET

[@voltaire2001]

At 7:15 Is that Mark Rogowski looking on?(Gator)

[@oioiterroristz]

Ollie mollie ! the daggers !

[@judekraft847]

man i miss Grosso

[@MycoMatty]

Wasn’t Danforth the only Alva Posse member with no dreads or long hair?

[@jameslatham2027]

chris miller looks about 30

[@hineskittvelvett198]

I feel like either Grosso or someone involved with these videos has some personal beef with Alva. A couple videos have Alva making some comment and then the next clip will be someone saying how lame whatever Alva said was. Maybe its just me.

[@deomeslives]

Hook and the daggers lol

[@rendelarosa6462]

i miss skateboarding😭

[@samkupper]

+Ren Dela Rosa miss it, grab a board

[@CaliBreeeze]

Ren Dela Rosa life's too short man Just get another board and have fun! Thanks what it's about right? Any age, color, whatever

[@manmelt4037]

If you’re not sure that Alva is one of the most influential Godfather’s of Venice skateboarding, don’t worry, he’ll tell you.

[@sethc758]

I cant imagine a skateboard deck being made out of balsa wood. Of all the types... they chose balsa. If you pushed down hard enough with a butterknife into balsa it might cut through it's that soft.

[@rasquatch]

eddie reatigui and bill danforth didnt have dreads on Alva

[@BIGBLUETIGER96]

First 😄 and wiggled around on the ground xP

[@tunelowplayslow5623]

Tony’s hawks yard furniture

[@joshuahancock4619]

baker is sick. anti-hero obviously, girl/chocolate, foudation is rad. best drinking team = the rad one!

[@Satans_Financial_Advisor]

*Im a disciple of Grosso* Grosso was my North Star in Skateboarding, the living embodiment of how skateboarding made me feel. *Are you a disciple?*

[@bart4412]

Was that jim morrison?

[@michaelcardoso7987]

is that Galfand doing that monster ollie?

[@vans]

hmmm... timestamp?

[@leoambrose7894]

That is David Z doing the huge ollie at Big O

[@Steezy_Mx]

Sixteen and City Stars.

[@joshuahancock4619]

i wanna ride for tunnel

[@Mr3andrew3]

I got an Alva fish board for Christmas around '85 and I broke it in a single day. Sorry Alva, love the style but I never got another one.. Best, *A.

[@cron205]

Bad Company was had a skateboard company also?

[@darkstardavros]

Jason Bouskill er, yes it was. 😈

[@cron205]

H-STREET was BIO DUDE

[@ronaldhickman9953]

So was Uncle wiggly

[@cron205]

concrete jungle was rad i wanted to be on that team or toxic

[@JeremyWint]

They seemed to only focus on early skateboard teams. The original Plan B team is notable

[@ronaldhickman9953]

Find your boy John grigley and get the old ghost on there....

[@cron205]

ALVA

[@huh2495]

Anyone remember a-1 meats

[@bennyshambles]

Greg Madsen Yeah, totally. Dill’s first ad was an A-1 meats add where he’s doing an ill nose blunt on a bench. Hensley was an early rider. I think Markovich and Laban were on that team too?

[@Jblizzybaby]

Menace & Shortys

[@DAWIII]

CASTER Team: Chris Strople, Tom Inouye, John Gibson.

[@mgypsy122070]

jake moved to the west to get away from kooks like you. john swope

[@DAWIII]

Michelle Stafford who the F is jake? (or john swope?),and I'm glad they moved west!

[@MrShaunsanders]

90's Plan B. Flip.

[@bennyshambles]

Does that include or exclude the “Secondhand Smoke” Plan B team? I’d go with exclude because while Jeremy Wray was peaking and Mullen continued evolving his darkslides, they couldn’t really carry the entire team/brand, unfortunately. I gotta watch that video again because I don’t remember Pat Duffy having a part that’s on the same level as Questionable and Virtual Reality, but maybe I’m wrong.

[@MrShaunsanders]

@@bennyshambles You're right man. Exclude.

[@ElEdgardoS]

Blackhart

[@Garf2O]

daaaaammmmmn, how the fuck does this only have 5,248 views? this is some Illuminati bullshit happening right here.

[@vans]

whoa. agreed. clickety click on that share link, man! :)

[@alexdoner3641]

polar an slave teams are really rad in my opinion

[@jimmytgoose476]

Was never bothered about teams ....

[@condensermike]

wiggled.

[@SouthIslandSurf]

Some of those dates are way off...

[@poolcoping]

fill in the details!!- you can't just say they are way off and not help set the record straight... which dates-

[@SouthIslandSurf]

At 1:03, that surf footage couldn't be from 1965... Would have been very late 60's or early 70's. Jay Adams at 1:25... it says 1967, but that Del Mar contest was 1975.

[@poolcoping]

oh snap! good catch...

[@TheMarct707]

"Stevie was a fetus."

[@bencowling8596]

Late 90s flip team,heroin team,early 90s chocolate team,early 2000s girl team

[@bennyshambles]

Ben Cowling FYI, Chocolate Skateboards didn’t exist in the early 90’s. They debuted a couple years after Girl got started, also with a batch of mainly ex-World/Blind/101 riders.

[@jewels71280]

can you Grosso do a ray bones rodrigez episode and how powell raped him for all he was and ran with his bones name

[@panchowheeler4122]

i still want to know why duane peters gave jeff a snotty rag n he wont speak to grosso anymore ,,,what did you do grosso to piss off duane ,,,i bet its a crazy story,,,,,come to think about it you dont see much of duane these days,,, but thats my loveletter

[@ariekanibalie]

Pepsi team? HA HA! Imagine a manufacturer of caffeinated soda looking to cash in on skateboarding's popularity today in order to hook the next generation of diabetics. Oh wait...

[@NoNaNaNameeee]

Arno Theadorno fuckin mountain dew, monster, red bull, and rockstar😂😂😂