NATAS KAUPAS 88 SPEED FREAKS SESSIONS 2023 RE-EDIT/ DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY

In 1988 Natas Kaupas was perhaps at the height of his power, when he and the SMA tour embarked upon what would be known as the Cadillac Tour of the United States. This tour pitted Natas and the SMA Team against some of the sketchiest obstacles at some of the jankiest demos of all time. That did not stop Natas from unleashing a relentless array of powerful new tricks and lines from coast to coast, making fans nationwide, and cementing his legacy of one of the best from the first generation of street pros.
Natas Kaupas (born March 23, 1969) is an American former professional skateboarder. He grew up in South Santa Monica, California, in the area known as Dogtown, and is of Lithuanian descent. He is often referred to as one of the first true professional street skateboarders.
Kaupas began skating during his childhood years. In 1983 Kaupas won a local Santa Monica surfing contest and received a Santa Monica Airlines (SMA) skateboard as a first place prize. SMA was operated out of the back of a surfshop owned by Skip Engblom. Kaupas approached Engblom about becoming a member of his skate team, which did not exist. However, Engblom was impressed with Kaupas's skating ability and offered to sponsor him.
Kaupas by his own admission remained clueless and uninterested in the mainstream skateboard subculture. He honed his street skateboarding skills by utilizing his surroundings, preferring not to ride ramps or parks. By the mid-1980s, Kaupas had discovered riding walls where he would throw his skateboard up against a wall and ride off it. He then perfected this trick by riding up the side of walls without using his hands. In 1984 Thrasher Magazine photographer and skating commentator Craig Stecyk took a photo of Kaupas riding off a wall which featured on the cover of Thrasher Magazine's September 1984 issue. With this cover photo, Kaupas began to receive more magazine coverage and recognition from professional skaters. Also in 1984, SMA released Kaupas's first pro-model skateboard, which infamously featured a panther image drawn by Santa Monica artist Kevin Ancell. At this point, Kaupas was regularly skating with such notables as Mark Gonzales, Julien Stranger and Jim Thiebaud and pioneering what would be known as 'street skating'. Kaupas and Gonzales innovated many new skateboarding tricks and ideas, the first of which was transferring Rodney Mullen's kickflip from freestyle skating to street skating.
Widespread recognition
In 1986 demand for SMA skateboards had grown at an increasing rate which they struggled to meet. At 16, Kaupas impressed Engblom when he arranged a manufacturing and distribution arrangement with the much larger company, Santa Cruz Skateboards. Kaupas and Mark Gonzales performed what are considered the first legitimate hand rail board slide and 50-50 grinds.
With Natas' fame and noteriety attention was soon turned to the spelling of his first name, as 'Natas' spelled backwards is 'Satan'. Kaupas attempted to explain his name as being the masculine version of the Lithuanian female name 'Natalija'. Despite this however, many schools and shops instituted a ban on any merchandise bearing the name 'Natas'.
Later in 1987, Kaupas had become such a well-known figure that shoe company Etnies offered him his own pro model shoe, an entirely new concept in the skating world.
Kaupas' stand-out performance in Streets On Fire featured a new trick where he ollied up onto a fire hydrant and performed a 720 degree spin on top of it. The trick would be known as the 'Natas spin' and has also been adapted to the sport of snowboarding. The 'Natas Spin' was also incorporated into the Tony Hawk's video game series.
Kaupas along with the SMA team began a tour across America driving used Cadillacs. During the tour, the duo discovered many unknown but talented skaters who would later skate for SMA including Sean Sheffey.
In 1991 fellow pro skater Steve Rocco, who founded World Industries skateboards, approached Kaupas about starting his own line of skateboards. Kaupas left SMA and began 101 Skateboards. The company would become an outlet for Kaupas to employ his graphic and artistic talents. By 1992, 101 had become a major brand, however a broken ankle meant Kaupas' skating career was halted. While convalescing, Kaupas explored his artistic talents more and began to use computer graphics programs. He was soon asked to assist with the first issue of the Big Brother skateboarding magazine, which was also owned by World Industries. As World Industries and 101 Skateboards became more successful, scooping up many well-established pro skaters and new emerging amateurs, Kaupas lost interest. Kaupas received a call from Larry Flynt Publications who were interested in launching a new magazine entitled Rage and needed an art director. Kaupas left shortly afterwards however, again losing interest after a change in tone of the magazine. -Wikipedia
Music; Public Enemy "Mind Over Matter"

[@angrytater2456]

This is the best Natas footage I've ever seen. Thank you so much for this!

