GREGG WEAVER "THE CADILLAC KID" STORY

Skateboarding's true essence has always been style. Perhaps no skater in history has been as synonymous with style as Gregg Weaver.
Born on January 9, 1961, Weaver was a part of San Diego's famed skate scene and one of skateboarding's early superstars. During the resurgence of skateboarding in the early to mid-1970s, he was one of the most heavily published riders in Skateboarder Magazine, being a favorite subject of both Warren Bolster and Art Brewer.
Before there was surfskate all skateboarding was surf skate.
Music:
Guitars Unlimited
Plum Nelly
Addl' sources:
Skateboarder Magazine
Jim Goodrich
CR Stecyk
Daymond Dodge
Glen E Friedman
Craig Fineman
Hal Jepsen
Bob Ballou
Art Brewer
oldschoolskaters.com
Ed Economy
Hobie
Kryptonics
Mike Wellman
Josh Bagel Klassman
Spider Wills
Santa Cruz Speed Wheels
Thrasher Magazine
Transworld Skateboarding
Real Skate Stories
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#skatehistory #greggweaver #surfskate

[@mozdickson]

yep, my era of skating - 75 went from wooden board with rubber wheels (Surfer Sam) to a flexible plastic board with urethane wheels (Trax) and as grommets, Weaver was our model. If we were not surfing we would be surfing on a skateboard. Shout out to Johnny 'Jock' Main. JD NZ

[@RealSkateStories]

EPIC!

[@jimmyjames6267]

My 70s skate spot under the HB Pier...

[@HummerH-mo4cs]

Wow what a trip...after over 40 years i still recognize ALL of that people and pics in this video !!! the 70's really Rocked the most :) Thanks for the trip back in time Brother !!!

[@TrevorLeggo]

Even here in Australia I too recognise many of these skaters who, in my mind were really stylin’. Understand the surfing preference and also how the Cadillac urethanes were a huge revolution. Late 70’s we were doing here as well. Like surfing, I prefer the carving way to tricks, taking nothing away from tricks, just not my preferred discipline. GREAT POST !!

[@raymondperez2972]

Tony Alva, and Greg Weaver were the coolest skateboarders in the 70’s. I live on O’ahu and Tony Alva would skateboard Wallo’s in Nui Valley on O’ahu a famous skateboard drainage canal. There were several other spots on that same canal. Never saw him skateboard there but saw the pictures of him there on Skateboarder Magazine.

[@S.Kona34]

I knew him in 4th grade. Nice kid. Secret location in SD county looks like the Vista Verde reservoir in Escondido. It always had water in the bottom and we would bike and skate the edges. When it dried up we bloomed all the broken glass out. There were always kids up there shredding…

[@center__mass]

in 78 i had a bright orange hard plastic board ,spent hours hooning up and down the driveway and crashing into the flax

[@davidfisher6528]

I’m glad I found you grew up in Garden Grove I was born in 63 so in 73 I was 10 years old. My very first skateboard was a black night with Clay wheels and your wheels finally came out. I went to my local hobby store and put them down on layaway Took me three months to come up with the money to pay for the wheels and I put them on that black Knight deck, and then one of the neighbors across the street got a job with Mattel, and was helping them produce a deck with a kick fin on the rear, and he gave me a deck, and I was the first one on my block to have this plasticswirly different colors like Neapolitan ice cream deck

[@davidjung647]

Hey same age and same board! Getting urethane wheels was a game changer. I still have the original Sims Pure Juice.

[@davidjung647]

Montebello Skate Park!!

[@MichaelB-gi4lt]

I had a chance to meet many of the skaters featured in this video, including Gregg. I thank them all for inspiring me to ride and keep riding. Next year marks 50 years…

[@herethere2518]

Great music!

[@brucehartnell1475]

Wow, thanks! Brought back a lot of memories of growing up in the South Bay of LA. I started high school in 1975 and spent my freshman year in wood shop making boards.

[@Joe-pc1ju]

born in 59 in slid right into this era of style forever STYLE !

[@raphaelnoz8321]

waited the whole video for that skatopia sequence- wish I still had my complete collection of mags from that era . Greg was always my favorite skater- stylish without a big mouth.

