Skate SD: Building Skateboarding's Future - Documentary

Skateboarding originated as a wild activity for Southern California’s youth, and San Diego has since been the hub for its industry and top professionals. For decades they revolutionized the equipment, pioneered the terrain being ridden, and ultimately reversed the sport’s perception. "Skate SD" tells the powerful stories of this passionate community that built skateboarding’s radical future.
900 Films has been creating action sports content for over two decades, producing everything from television series to broadcast commercials. Founded by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, 900 Films always pushes to tell stories that are accessible to both the mainstream and core audiences - a signature that makes our work entertaining and genuine.

[@luna_nav377]

This documentary was so sick ! Made me proud to be a native Of SD and proud to be apart of the skate community ! 🔥💙🧡

[@ride]

Hyped you liked it.

[@jackhammered]

This is property of birdman brother, glad he's putting it to use again BUT I do miss their own content like freelunch

[@galvanizedgnome]

I can do without that nasty intro

[@hugues118]

a niice era :) i remember watching tv and jumping in my yard too with my 3 ski and everything :) in year faround th 1990 s an now far 2024 i film some spot and have sometimes small run of skate session to get me healtly at my age of course i broke a bone in time in my life in other sport snowskate but i am not regrets knowing the sport and what happen when flying in the air :)@ artist h.p

[@AnneALias]

Aww that's cute

[@anointed6386]

Glad to see this channel isn't completely dead. I loved the content back in 2015

[@ride]

Thanks for the compliments. Sadly, we aren't going to kickstart Ride again. As a production company, 900 Films sometimes makes skate-related content that I think our Ride Channel fans would like to watch so we put it here. We are covering Tony Hawk's Vert Alert in late June and will have the footage here. Anyway, thanks for being a long time fan/viewer.

[@billandhisboard]

LOL This is a free (internet) channel on my smart Tv. They're always something cool on it when youtube sucks.

[@fredrik1164]

@@rideprops for being honest and giving such a down to earth answer🙏 also loved the content back then but I totally understand the situation, looking forward to whatever you drop in the future😁

[@billandhisboard]

I wish people would keep making things like this. These are almost important as building skate parks.

[@japhy6536]

WOWW!!! I've seen a LOT of skate docs and although this skipped over a few details, it also included so much of the early stuff I had no idea about that in some ways, makes this film a vital part of the historical skate archives. I love how the shares so much of the human side of what it meant to be a skater back, then as compared to today. I honestly got pretty emotional towards the end as it reminds me of my youth, growing up as a skateboarder, wanting to be one of those guys in Transworld skateboarding magazine. It formed and shaped me into the creative person I am today. God bless, skateboarding

[@ride]

Thanks for the super kind reply.

[@ostias]

They will never understand how many lives were changed and saved by skateboarding. People just need to be heard, supported and feel part of something bigger. Thanks Skateboarding, thanks Tony for all the hard work and sacrifice. I wish the best for you and your family. From here always trying to be a little better and more human every day.

[@coyotef150surfer7]

Great Doc here! I live in Encinitas, same neighborhood as Hawk, Bryce W and Andy Macdonald. I grew up racing BMX and competing in BMX freestyle and vert contests in the 80's, always had skater friends and did a bit of skating over the years. So many memories from this one. I rode BMX in the long half pipe at Del Mar Skate Ranch once and rode Upland and Milpitas skateparks in the 80s. I love to watch everyone in the local skateparks now and they are ripping!

[@3DEditor]

Nicely done documentary, watching other skate documentaries is inspiring and motivating. I'm glad to have been part of the skate scene in San Diego county from 1986 through 1996. I started competing in 1986 through 1993, and skated paid skate demos and Hollywood gigs from 1989 through 1991. When I wasn't competing, skating in demos and gigs, I was either skating at Mike McGill's skate park, street skating and freestyling with other locals and friends. It was a privilege to skate with Mike McGill, Tony Hawk, Danny Way, Alphonzo Rawls, Rodney Mullen, Pierre Andre, Don Brown, Daewon Song, the list goes on and on. In 2017 I started a skate documentary series titled DETERMINATION, showcasing different skaters I skated and competed with over the years. I'm currently working on another one, hoping to have it out soon. Update: as of August 5th 2023, my final skate documentary was published, titled DETERMINATION Transforming Adversity into Opportunity.

[@dozergg5751]

This is such a good documentary, makes me proud to be a part of this community. All love.

