Skate Legend, San Clemente Resident Jay Adams Passes Away in Mexico

Skateboarding legend and San Clemente resident Jay Adams passed away today from an apparent heart attack while surfing in Mexico, according to this manager.

He was 53.

Adams grew up in Venice and Santa Monica, where he began surfing at an early age and was eventually introduced to skateboarding by surfers who would frequent Jeff Ho Surf Shop and Zephyr Productions. a local surf shop. He joined the Zephyr Surf Team, which would eventually become a skateboarding team.

]

The team, who would also go by the Z-Boys, rezolutionzed skateboarding, which until the 1970s has been defined by an upright, tall-standing style. The Z-Boys rode aggressively and were the first skateboarders to skateboard in drained pools, developing what would become modern aerial and vert skating.

He is credited with being one of the fathers of modern skateboarding, earning himself the nickname “The Original Seed.”

His time with the Z-Boys was chronicled in the 2001 award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys as well as the 2005 drama Lords of Dogtown.

Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

Email: cl**@oc******.com. Twitter: @charlesnam. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *