GONZ x NATAS x TOMMY G x OCEANSIDE STREET 1986

The year: 1986. Street skating was well and truly becoming a legitimate entity of its own within the skate world, however no one could imagine that in just a few years, street would take over the skate industry, and the direction of nearly every beginner embarking upon a life of skateboarding.
But in 1986, skateboarding was still very much dominated by vert, so much so that even the winners of many street events, such as this one, were won by established vert pros. Freestyle was still included in every contest, but as a separate sideshow that rarely garnered the attention it deserved for how relevant it would become, as Rodney Mullen, perhaps more than any other skater, ended up fire-starting the tech street era, once he applied himself to skating street. But back to 1986: The new breed of street specialists were coming in hot, with skaters like Natas, The Gonz and Tommy G getting major play in the mags, both editorially, and in ads. The
judges still wanted to see speed, power, flow and style, making these contests, some of the most cherished memories of the golden era of skateboarding.
Skaters:
Results:
12- Eric Dressen
11- Johnee Kop
10- Rob Roskopp
9- Natas Kaupas
8- John Lucero
7- Bill Danforth
6- Jeff Kendall
5- Mark The Gonz Gonzalez
4- Billy Ruff
3- Christian Hosoi
2- Tommy Guerrero
1- Steve Caballero
Music: Asylum Party "Borderline", Hi I "Mind Your Head", Nation III "V Piece", Johhny Sevin "Slick Boys", Asylum Party "Picture One".
Addl sources: Thrasher, Transworld Skateboarding, Poweredge, RAD, JG Brittain, Don Hoffman/NSA, Vision.

[@glenmcdowell]

I entered this contest and placed in my age group unsponsored. 14? I couldn’t believe it. My dad drove me from Salinas to compete. Great to see this again.

[@over-educated-sp]

Noice! Imagine if we had a current popsicle deck back then! I was killing back then as well! 🤙

[@angrytater2456]

What deck, trucks, wheels did you ride? I was an Indy guy. Loved Bones 97a's and Dogtown decks. Dressen street models were awesome.

[@Vaughn3d.]

I am 52 years old and still have that Gonz poster on my wall.

[@user-cn8ux5ig9p]

I met him in 2012 in Shoreditch, London to promote his art, he's really cool.. I still love his 1st Vision deck!

[@angrytater2456]

I wish I had all my decks back. I would have bought 2 at a time and pocketed one.

[@IdealX-fr4eg]

46 and started and still skate im passing it on to my daughter now.

[@yesthatjake5601]

THE handrail as the story goes

[@sle_epytight]

So funny too, it's such a non "thing" in this competition but it had more impact on skateboarding than almost anything else long term up til this point. Luckily the right ppl / skaters noticed that 1 second in time and here we are!

[@startedskating86]

Mark Gonzales with a Powell Peralta Hawk T shirt on.

[@hanskloss1331]

for real

[@seanmckelvey6618]

GOAT respects GOAT.

[@AdventuresInSkateboarding]

The Billy Ruff run 🔥. These were the dudes when I was growing up and they're still the dudes that get me hyped to skate. Free and fast. So easy to get caught up in trying to learn all the new tricks but really at 47 this is how I want to skate.

[@cosmiccarp5030]

Tommy Guerrero is one of the coolest cats to live!!!! He is still making the smoothest jams to this day! Watching him smooth over the San Fran hills was epic. You da best Tommy!

[@LPowell]

Natas heel flipping before anyone knew what that even was.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

cept Mullin and Gonz

[@djantix1200]

Can't even count how many times I've watched this contest on vhs lol. Love it!

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I never saw the whole thing it was a broken up edit I used to see and was terrible quality .

[@aaronmolina8786]

Natas and Gonz blew minds in this contest. They were inventing on the fly.

[@johncab23]

Billy Ruff killed it. Boneless to back rail 😮

[@handywithshovels]

His FS 360s on the steep and narrow bank ramp was killer, too.

[@jasondashney]

I think he should've won hands down. It never even crossed my mind after seeing Caballero's run that he would've finished first. I definitely disagreed with most of the results.