[@benjaminfrohns]

Still remember 1997, 11 years old. My friends and I went to our mayor and explained to him what it was all about and why we liked it. We met with a youth council that worked at the City Hall. He had good news, there was a budget for this "playground". We were ecstatic. We got to design the park and not even 6 months later it was built. Right at the start of the summer holidays. Not bad for a 9000 people village. Magic.

[@Imakebootysclap]

I skated 94 to 2004 and was never any good but I still enjoyed it. Back then there weren't many parks and just like this video said everywhere we went we would get chased off and the cops called on us. I remember in the late 90s there where even stickers and boards that said "skateboarding is not a crime" because it was so common to have the cops called on you for skating, some cities made it illegal and the cops would take your board, you would be riding down the street and se a cop and jump off and walk your board because you knew they would give you a $215 ticket the 1st time, $550 second time and take your board it was crazy! probably why I never got good, that and the drinking and drugs. :P

[@AndrewSherwin]

they'd ticket you for riding on the sidewalk? I heard of some cities making skating illegal. That's effin nanners.@@Imakebootysclap

[@danielnicholas4646]

Unreal beautiful Documentary I'm from Hawaii move to SD in late 80 and early 90's went to SDSU watch Tony,Hosoi, battle it out at Del Mar skate ranch unreal. Tank God for Skate boarding all my kids Grand kids all surf and skate when surf is flat we skate board. Amen 🙏 for our sport. Surf n skate lives on Aloha

[@QuincyKane]

This was so good! It's amazing to see how skateboarding has progressed over the years; now is such a great time to be a skater! And I really appreciate all the people who paved the way for skateboarding to be what it is today!

[@andyxmunoz]

It's wild to see people we'd consider "seniors" talking about the early days of skateboarding. Damn, time flies.

[@TheMorganMonroeShow]

Wow, that was super over-the-top fun. I’ve been skating since 1973. I kind of made it my whole life. To see this brought back a lot of great memories. A lot of fun things happened back then. And it’s cool that they’re still happening now all over the United States and world. It’s like everyone else gets the chance. I grew up in a small town in Anderson Indiana. It was basically a cornfield and General Motors plant. We basically skateboarded driveways, sidewalks, and hills. My parents moved to Clearwater Florida in the mid 70s. It was the place of my first home skateboard park. Clearwater skateboard park. I remember vividly all the skateboard parks around us closing. Sensation basin, skate, wave, rainbow, wave, and then Clearwater skateboard park. I am mediately took to the backyard and started building ramps. I actually got really good at it. LOL I’m glad to see that that will never happen again. Every single town should have a skateboard park. We’re getting closer every day lol. #Lifer 🍻🤙🏼🫡🏴‍☠️

[@Killasaull]

I was taken there on a New Years Day, by a buddy who’s dad was the head of the Colorado Foster Parent Association. Much later in life, I realized he had called ahead and inquired, leading to one of the most memorable days of my life. We skated most of the day and finally around 9 or 10 p.m., some of my favorite pros are showed up to skate in the new year. Epic.

[@DreDay760]

Amazing documentary. Having grown up and skating in SD and re-living all the great spots and past videos was great to see. Kinda made me emotional watching this and seeing the impact SD skating has had on the world. Big props and thanks to Tony and all the legends of skateboarding and skateboard media that help make skateboarding what it is today. #proudsdskater #bestyearsofmylife

[@19CentZine]

Bravo! This was a perfect documentary on skate. I've watched twice. My home town of Lima, Ohio in the 80s really did not embrace skateboarding, so with a little bit of help from my friends, built my own mini half pipe. This kept me away from the hard drugs, thugs and guns. 37 years years later finally broke a bone, cracked my femur, and cant wait to skate all these parks we didnt have as kids growing up. Concrete seemed like a luxury, and the new buttery concrete at the Tuttle Skatepark may have had the best impact ever on me. Thanks for making this doc. Cant wait to roll again...

[@1anfinity08]

Respect to the pioneers who started the scene. And to think skateboarding is now an olympic sport. It really has come a long way

[@fakiewilly]

Thank you Tony for being the best ambassador us sk8ers could ask for.

[@inout7917]

amazing work! what better than to be a skateboarder and share the stock! thanks SD! thanks Tony!