[@conrad6604]

That Skatopia half-pipe was so much fun to skate!

[@lalaboards]

We had a condo at Lacosta .You could see the cones from the condo so we went up and saw Bruce logan too . Dave Hackett was my Neighbor in Malibu for almost 25 years . I made him a surfboard several years ago and he signed a death Box deck that hangs in my factory . Trained by Skipper at Natural Progression 1n 1986 to shape . Not good times ....Great Times !!!! Good stuff .

[@daryldupre3884]

Great video. Shout out to Oak Crest Jr high. I was the fat kid with the afro La Costa was so fun.

[@bigjoe8922]

Came for the skating stayed for the music

[@yoyoskates]

such a rad piece of skateboarding's history; Thanks for uploading it

[@josephreilly6328]

Weaver, Yarnell, Hester. Laura Thornhill. Russ Howell, Steve Cathy. Nassau County Coliseum.

[@13_13k]

Thanks for producing a great video. I got my first skateboard at five years old in 1970. I was hooked, didn't stop skating until I was about 30 and injuries kept me from continuing. But, I just recently bought an e-board $800.00 . Video was cool, I knew every photo and video almost. I grew up in the LAX area next to Venice Beach about a mile and a half from Marina Skatepark watching all the OG Dogtown Boys following them around at all the L.A. Westsode secret skate spots. I don't want to be a name dropper but I've skated with some of the best and biggest names of skateboarding. This video brought back great memories

[@RealSkateStories]

EPIC

[@patientzerobeat]

Wow, excellent! I started skating in 1976 at age 13 so this generation of skaters was a step ahead of me. By the time I got vaguely decent at it, vert ramps were my main thing (virtually no access to bowls/pools way back then in The Great White North).

[@hanskloss1331]

me as well my skate spot was the tractor shop on our farm outside of Lawrence Kansas plywood and cider blocks made great ramps 😊

[@hanskloss1331]

Lonnie Toft on the 8 wheeler ! now that's EPIC 😊

[@Popesontour]

Wow! Lonnie Toft!!! Mr. Sims himself along with Andrecht!! Still have an old set of Sims Street Wheels! Lonnie Toft s!!! I grew up in Arrowhead and skated Pipe almost daily 84-86! I was strictly a Powell guy and only skated Bones factory blanks!! To cool to skate some pros graphic!!! Those were the days man!

[@dorianleclair7390]

Damn bombing a hill on a banana board with no shoes. That is skill

[@fishrider62]

Great! Gregg was my favorite skater back in the day, I remember all those photo's in the magazines. I wish he could have mentioned what he was up to nowadays instead of just he's not skating anymore.

[@bonefishboards]

Smooth skating. Good shots of the Dogtown crew.

[@japhy6536]

These are such dope videos thank you so much for making this. I really love the channel. Somehow we undervalues style these days and I feel like skating has lost a ton of its essence, flavour and spirituality as a result.

[@RealSkateStories]

LET'S BRING IT BACK!

[@pubgutt2076]

My first new skate board mid 70s was a McCoy fiberglass deck with cones, bearings, lubricated with graphite power, spine the wheel it never stops, superior speed super fast down hill !

[@roscius6204]

I had some Metaflex on Chicago trucks, same thing, rolled forever, great for transit use.

[@gentlejones]

this was a treat! great work

[@thomassawicki2065]

Nice video, also good use of music .

[@RealSkateStories]

Thank you!

[@exhippie503ommp2]

Tracker trucks & Sims snakes on a long board, roll one & roll!

[@joeluzzi6050]

Skatopia was great. I owned J n J boards unlimited skate shop in Cypress 1978 till 1986 . One of our shop riders Brian Martin (RIP) owned that half pipe .

[@oppositeforthewin1032]

Great video. Made me hit the subscribe button instead of just being a lurker. And thanks for turning me on to Plum Nelly!

[@MPjustaman]

Back in the day... me with my OJ wheels.

[@bryanmcentush4788]

Still got my Hobbie woody Weaver board, dude !!!!