[@RealSkateStories]

🙏💯

[@angrytater2456]

@@RealSkateStories You said it perfectly. Natas was at the peak of his power. That injury really hurt his skating career. A big guy like that too makes it even harder. But he wasn't a drug person and he was smart. He made a great life for himself.

[@kins749]

Natas was the skater we all wanted to be in the late 80s, his ollies were the stuff of playground legend

[@matthewroberts1239]

I love how he was going for it in the demos, it’s so great to see the people you admire genuinely enjoying themselves.

[@adambravo2353]

Pure gold! I remember when everyone was loosing their minds at the skate shop about Natas and his video parts.People were so stoked and animated in describing what they saw. His boards were so functional and responsive. I had 2 and remember my Ollie’s and dock drops were cradled so securely. Wall rides were so much more smoother and took less effort than other boards.However none of us could emulate his style exactly and I admire him to this day.

[@sukoshikanatomo]

Just something special about Natas' wall rides - he really surfs those walls. I can watch Natas ollie, launch, and wall ride all day

[@headmondronary2127]

Yeah he didn't just bash his wheels onto the wall and drop/slide down. He carved and could create speed on his wall rides

[@onefromnone1634]

Kids these days don't understand how difficult it was doing technical tricks on the boards back then.Plus the weight of the board too.Natas was doing tricks year's a head of everyone else.He was doing frontside kickflips on quarter pipes and one footed 180 Ollie's in 1988.I mean he had them wired too.Thanks for taking the time and energy to upload another blast from the past.Your footage always brings back great memories.Ps,hope you did well surfing in the masters.❤🤙

[@broadcastdepth3686]

¡¡NATAS!! Sí, mi amigo Mullen Y Spidey, viejo pero sólido y todos los demás; Es bueno ver el video. Extraño mi casa en Santa Bárbara y extraño patinar con todos los equipos. Gracias por llevarme a casa nuevamente por un rato. Las canciones fueron geniales..... Ven a visitar Atlanta alguna vez y tráelo. ! vive para siempre.

[@RealSkateStories]

Buena onda!!

[@KeithSkates]

Absolute legend. 🤌 Idolized him growing up, for both his style and the "gnar" factor.

[@Asteptillustration89]

Natas is the man! He was truly ahead of his time. A pioneer of street skating outside of Rodney Mullen!

[@skateboardingisoneofthebes2295]

ahhh man u r legend! natassssssss

[@jamesdiamond2302]

Getting air was everything back in the day. Natas sure did it with style and grace. Love and respect from Australia

[@natas619]

probably my favorite skater. real street skating, alley-oop wall ride..sick!

[@felipebenavides8213]

skateboarding really reached a high point with Natas around, dude was skating another dimension. time traveler.

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

skyscraper boardslide! great finale . Great to see the rest of that tape!

[@RealSkateStories]

What an animal!

[@strangehawkeye]

Him & Gonz, forever the best, they changed the game....those demo's too, when we were total outliers...good times for sure! Thanks for this!!!

[@jasondixon7738]

Such an inspiration to us in the street ❤️🤙 Thankyou Natas !!!

[@OldSchoolVibes1978]

Frontside flip @7:30 is incredible

[@joesouls9970]

OG gnarly work🏆

[@darrenmcclellan9869]

Sheffey with some big Ollie’s!!!

[@tom_tractor_trailerscotrai2809]

It looks like "today"'s moves.... only when you look at the cars do you realise just how damn long ago this was... 53 year old skater from London, I have had the Speedfreaks part tattooed on the brain most of my life.

[@mikevaldez4895]

Natas, was my first skater I met. one I never forget

[@FoundryStreetJason]

Oh My God. I'm in that video with the COC shirt on walking with the 2 boards at 00:51, Harrisonburg, VA. WOW, blast from the past. Thanks!! Thank you for showing how this was done!!

[@RaulMeatFactory1975]

Feels like yesterday.

[@unskilledlabor5229]

Me and this other guy used to trade skate and surf mags back and forth in history class and one day he showed me Kaupas launching. Mind was blown. Good job keeping the history alive and enjoy the warm water.

[@RealSkateStories]

Thank you. Same! I remember the first shot I saw of Natas. He was doing a slob grab wall ride over some stairs I believe. Mind completely blown.

[@peterfrederickson928]

It's mind boggling that Natas was doing legit frontside flips on transition in 1988. It took the rest of skateboarding like 5 years to catch up to the stuff he was doing back then. Great videos my man!