[@ridefreeordie831]

SD is my second home. Spent all my school vacations there. And it's there that I first tried to ride a board. Thanks to my cousin Bernardo aka Lalo RIP I got into skateboarding and 23 years later I'm still pushing. Great film.

[@ishpants]

I was born in 1983… my whole life has been skateboarding! Thanks 🙏

[@unisonproductions123]

Best skate doc probably ever! Legends, all 'o y'all!

[@benpryce]

Tony and his generation of San Diego skaters and the magazines are the reason I grew up with a skatepark in a small town in Connecicut, and why I live in San Diego today. Love you guys 🙏 Thank you

[@andrewrigg4905]

Great skate film doco. I’m in my 40s now and am rediscovering skating again . Was obsessed with it as an 80s and 90s kid

[@EriVibes]

This is amazing. Thank you Tony, for speaking up for all the skaters, and building parks all around the world! ❤ I skated street in Santa Clara, in 98'. I'm just gettin' back into it after 23 years, and I love the feeling!

[@titou1again]

Really great documentary. It got the essence of why we love skateboarding

[@theegg-viator4707]

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL documentary on this amazing creative and physical “sport”. ❤❤❤💯💯🔥🔥👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@thelobuezoo9324]

Great documentary! So much nostalgia. What a great time to have skated (late 80’s -2000). Life was so different.

[@sebastiannava5145]

Love this master piece of this video/biography/movie/art

[@ride]

Thanks

[@cameronsk838]

Love seeing this doc with all the pros who I look up to! Alf and Willy were always super cool to me in SD ;)

[@dinxsy8069]

Great documentary, i've watched 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys' has to be over a hundred times in the past 20 years with dad (RIP) paying to rent it out on VHS for years then buying on DVD started my journey on the history of the early days. This Documentary is free on the interweb, the amount of people it can/will reach and enlighten them about the history of Skateboarding is a pretty breathtaking.

[@t.blaschke7461]

What a gem, what a treat!! Thank you so much for that upload, epic documentary!!

[@sliceoflife1821]

WOW!! Amazing video and commentary. Truly describes our experience when skating. Thanks Tony and all involved. Time for me to dust off the old board and head to the park to make new friends and have that feeling again, and I'm 57.

[@yeaboydotdot]

Thank you for producing content for us despite all of the challenges there are to this medium.

[@foxconn042]

So well done skateboarding was one of my favorite things as a kid i later went to BMX and here i am now 28 years old and building my first skateboard in like 16 years and it's really just emotional for some reason brings me back to my childhood and can't wait to go skateboard again back then all my boards where handy downs piece together with old parts and chipped up decks to having one built brand new how i want it just amazing feeling

[@danjones2919]

Awesome doco just love skate boarding!! Perth Western Australia

[@savcm4984]

That was an amazing video. Skateboarding will always be in my heart, every close good friend I’ve met through it. 🤘

[@engwar4evr]

Thank you Tony! You truly are a national treasure. Man, I miss my blockhead skateboard from the 80's... lol

[@andyxmunoz]

Love being from San Diego, such a pride in my heart.

[@boardretailersassociation5111]

Outstanding. Very very well done. Will absolutely be sharing with our skate shop members throughout the USA.

[@ride]

Thanks. I wish we had time and budgets to make more in other regions.

[@traxonsundays]

Rad video for sure👌 Lived in San Diego till I was 8 years old and we moved to Europe never to return. I used to watch the surfers at Encinitas' beach and skaters near 7-Elevens as a kid thinking I wanted to do that too. Fast foward 25 years and I finally decided to buy a longboard to commute and learn how to ride it, and now I find out SD was the hotspot for skating all along. It would seem skateboarding planted its seeds in me early on.

[@DavidKcPrice]

defined my 90s/2000s childhood and maturity into adulthood. x games 900 was a memory I knew would be forever important for me learning and the culture of the sport

[@juanraigosa139]

I remember when the YMCA skatepark in Mission valley closed. But then the world became my skatepark. Proud of being part of that 90s wade. Love my SD 💯💯💯💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😎👍

[@bruce6871]

Absolutely beautiful cinematography

[@DeniseNepraunig]

Einfach mega Doku!! Super emotional und so berührend und all die mega Leute die ihr getroffen habt und gratuliere für den Flying Flamingo und deinem Loop! Und ich bin so froh dass ihr alle Helme tragt!! Stay safe und keep shredding!!

[@SabiaCDO]

This video is an instant treasure!