[@BobaPlanet]

Thanks for the trip back to my high school skate era! Once the Cadillac Wheels Gregg Weaver butt-drag turn ad hit the surf mags, my Levis chords and jeans didn’t stand a chance… Every pair had ripped-out left rear pockets once I perfected that turn… 🤣🤣🤣

[@calfolk7381]

Riding over a crack on a sidewalk on a board with clay wheels felt like someone whacking the bottom of your bare feet with a ruler

[@randycarrasco4995]

Great vid on another worthy topic. Loving Bobby’s steeze in the opening section… and of course, Chris Yandall too.

[@RealSkateStories]

Thanks Randy! That bit about the Skateboarder Magazine editor from the 70's I just learned when I recently contacted a Skateboarder staff photographer to ask about why the Carrascos weren't published much in Skateboarder.

[@daled8221]

I remember building my first board stealing my sisters metal crap off her roller skates nailing them onto a wooden board, then my first real board with Super Surfer clay wheels! Then urethane came out & I was flying down the hills in Dana & Laguna! What a awesome time that was!!!

[@henrythomas2547]

Great Video! 🤘😆🤘❗

[@schreds]

Cadillac wheels with California trucks is what i was riding back then of course on a home made board with surf pictures on it

[@thesurfskateacademy1068]

Great episode.

[@jcbravo_art]

Another inspiring radical video!! Awesome 💯💯💯💯🤙🤙🤙

[@JohnLaseter]

Rad video, those pools at 5:00 and 6:00 look amazing

[@JS-yj7ow]

Wow, this takes me back. Wisconsin wasn’t exactly a skate Mecca, but there I was. Cadillac wheels on a G&S board even!

[@dukeredi]

So glad shoes got invented in the 1980s.

[@marcjohnson7882]

Still have all of the Skateboarder magazines except one. Had no idea about the politics.

[@cedricjoshuapayne]

"In 1972, Frank Nasworthy founded Cadillac Wheels, the world's first urethane skateboard wheel company".

[@marcieharrison9064]

Yeah - the sequence shot changed everything. I used to question whether a guy made it or not....and if you only looked at 3rd photo of Greg, you would assume he bailed...but the 4th showed he had "regained" control and made was making the descent! For people living in Ohio, it was difficult to fully conceptualize what was happening...there were no videos! This was a big deal. The one I also remember was Jay Smith - his laybacks seems like there was no way to come out of...until you saw a sequence....

[@ryanrowe1975]

Good video

[@leehenderson8132]

I was there for all of it.

[@HiloBoiz808]

What about the trucks?Tracker Trucks ruled, half Tracks, Kryptonite wheels, Logan board, HELL YA.

[@RealSkateStories]

Bennetts turned better, but those plastic baseplates broke. Trackers were the go-to even though they didn't carve well until Indys came out.

[@mattfisher8568]

Awesome

[@williambarry8015]

I had a greg weaver skateboard. It was made by a water ski company i think it was 'Maharaja'. The board was a beautiful work of art. It was so good looking you didn't want to scratch it up.

[@bulliongrowernz1975]

Back when you had to drain a pool to skate...Haha

[@moshevieira9010]

hug

[@johnmccourt341]

As I remember it. 😃

[@latentsea]

Rad !

[@ron8935]

Clubfoot McGillicuddy with no shoes on has always freaked me out since my youth and I've skated for 40 years😮

[@bricemenaugh4828]

This is skateboarding

[@alpineflauge909]

epic

[@californiamicke9527]

👍🙂👋👋

[@anonymousmc7727]

Nobody leans like these guys😂😂😂

[@CoIoneIPanic]

Those old boards had good puka and didnt roust the asphault lava gods of laurel canyon, as me and my buds would say...

[@thisguysthelimit666]

Can I post a clip of Gregg skating in a video I'm making about skating in San Diego!?

[@ron8935]

Yes notice that there are backside Smith's in these shots that are pre Monty Nolder.... I about flipped two months ago when someone said that he invented the backside Smith.....

[@chrisdee7511]

Who's the band that starts at the 5 minute mark? I figured out that guitars unlimited is the band at the intro, but really digging the 70's groove of the second band.