[@claudiakoning]

caught the board in best tom penny fashion lol

[@MapesT]

All the while skating heavier boards and not pussy popsicle sticks!💪

[@rebusd]

dig the sheffey gems and so many nbd's by Natas!

[@DitchFinder]

Holy shit the airwalk body varial!

[@richardnguyen6359]

One of my favorite all-time greats! Fun fact: Gino Iannucci is one of the 3 kids that props up the box at 12:20 for Natas to board slide.

[@RealSkateStories]

I have heard that, and also heard it's not true...and also heard other pro skater's name used in that story besides Gino....so fun yes....fact? We need some proof.

[@jamponyexpress7956]

incredible never before seen by many stuff.

[@seekah1]

These are so good, thankyou especially for the commentaries, the best 👍

[@markgaby7867]

This upload is amazing 😍 this is a humanitarian service right here! Should be called "how to look beautiful on a skateboard pt1."

[@RealSkateStories]

🎯

[@ionutsfetcu4550]

Thank you.Natas rules

[@petepiazza2020]

You are total crushing it! Awesome commentary and edits. Thank you for keeping up the great work!

[@jenniferfedorink4130]

indispensable skate history. thank you for posting man!!!

[@michaelcuellar714]

Natas, what an irreplaceable style

[@charleshoffard82]

The spin kept me in. Going off kept me Cool. The wall ride at 2:23 was Humongous

[@tashafreese2082]

Love the D.R.I. hat

[@fredericpistersi3278]

Dope❤

[@Rakstation]

Nice speech intro Bro!

[@tmmjppsn]

Natas was my favorite skater when I was a kid and started skating. Thank you very much for these gold nuggets!!

[@jamescorbett5729]

Natas always had a smile and looked like he was having fun. Love the frontside flip on the quarter.

[@mikeviolate666]

Tear it up.

[@stevenbaker436]

I think you said it all brother.

[@NoEcho]

So fly.

[@nucleareggplants]

sick

[@andreferreira8071]

Grande Natas Kaupas! Um dos meus skatistas preferidos dos anos 80!

[@blackLodgeskateboards]

Full gnar.

[@shanesparks9888]

Super grateful to you for filming and sharing this! Natas is an absolute legend on every level. Love your commentary and stoke, this is important skate history right here! Keep 'em coming and good luck in your comp!

[@RealSkateStories]

Thanks so much Shane!! I will keep this rocking because of comments like this!

[@xibanyae]

AMAZING!!! thanks for sharing this to the world!!

[@alexanderschnapp944]

Great Tricks by Natas Kaupas at that time. I am a fan of it. 👍🤘

[@b2theb]

3 minutes in and let me tell you how many people were doing front shoves off the nose back in 88....NO ONE!!!

[@benjistorment1655]

Que lo que! Yo vivi en RD.

[@verbaloutlet6788]

I got me a natas board and ride that jawn everyday to work much love too the pioneer ❤❤❤❤

[@JHillNC]

Another great Director's Cut! Keep em coming!! Thank you!!!

[@gargarbinks1972]

Truly one of the all time greats

[@MegaAppl3]

Thanks again for posting this stuff. My childhood , waking up in the morning watching his video part and then skating everywhere.

[@darrenmcclellan9869]

His FS wall rides were the best.

[@pumpking3114]

I never noticed until watching this almost 40 years later that sheffey and natas have similar styles.

[@scizophrenic2602]

even after all these years. Natas footage is still the bomb shit. He will always be a legend to me.

[@anthonymoore9435]

Awesome! Cheers for posting!

[@JB-ek5fi]

Fucking awesome

[@FarmageddonRecordsOfficial]

Thank you for uploading this ❤

[@matiapisu1096]

Just thanks!

[@joeblowme2955]

Unreal !

[@iivenflow]

So good, thanks! interesting to see all these behind the scenes materials as I used to watch his video parts all the time as a kid

[@papadampreach]

Natas mini - my first real deck 1989

[@MB-vk8cv]

Sean Sheffey with the Shut NYC shirt.

[@fernandomaron87]

The first all-terrain machine

[@krassmachine]

King

[@Gabegabegonzhotmailcom]

Gracias Homie!

[@CIWise]

I see the baby Sheffey in the old school Shut tee and a pair of Limpies(?) with the cojones to say, "I'm gonna sesh with--and do back-to-back ollies with!--Natas."

[@pjchmiel]

Frontside 180 kickflip at 7:31 is insane for that era, and so beautifully done! Amazing footage, though I don't think the rap song is a very good fit for the visuals.