[@saltyfry8688]

Loved the Documentary 🤘🏻❤️‍🔥

[@andymanson]

I had the opportunity to visit San Diego in the late 70s and signed up for the Oasis skatepark - coming from Europe this was an incredible experience...like being a kid in the proverbial Candy Store. Great city and such a positive influence on skateboarding over the years!

[@officialmilitaryskate]

I love San Diego. I come from a small town in Nebraska so far away from skateboarding. Now I live here and half the people in this video are good friends of mine. 👏🏻

[@leonvdm]

2000 it must have been. i was 6 years old and played tony hawks pro skater 1 on the playstation 1 at a friends house. skating just got me and still gets me.

[@stg2lgcy00]

This was extremely inspiring thank you for putting this together!

[@JT-un7dc]

I've been skating since 84. I only got to delmar a couple of times. Luckily, i grew up in so cal. Pipeline was still around till 89. street skating and building diy ramps became accessible for everyone.

[@BangTaoBeach]

This is a great documentary. Most people in the world think that skating is Dog Town, Santa Monica and Venice Beach. This video shows them a lot more about So Cal skating.

[@NeilHesterSkateboarding]

Fantastic film ! 🔥👏

[@jaewan234]

Skateboarding is amazing!

[@MarcoGrandia]

Wow!! really well made and fun to watch. Thanks!

[@reelmates18]

I am blessed to have seen the Bones Brigade and Tony in 1989 in Auckland, NZ on their tour and be part of the sk8 scene in the early 80's until mid 2000's, still have a new board ready to ride at anytime.

[@truzerwert]

Absolutely beautiful!

[@McNateDoggYT]

Thanks man you give great advice don’t forget to follow it! Keep killing it!

[@michaeljohn8905]

Thanks Tony ! ❤

[@bdup159]

Man. More docs like these please. I want to learn everything.

[@PauloBerni699]

I grew up skating the first wave of parks; this is all so relatable. (Still skating @ 60).

[@MarceloSC81]

I'm brazilian and I got to say God Bless America!

[@soogood_food]

Learnt some new things. Thank you for this.

[@duncanmil1]

I have always been in love with the counter culture. Skating will always hold that place in my life. In that way it will never fade.

[@MiguelRockstarGarza]

Beautifully done!

[@russellp2825]

The production of this is soooo good.

[@diydan2213]

Thank you Tony.

[@eek412]

It seems like punk rock rap and skateboarding all started around the same time. What a time it must have been

[@eatassonthefirstdate]

it all got POPULAR at the same time among young people, and ONLY with young people. Rap didnt explode into suburban america until Dre did The Chronic and thrn Snoop with Doggystyle the next year in 93. skateboarding was about to explode in 94 n 95 cuz of the x games and a resurgence in skating due to street skating exploding and boards taking new shapes, enabling bigger n crazier gaps n stair sets. vert died in like 05 or 06, until 99 when Tony did the first 900 at X Games. but even then, still street has still been the bigger side of the skate world.... watch a video from 91 thru 94 and look at that street vs videos from 95 thru 97 when koston and tom penny and chad muska changed everything. and i mean changed EVERYTHING. Hosoi and Gonz are the godfathers of street skating, koston and tom penny is the DADDY'S lol

[@eek412]

When I was a kid I would have never imagined skating would come this far. Nice work everyone

[@LevelUpDaily434]

The documentary was epic, still get goose bumps watching him land that 900. Ive only been skating for a few months but love it with all my heart and soul, nothing has ever grabbed me like skating has. I know I'll be skating til I can't walk anymore lol also I am 31, not a teen or kid. It's never too late to start skating, I landed my first varial flips yesterday. I say flips bcuz I landed 2 of them in a row and nearly freaked out in the alley. Lol! They say the stoke of the trick only lasts for a few seconds to minutes but bs, I'm still geeked from yesterday bahaha If you don't skate, try it out. You won't regret it. You miss 100% of the shots you're not taking in life.

[@BobWeaver3000]

awesome. Thank you!

[@audbertovelez130]

love you Tony.. thank you..

[@briandenning1052]

This is blowing my mind, I used to skate the Carlsbad park as a kid. My brother and I would get food from the deli down the road on the skate their.❤

[@user-rh7jf5wn9i]

grew up in Encinitas skating YMCA. Camp there every summer was epic. That skate park made me who I was... Used to see every pro. Looking back it was a golden time to enter the sport.

