Exclusive | Skateboarding legends swarm Santa Monica 50 years after California culture changed forever

Pioneers of modern skateboarding gathered on the Santa Monica Pier Thursday night to celebrate 50 years of the culture that is now synonymous with California.In the mid-70s, a group of young men from Dogtown — a local nickname for Santa Monica, formed the Z-Boys skate team at Jeff Ho’s Zephyr surf shop.

The legendary group, credited with redefining skateboarding, originally consisted of 12 members, including Tony Alva, who became a mascot for the culture.Their story was immortalized in an acclaimed 2002 documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys’ and the 2006 film “Legends of Dogtown”, which was screened on the pier Thursday at Santa Monica’s ‘Locals’ Night.’ The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story The event kicked off around 3:30pm when members of the Dogtown Car Club began pulling up to the pier in their impeccably-maintained vintage cars.

As fans gawked at the cars, skaters did ollies on a skate ramp nearby.Just after 6:30pm, Tony Alva himself appeared for a Dogtown trivia session and a live DJ set.Though Tony is the face of the Z-Boys, he gives all the credit to Jeff, whose shop started it all.“Jeff gave me an opportunity at a very young age.I couldn’t be on the surf team, but there was something about skateboarding that I was a natural at,” said Alva at the event.

“He basically led a few guys on the team that were just street kids, and one of them was Jay Adams, and the other one was me.”At 7:30pm, a screening of the film “Legends of Dogtown” was shown, followed by a live performance by local thrash metal punkband Cycotic Youth.“Fifty years later, the influence of Dogtown and the Z-Boys can still be seen in skateboarding and Southern California culture around the world,” Jim Harris, Executive Director and Historian of the Santa Monic...