Lucero & Grosso

John Lucero and Jeff Grosso weres the first Pro Skateboarder I met. It was 87 and it meant a hell of a lot more to meet a Pro back then. There weren’t a trillion Pros like now. Pros kept the same board graphic for a year or even longer if there boards sold strong. If you had a cetain Pro board back in the day, you could tell who's board you had just from the shape alone. There boards had more personality and unique attributes than a popsicle shape. I went with my friend Cade to a skate contest at the Donner Ski Ranch. We rolled into the parking lot and saw a ton of kids. At the time if you saw a skater you’d always approach him and chill. Skateboarders were still outcasts at the time so you always stuck together. We watched the people practice for the contest and made our way to the lodge. I’m pretty sure we both saw John Lucero and Jeff Grosso on the deck. It was insane to see these Pro Skaters from California in Tahoe. These were guys you only saw in the magazines and videos. I was at the age were these guys were rock stars to me. A ton of kids were around them and we made our way closer. I asked Lucero if they were going to skate. Jeff Grosso replied, “Yeah, maybe if someone buys me a hamburger or something”. Although he was being a dick, I could care less. I asked Lucero if he was giving away his board and he told me, “No way dude, that’s my board”. I didn't know any better and I was surprised I had the courage to even ask, being in full fan out mode. I asked him why they were at the contest and they both said “We're here to see him”. They pointed to Riky Barnes who was pretty gnarly. He was all punked out and ripping the course. Riky looked like someone in the Sex Pistols, super punker that had a small town white boy like me intimidated. After the contest Lucero actually skated and was doing fakie tail slides on a metal curb. Pretty mind blowing at the time. There was a mob of kids waiting for autographs. Grosso was asked if he would sign an autograph to which he responded, “You can only sign your name so many times before it gets boring”. He was being a dick all day and we loved it. His  "Street Model" just came out and I expected to see him shred the course. Cade and I both noticed Lucero’s board had little grooves routered into his nose. I assumed it was for nose grabs and a better idea than Rip Grip. Total prototype shit that I never saw and never saw since. Seeing those guys made such an impression that stuck to this day. It was cool to see them as real friends and skating and traveling together. I studied there photos and ads trying to emulate grip and sticker jobs. Skating curbs is still one of my favorite thing to skate. My wall is filled with their older and current boards. From Schmitt Stix to Black Label, I'm still a big fan of them both.