[@handywithshovels]

@@jasondashney i agree and really think Billy Ruff had a great run. IMO, he is one of the great all-terrain skaters. If nothing else, super smooth 👍

[@bondalero0074]

Gonz, Natas, Guerrero, & Dressen will forever be street 👑’s!#🛹❤️✨

[@soundmindbodydivine]

Damn man this one hit me for sure. I remember skating with Natas back at Venice High, way before they put those rails up on the berms. Christian Hosoi on the Wall at Venice Beach. Peanut with his front two teeth knocked out. Tony Alva and his warehouse behind Foster's Freeze where I bought blanks. The 80's were a special time...

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

What did peanut end up doing in the 90s?

[@soundmindbodydivine]

@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 Don't know? That dude was a character for sure. Hate to say it but drugs derailed plenty of folks back in the day...

[@nithstangproductions]

Damn! Wasn't expecting an Asylum Party song to be on this!

[@RealSkateStories]

I didn't get it when it was happening, but now looking back the 80's tunes fit the era so well.

[@epasternak4206]

Santa Cruz guy all the way, these times are still very fresh in my head, kids in my neighborhood were rotten, kids in California were rad and encouraging, never belittling at all. I had my vans, my board and my cheap dubbed cassettes of misfits, punk and Metallica. I was happy as hell, aldo had a use bmx gt, redline and of course my boards, to this day at 47 i still ride.

[@infowazz]

Back in mid 80s I had a GT Mach One on layaway. One of the best purchases of my life. So light and fast. My last board was a M Gonzales. I let some older kid borrow it and never got it back. I had a Kevin Staab board with a mad scientist design. Loved the board!!!

[@infowazz]

I miss making mixed tapes. We also did some comedy bits. Man i wish i could find those!

[@inkfingers]

Lucero had some unique moves I’ve never seen before, and all these skaters had truckloads of style. What an interesting era for skate contests!

[@PatrickTaylor-nm2se]

I didn't know Eric Dresson pushed mongo,or used to push mongo. I learned how to skate pushing mongo and remember getting clowned over it. It took me about four months until I felt comfortable pushing with my back foot. You can tell Eric was trying to correct himself by pushing with his back foot too. Great footage Tony. Thanks for taking the time and energy to edit and upload another blast from the past. ❤

[@hanskloss1331]

always have pushed mongo and always will S W imo it's like riding goofy 🤪

[@RC-ld8oj]

Mongo for life 🤘🏻…We’d skate from the valley in Oceanside to the Pier, into downtown Carlsbad, then over to the mall, and back to the valley. When my friends and I were flying down sidewalks while pushing as fast as we could, they’d hit a pebble and eat shit while my unweighted front wheels bounced right up and over those pebbles.

[@PatrickTaylor-nm2se]

@@RC-ld8oj That's cool. I gave into pure pressure and started pushing with my back foot.🤔🤣

[@butterblood]

Goofy mongo here too. Glad I grew up in a time/area where it was never even a thing. I remember hearing about it later as I got older and thought damn people have issues with that? How lame.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I remember hearing somewhere that a lot of the pool/vert dudes pushed mongo, at least to start with, because they weren't really used to just riding around and pushing to keep their speed up. Bill Danforth comes to mind as a guy that pushed mongo and still ripped pretty hard, but no matter how you slice it, it just looks awkward and off-balance.

[@jamescorbett5729]

Good to see Holmes tearing the street course up. Very comfortable on his board. Those were the days. Love this era.

[@nigelgeiger6020]

Love your videos Tony. You’re a legend and I could tell by some recent interviews you feel a little left out of the filmer group that all us skaters cherish but you’re way up there and next to any of those other dudes. Thanks for continuing your commitment to provoking the stoke for skaters like myself and everyone else liking commenting and watching this treasure trove you release to us.

[@julienbaut5784]

What a "time travel" ! I miss so much the 80’s … Amazing footage !

[@agomodern]

I think too many people equate popsicle boards to the street skate phenomenon, but all of us kids rode street all of the time (86-89 for me) Launch ramps, grinding curbs, and ditches were huge, but for the most part, vert was only found at the skatepark. Street skating advanced with popsicle (skateboarding would have evolved regardless), but it was alive and well throughout the 80s.

[@randallpandolini529]

Good times back then!

[@NevilleBamshu23]

Love the music to this too..