[@RealSkateStories]

Thanks for your opinion. When I was filming in 88 with Natas Public Enemy was on heavy rotation. SO stoked to use a PE track in here. Appreciate your opinion but mine is 180 degrees opposite...nothing rolls with skateboarding as well as 90 hip hop beats.

[@claudiakoning]

Was also really surprised to see Natas doing this at this time.

[@russslagel514]

Man. What could've been if Natas never broke his ankle.

[@garethburleigh]

Caught frontside flip in 88 🤯

[@MrHurv]

I believe a young Gino Ianucci is one of the kids holding up the funbox for the wallride at the end.

[@coolclik]

7:32 this is the first first flip front I’ve seen in a skate video.

[@blackheartskateboard]

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[@nucleareggplants]

this amazing!!! is that sean sheffei looking like a little skinny dude?!!!

[@sk8rMike360]

Thought I was gonna see footage of that gonz and natas double wall ride for a sec

[@jefwhitehead4301]

Some of the first vid of Sheffey the world had seen. I remember when Sean and Greg Hunt drove out from Michigan and both had so much power and raw talent. Sheffey could b/s Ollie over everything… At Mach 1,000,000 Haha And Natas was the first person I ever saw front feeble anything

[@ezzzzrrrs7646]

So YOU ( narrator ) filmed all this NK footage ? This vid jst popped up / took me bck to skate days . . . This footage is some of the best of sktbrding ever of all time

[@headmondronary2127]

First to be videoed kickflip wallride.

[@hvgkb]

👍🔥👍

[@BobGuido]

Thank you for this awesome video and the history lesson. I have a couple of important historical questions for you and because my current setup is an SMA/Santa Cruz Natas Panther II, I do believe that my questions are valid ones. 1. What is the trick called where Natas flies up the bank, ollies into the air and then takes his feet off his board, springs himself off the fence into the air with both feet, landing back on his board coming down the bank? 2. What were the size of Thunder trucks that Natas used on his signature pro model decks in 1986 - 1989 during his most celebrated years as one of the main innovators and pioneers of street skating? Thank you for reading my questions and for any information you might be able to add to the important history of Natas Kaupus.

[@markgaby7867]

Fkkn damn.. flow to die for. Him & Stranger footy from bitd.

[@cripmeister9104]

Janky ass obstacles like the ones we would build around the same time lol.Those were the days!

[@rebusd]

3:04 If anyone can tell me where another Natas fside pop shuv exists, let me know; I don't remember this trick from any of "speed freaks" or "reason for living" or "strange notes" and the way Natas does it is mint

[@JonWolf]

i film super 8 on a bealieau 4008. i hae seen this photo before and i was always thinking where is that fisheye. looks so good. i need one

[@RealSkateStories]

Yeah man, the C-mount Century 3.5 Sick lens but the 5.7 was my fave! Those cameras are magic.

[@AlexLopez-ms1et]

Me transportó al pasado por unos minutos, gracias por compartir tremenda historia

[@tommibjork]

So ahead of everyone, frontside kickflip 7:30 or what later was called "Muska flip".

[@japhy6536]

so raw so sick - street league feels like golf compared to this !!!

[@yesmaybe630]

Reminds me of Eric Winkowski!

[@teamsano]

That FS flip! Were folk doing them that way in 88??

[@RealSkateStories]

Heck no. NBD all day!!

[@ashleyapter9100]

Frontside flip frontside shuvit frontside bluntslide way ahead

[@1001madmax]

natas was great skater..wut does he do now

[@papadampreach]

Sheffey rips

[@helorumtheknightsofmambrin2155]

Because of the "Satanic Panic" and the belief that Natas, in an homage to the Dark Lord, changed his name, my Mom would not purchase the Natas deck I wanted.

[@runningtimelabs]

you should do audio commentary all the way instead of this rap...

[@RealSkateStories]

I wanted to put some P.E. because that's what we used to listen to at this time, and was Natas' fave...I let the ambient sounds flow for the last half because the crowd and skate sounds were just to good!!

[@Wipeyourmouth]

Dang. I think I was in the 8th grade when this hit. I old AF!😩

[@lasdcb]

8:54 WTF

[@timmckenney9012]

Old Dawgs can learn new tricks.. 👏 👏 👏..

[@timmckenney9012]

Eyes glued.. this is my favorite so far.. hyped my favorite skater FOREVER.. U R ON 🔥 KID!

[@RealSkateStories]

@@timmckenney9012 Hoooo weee 23!!

[@RealSkateStories]

Thanks KIng 👑👑🙌🙌