[@ambientacademy]

I was obsessed with skateboarding back in highschool 2001-2004 when I lived on O'ahu, good times

[@KyleFilms69]

Wow. Well done seriously Cameron!

[@SanDiego_VDubLife]

pretty sweet. I learned some san diego skate history. I saw a few homies in there too. shout out June, Dominic, Willy, Gabe and Spencer.

[@elchicodelapatineta]

Amazing video thanks for teaching ❤️🙏🏻🔥

[@elchicodelapatineta]

88ï

[@martinhogan5970]

I felt good after watching this vid. Vindicated. 🤙🏾🤙🏾

[@livesimple9463]

I really enjoyed this documentary. As a beginner skateboarder this has given me a little more inspiration to continue skating. I actually did skate a little as a kid. But I stopped because I thought it was too hard and that I will never learn any tricks. Only now as an adult do I realize that it will take time, patience, and practice to land a trick for the first time. I do have a few tricks I can do. Nothing amazing yet though. Just the basics like nose stalling a curb/parking block but don't care. I am happy, I am having fun, and I know my kid self would be jealous of me right now. I feel myself progressing for sure though.

[@AndrewSherwin]

I'm not progressing as fast as I was in my mid 20s, it's only 10 years later that I picked it back up again. it makes me appreciate the tricks a little more though. My kickflips are shifting backside for some reason and it had never been a problem before. But it's always fun bombing hills and cruising around. I've been paying better attention to the health of my bearings which helps. I save a lot of energy that way I'm sure. I figure if we stay dedicated, something might click at some point.

[@livesimple9463]

It will man. My ollies are terrible but every now and then I get a good one in. Just keep working on it. The wait and struggle makes that much more sweeter when you finally land a trick and get more consistent at it.

[@djmatt07]

So SO GOOD!!!

[@chiguy2986]

30 mins in, this is 🔥 . Ty

[@gentlycrash]

Skate Diego, Been rippin Oceanside n Vista since i could balance on my board. Best community ever, the skateboard community. 1 love

[@r.paultv7745]

Everyones a hero in their individual manner, in their own not that heroic way.

[@aifg4701]

Omw I got to give it to the lady's Sheesh they had an Amazing journey meeting all these legends 🙌 💯 😢

[@wyattclay6385]

damn. im encinitas (leucadia) born and raised and at 23 I had no idea that the halfpipe and so much history was made here. Makes me so proud. Wish our past was more respected

[@AnDrew-oh5uq]

This was amazing , theres lots of Docs but whoever put this shit together had me feeling a type of way

[@juanresendiz7130]

Grew up in Escondido cool to see a lot of cool little clips of my old neighborhood

[@AstronoizeOfficial]

This was dope. Time to skate!

[@ryanrowe1975]

Skating and training to compete for a vert competition!

[@Jan123.]

That was amazing!

[@davidharris4030]

I live in Tennessee and had a aunt that lived in San Diego. When I was 12 years old my family went their to visit her. I was watching a multiple kids riding skateboards on the sidewalks. I couldn’t believe they were making the board travel without pushing. I later found out that was called tic tacking! That was it for me because I knew I had to have a board. Before we went back to Tennessee my mom bought me a cheap board but it was a board. Now it’s 40 plus years later and I still skateboard. So point is San Diego definitely had influence on the being of my skateboarding!🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙

[@regisdelimap]

Skateboard lindo demais!!!!

[@rodwellvanwyk01]

Beautiful ❤ My childhood...

[@rockyforguson6576]

👍 very good documentary

[@dkilla01]

Friggin awesome

[@BurtoniousPrime]

In the mid to late 80s , In the inner city, we just had ditches. In Southeast San Diego we skated Logan ditches, Imperial, National City, Chula Vista, and when we could get there, Spring Valley. It was tough at that time to be a black skateboarder and get to Del Mar, or even down to the pier. We would get chased out by the locals, beat up and jacked by the gangs, and run out of the neighborhoods where the white skaters lived. Wasnt till the early 90s that street started to blow up. Street skateboarding is all we had in the hood, and it was awesome! We explored the city on our boards, learned how to quickly navigate obstacles, and engaged with other urban skateboarders.

[@thestonedandstripped]

Grant was a hero at Del Mar! He looked out for us kids! Saint of Skateboarding

[@eatassonthefirstdate]

21:01 - amazing. just wow.