[@stoney-hr4et]

The first song is by asylum party

[@barney6697]

TR you are the true Historian of Surfing and Skating

[@vincent6670]

Oh yeah Oceanside Street Attack, still have the dubbed VHS, great memories 👍

[@larrybecker9565]

The good old days skateboarding 🛹

[@dwayneandrews2059]

Was skating nonstop back then. I was so short in high school and skating those big ass boards. Way harder to learn on. Good times. Thanks for posting.

[@jonnytlong]

Ha. I had the same problem. Trying to find a mini or mid model. I was not quite five feet tall in the eleventh grade. I know that because I got my first surfboard shaped and it was 5’0” and it was slightly bigger than me. Until then I only had used boards or bought, I guess, stock shapes. Anyway, it seems like I used to have to get the shop to order me mini models. It would sometimes be nearly a month of waiting till they came in. I grew to my height now, 5’8”, though by the next year

[@marcelboogaard3809]

A year after this I saw all of them in Münster. Gonz Ollie’d the boot of the car with ease. Although they didn’t place high you could see then that Mark and Natas were on a different wavelength.

[@nicktrueman224]

Agreed, they look like they have nerves or something because I bet they could nail some of the stuff they didn't

[@boardforthescraping]

I tell me family about this contest every time we walk down to the pier! 😂

[@JCizzleSoCal]

Hard to beat that location for a skate contest! Right on the beach, next to the pier and lots of seating

[@christophreuter9572]

The year i started Skateboarding!

[@billmurray4206]

So 80s ❤

[@rickybong3401]

Awesome footage. Even top pros struggled to land kickflips on those boards. Had no idea Natas was doing those street plants too !

[@jasondashney]

Powell has a guy who exclusively rides those old-school boards, and he can do nollie harpflips down legit double sets. It's wild.

[@fernandomaron87]

​@@jasondashneyEric Winkowski pro from Santa Cruz also

[@jasondashney]

@@fernandomaron87 Never knew he was exclusively and old school guy. Santa Cruz is weird. 1/2 ultra tech, 1/2 shralper.

[@Hrmn8tor]

That Pulaski pic goes hard!

[@PhilippePetitKnotweedDMT]

fantastic footage - amazing to see the evolution compared to the 85 contest!

[@vincenzollamas]

i appreciate these videos, just wish you would keep/use the full original music/audio during their runs, it was always great, and the loud added music kind of takes away from the experience

[@OGPAPERBOY77]

I remember all the kids talking bout Natas backwards is Satan 😂

[@DeforestLCooper]

So sick! The GONZ was so young. Such a rad line.

[@jonnytlong]

I think skating was more fun to watch back then. At least to me it was better when everyone was trying to go as fast as possible. I still skate like that. I dont think it’s fun to go slow

[@draganfoljan7806]

Awesome era,for skating for me. Thank you 🤘

[@beerleaguetender05]

What? They just showed the pulaski park crew. Nuts.

[@nigelgeiger6020]

Bill danforth, lucero and Tommy will never not be the raddest looking dudes

[@user-cn8ux5ig9p]

03:54 Tanks for the Mammaries! did you see the shorts Natas is wearing? amazing!!! , I still have the Vision bold letters shorts in black (only wear them on a special occasion with the matching button down shirt) bring back Vision Street Wear & the old skool clothes, hello Tracker & Airwalk!

[@SchroedingersGato]

These images bring back memories. I can vividly remember a few of these out of the mags i used to collect. The photography wascimpeccable considering everything was shot on film at that time. You had no idea what you caught and no way to preview before you shot. Just had to know your shit. Kudos to all the OGs and their film crews. You gave us all a great childhood

[@Elvices]

Ruffs Boneless to Boardslide was pretty sick. I'd love to see a pic from Kops first Boneless.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

classic stuff thanks for the nice transfer of this footage.

[@japhy6536]

What an insane lineup of heavy hitters literally shaping the landscape skateboarding to come I guess the top three but not in that order I thought I would win but Cab’s run was so strong it was crazy. Guerrero is on fire as always always.

[@over-educated-sp]

I had all those Thrasher mags. I’m old.

[@ds7p]

This is Gen X

[@p0ssesst]

I still own this VHS!

[@over-educated-sp]

Christian in those badass JimmyZ’s.

[@Silas-lc9op]

Gleaming the Cube

[@ryanrowe1975]

Great footage!

[@angrytater2456]

I think Dressen was a little toasted here, lol. And why is it I always want more from Natas' runs? He had a lot more to give. He should have retried the rail slide until he hit it.