[@RealSkateStories]

Plum Nelly. Classic 70's band from New York.

[@chrisdee7511]

@@RealSkateStories thank you. I was confused. I thought you only listed one band and the title of the song. You listed 2 bands. Got it.

[@davidcochran595]

In the 70’s I lived In Mission Beach we skated when the surf was not good, when I was 8 years old 1966 I skated on steel wheels

[@glennshannon9595]

Does anyone know What song is used @ the 3 min mark of the video.

[@briseboy]

Check the date of Bahne's development of urethane wheels

[@roscius6204]

We got the Bahne 'Superflex in Australia but it had Cadillacs on it. I bought my son one as a collectable 'Vintage' board, so he could get a feel for what we were riding back in the day, they're worth a bit now.

[@RealSkateStories]

Bahne make decks not wheels.

[@autocyclist4062]

eurathane wheel was PRE 75.... more like 74...maybe 73

[@RealSkateStories]

Thanks for the clarification.

[@snakeplisken5953]

... shreddersss

[@mikehemens9359]

Tom Penny shot at 1:21

[@soaringbumnm8374]

LOL...I still have my Hobie Weaver board

[@bonsummers2657]

Never heard of him.

[@KurbzGarage]

Roller Sports were actually the first urethane wheels

[@RealSkateStories]

There is an image of the first urethane wheel at 2:36 Roller Sports and some others were created after for roller skating and then Cadillac and Sure Grip, Power Paws and others for skateboards.

[@Ploshorts6]

Green wave baby wtf

[@bfranco1519]

OMRadness

[@tomf4087]

Great stuff. Early Tom penny photo at 1.20. Melon off jump ramp from 91 I reckon. Late 91 probably.

[@Brokenkingpins]

To the contrary, I think tricks are cool and cruising is for old people and kooks. But this was a time when cruising was the tricks. Skaters need to stop conflating eras. We can love the past without lame comparisons to contemporary skating.

[@mikehemens9359]

Fuq what you think.

[@dwayneandrews2059]

Tricks are lame, cruise in style.

[@RealSkateStories]

And tricks with style!

[@dwayneandrews2059]

@@RealSkateStories True dat. Been skating for 40+ years and dig your channel. Wasn't trying to be a smart ass. Rather see style over tech, rare to find both but some pull it off. Skating has been a huge part of my life and will be until I'm rolling on just 2 wheels, or a cane.

[@lemonyellow3117]

Tricks are for kids silly rabbit

[@cleankiller9]

Cringe

[@RealSkateStories]

🤖

[@paulthesurfer7470]

Did you notice how many still photographs were used and how little actual FILM footage was used? There were tens of thousands of truly great skateboarders from all over the planet during the 1970's, but none of them had a film crew, and video had just been invented... Just 'cos you have yet another American who can skate well on film, doesn't make him a legend. I know dozens who were absolute stars in empty pools and velodromes back then... Sadly, even super-8 film just got in the way of having fun.

[@RealSkateStories]

This video is about style, and Gregg Weaver. Yes, he is a LEGEND. Super 8 film got in the way of someone having fun on a skateboard? That's bizzare.

[@paulthesurfer7470]

@@RealSkateStories The point is that very few skateboarders even got filmed in the 1970's, mate. They were too busy riding their boards to worry about finding a nerd with a camera - still or film. Once upon a time there were no mobile phones with cameras. You fetishise a skateboarder that was just as average as everybody else. Loaf Garret was a skater who got a recording contract as a prize! Is he a legend too? The same goes for the Dogtown boys - they had a camera, but just because you can see the film today doesn't mean there weren't people doing exactly the same thing at the same time in Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, Japan.... Being American does not make you world champ, mate.

[@RealSkateStories]

@@paulthesurfer7470 even though there were cameras worldwide in the 70's, who got filmed or didn't doesn't change what this video is about. Gregg Weaver and the stylish greats of this era's skating speak for itself.

[@realDonaldTrump420]

Style? So having polio would make you the most stylish skater? Nothing pretty about this weird mockery of extreme sport.