[@geggigoa]

Love IT, totally forbidden in Norway at Thatcher time ...

[@3DEditor]

John Lucero pulled a Freestyle kickflip at the end of his run, while everyone else tried the new school kickflip, but didn't make it. Those old shape boards with steep tails and short flat nose made it difficult to ollie and stay on the board. On another note, I wonder if Johnny Kop ever got stopped by a cop, asking for his full name. When he answered "Johnny Kop", the cop responds, "I'm gonna need your last name". Haha!

[@RealSkateStories]

1/2 cab kickflip no less!

[@3DEditor]

@RealSkateStories That's how most if not all Freestylers landed them, with a 180 perrouett. It was easier to land seeing the board under your feet, while following the motion/direction your feet are flipping the board.

[@OtterpopSlaughterMop]

Sex Change Revert

[@P1Brand]

the M80!

[@musclecarczarig4003]

So fucking rad! Totally needed this today, thank you!

[@theJACK__]

when he tries to kickflip he yells "FUUCK!" 😆

[@yesthatjake5601]

Johnee Kop fixed his mongo push from the 85 contest. Wild to see!

[@Brokenkingpins]

Dressen is about it. Did you see that method that was frozen in the air. He’s got that kamikaze head wrap on. Natas is my favorite but Dressen is Straight legit.

[@larrybecker9565]

I have never seen a yellow Tony hawk shirt that is awesome

[@ROBOSKOT]

Hosoi was always the coolest and still till this day 🤙

[@ZBR_ProXP]

Back when everyone had their own completely different styles.

[@playlistener1]

ouch..!!! that headplant by dressen at 6:21 is bizarre... they don't do em like this no more.. ;D

[@xibanyae]

Hosoi ollying over the trash can first T, and Natas and Mark Gonzales missing... that goes to say how badass Hosoi was/is! HEHE...

[@larrybecker9565]

That's cool Mark Gonzales wearing a Tony hawk shirt

[@johnnypea43]

I watched this 100 times but forgot or missed that Natas tried a heelflip in his run.

[@chrhadden]

i was a skater in 1986 and we all loved this kind of music. where can i buy this tape at? could they have picked more accurate music that most skaters liked at that time? i dont think so, this is what we listened to no doubt at all ;)

[@nanaluke]

Mongo pushing before it was illegal! 😍

[@caloyssk1]

top tiers

[@jefwhitehead4301]

Capitola Classick,y’all… Wild Times

[@adamflores2615]

Natas placing two spots behind DANFORTH in a street comp??? These were crazy times, indeed!

[@chrisshaughnessy459]

The day shit got real...

[@sergegagnon7415]

Natas invented handrail slides that day. His attempt was the first ever! NBD !!! He landed it shortly after.

[@JonJordan-sg3nk]

Gonz and Natas said they had both done it before together actually

[@SaintLoser314]

Better than street league

[@RealSkateStories]

😂 awww mannn, I love both

[@kijnek]

SLS should do a throw back contest like this. Just to see what happens. SLS Oceanside Retro. lol.

[@RealSkateStories]

@@kijnek That would be EPIC

[@RAREDEATHMETAL]

That Dressen mongo push hurt my eyes. Holy crap

[@printisdead1983]

Do you guys think there is an alternate timeline where the 80s kept going , like you know how in fallout before the bombs fall the aesthetic and things from the 40s and 50s became the new norm and went into the next century and so on, i miss it, yea the oldest i was in the 80s was 7 but i remember it,

[@wesb9805]

What song when Lucero is skating?

[@skateorbri]

not long after this contest i skated in that same spot and a cop totally hassled me and gave me a ticket. I forgot about it and had a warrant, I failed to appear and they caught me drinkin a 40 behind a bowling alley with a pro pool skater friend. arrested on a friday and had to spend the whole weekend in jail until the judge could see me on monday. time served. skateboarding was a crime but, I did learn how to play hand ball.

[@pressureflipin1992]

So this is the first filmed attempt at board sliding a handrail right?

[@dtothej4044]

Gonz, wearing a Hawk shirt, weird. He never road for powell did he?

[@mms4397]

I though Mike vallely was in this contest

[@doomrat]

He was in the amateur division that took place before the pro contest.

[@intothebreak571]

Hosoi the only one comprehending there’s a box jump there

[@hanskloss1331]

lots of Converse Chucks 👍 or are those Visions

[@BIGgamez78]

I think they were Chucks. Guerrero and Gonzales are wearing Nike Air Jordan 1’s. I’ve seen them in photos 85-86 era where they both are rocking different pairs of the Air Jordan 1’s.

[@episodebeats2817]

Ahhh the days when mongo pushing & mall grabs were cool because everyone was more focused on just having fun.

[@soulworld7564]

die bretter waren so schwer damals das ein gonzo ein kickflip failt^^

[@iraw7076]

Did Ruff get robbed?

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

WOW, wrong on soooo many points. Where do I begin? By 86 the golden era was long gone. Mullen didn't just nudge street, he Bulldozed it into being. Per, Mullen and others were at the forefront. There are still tricks only Mullen can do. The guy was inventing every time he stepped onto the deck. I am from the original wave. I got a clay wheeled Black Knight in 74. By 75/76 the golden era was officially underway. It ended about 81 and transformed again. Skating has these peaks and valley's. I am not trying to be a dick. But when you were there you have perspective. I watched the decks grow wider. Conicals and copers come into being. Innovation was happening so rapidly it was impossible to keep up. But as far as I am concerned it is Mullen and Mullen alone that brought street into the light. Yes, Gonz, even Tommy G played small parts. Their participation made it cool as they skated vert initially. Very has gone through so many ups and downs. From Alva doing the first front side at the dog bowl, to TH 's 900. So many moments.

[@thelostbutcher]

Loads of mongo pushers back in the day😅 but such a cool vibe

[@tylertkelley6779]

It is amazing how many kids got into street skating after watching how phenomenally uninspired and contrived these contests were. It could not have been these dopey contests, but rather kids had to skate what and where they could. Sad too see the marketing exploiters of childrens talent hovering in the wings.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

No one took street skating seriously at this time. It was sort of a side show, like freestyle. Ultimately, as contrived as these street contests were, the footage still inspired loads of kids to make do with what they had. It's not the contests themselves, it's the example they provided.

[@tylertkelley6779]

@@seanmckelvey6618 Fair enough, that is more positive outlook; retrospectively it smacks of the way various unscrupulous sheisters whom ran the music industry, and we all need to admit what a vapid cess-pool of coniving wiesels drizzled henceforth!

[@playlistener1]

the second try the phtographer misses ...

[@wendaltvedt4673]

didn't know Dressen pushed mongo

[@stirlingdavis4179]

Street skating was GTA before GTA! My skateboards more powerful than guns 😅😮😂; why? I GOTTA WAY! THE MAN! Suffering absolute corruption corrupting absolutely, had no answer to the tricks we used to put 'Karens' to shame.😮😂❤

[@eksit101]

Nope. Rodney doesn't get it, Mark does.

[@user-wl2fz7vz3k]

What a bunch of dorks

[@NevilleBamshu23]

I always liked the fact natas was satan backwards...natas kaupas....body ov satan..

[@michaelshort579]

Bill Danforth can't ollie

[@shalome2732]

Results should have been , Guerrero 1 , Hosoi 2 , Dressen 3

[@playlistener1]

it'd be a gas to timetravel there an skate a little... you'd get eaten up by a screeming crowd.. ... unbelievably poor pro skill lever back in those days.. but everybody was happy and it didn't hurt so bad..

[@RealSkateStories]

If you compare the level to today, yes much lower. In 1986 it was the top.

[@lickingfrog]

gorgeous soundtrack, im gonna try to do a spotify playlist and share it

[@oscardominguez8967]

Did you ever made it?

[@lickingfrog]

@@oscardominguez8967 unfortunaly none of these 4 bands are on spotify (or shazam), but they are on youtube as full albums! (this is why I could not make a youtube playlist either, I tried) But these bands are gorgeous!!! I'm digging their albums right now (just type them on youtube). Asylum Party "Borderline" + "Picture One", Hi-I "Mind Your Head", Nation III "V Piece", Johhny Sevin "Slick Boys"

[@surwompa13]

GUERRERO SHOULD A WON..........................MONGO SHOULDA DISQUALIFY

[@Elvices]

Was surprised to see Cab on first honestly but why warm up almost 40 year old judge results. 😂🤷