Jay J. Adams (February 3, 1961 – August 15, 2014) was an American

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...

. As a teen, he was the youngest member of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team (

Z-Boys The Zephyr Competition Team (or Z-Boys) were a group of American skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Santa Monica and Venice, California. Originally consisting of 12 members, the Z-boys were originally sponsored by the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Ze ...

). His spontaneous freestyle skateboarding style, inspired by ocean surfing, helped innovate and popularize modern skateboarding. His aggressive vertical tricks make him one of skateboarding's most influential stylists. He has been called "the original seed" of skateboarding.

Early life

Jay Adams was born in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. He was the only child of Robert Adams and Philaine Romero, and grew up with his mother and his stepfather, Kent Sherwood. He began skating and surfing at the age of four.Fitzgerald, Heidi (February 1, 2000
"Jay Adams,"
''Juice Magazine''. Retrieved on June 9, 2016. Sherwood worked at Dave Sweet's Surf Shop under Pacific Ocean Park, where Adams was introduced to skateboarding.Dougherty, Conor (August 17, 2014
"Jay Adams, Who Revolutionized Skateboarding, Dies at 53,"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved on June 3, 2016. Adams' skateboarding was greatly influenced by Larry Bertlemann, a professional surfer known for dragging his hands along the waves as he rode them. In 1974 at age 13, Adams became the youngest member to join the Santa Monica-based Zephyr surf team representing Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions. Fellow Z-Boy Tony Alva said of Adams, "Some kids are born and raised on

graham cracker A graham cracker (pronounced or in America) is a sweet flavored cracker made with graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century, with commercial development from about 1880. It is eaten as a snack food, usually h ...

s and milk; he was born and raised on surfing and skateboarding."'' Dogtown and Z-Boys''. Written by Stacy Peralta and Craig Stecyk. Dir. Stacy Peralta. Perf. Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva. Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD.

Career

The

became a skate team when they heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975. Adams was the first member to enter the competition, held in Del Mar, California, taking second place in the Junior Men's Freestyle. His explosive energy and low, bold, surf-like moves characterized the style of the Z-Boys and contrasted with the traditional style of the era, which was still based around gymnastic-style tricks formulated in the 1960s. Adams' ability to turn near-disasters into never-before-seen feats of style and agility was termed "an athletic stream-of-consciousness" by the 2001 documentary about the team, '' Dogtown and Z-Boys''. Much of Adams' and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame is due to photo-journalist and writer Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown Chronicles" in the 1975 relaunch of '' Skateboarder Magazine''. The series of magazine articles chronicled the adventures of the Z-Boys, who rode empty swimming pools in Southern California over a two-year period, laying the foundation for vertical skateboarding.Rosenfeld, David (August 21, 2013
"Jay Adams: The long ride of a Z-Boy,"
''Westside People''. Retrieved on June 9, 2016. The international reach of Stecyk's Dogtown articles and skateboard-industry sponsorship led to skateboarding becoming a viable profession. By age 15, Adams was one of the first skateboarders shown "catching air" (time spent in the air after launching) above the edge of a swimming pool. The Zephyr team broke up shortly after the Del Mar Nationals. Half the team formed a new team under Adams' stepfather Kent Sherwood, who made the Zephyr boards. Sherwood and Adams created the brand and team EZ-RYDER, which changed its name to Z-Flex six months later. Adams was the face of the brand. During his skateboarding career, Adams was sponsored by Hurley, Nixon, Osiris Shoes, Z-Flex, Tracker Trucks, Vercelli Surfboards, Carver Racks, Abec 11 wheels and Black Flys. Along with Jef Hartsel, Adams would go on to revive EZ-RYDER as EZ Ryder Originalz, custom designing and testing their handcrafted equipment. He collaborated with Z-Flex, designing boards in the Z-Flex range, most notably the Z-Flex Jay Adams Cruiser Skateboard. According to former Z-Boys teammate Stacy Peralta, Adams "is probably not the greatest skater of all time, but I can say without fear of being wrong that he is clearly the archetype of modern-day skateboarding." Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.

Films

Adams is featured prominently in the 2001 Peralta-directed documentary '' Dogtown and Z-Boys''. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' critic Kenneth Turan noted his contribution to the film: "''Dogtown'' is at its dramatic best with mini-profiles of its two biggest names, Adams and Tony Alva. The Adams segment especially, which shows the most naturally gifted of the Z-Boys regretful about the bad choices he made in his life, provides the kind of thoughtful introspection this film could have used a lot more of." The documentary won awards at Sundance and an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

. Adams was portrayed by

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. His portrayal of Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007) earned him acclaim and multiple award nominations. Other notable roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), '' ...

in the 2005 dramatized feature-film account of the Z-Boys origins, ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film that captures the rise of skateboarding culture in 1970s Santa Monica and Venice, California. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta, a key figure in the ska ...

'', written by Peralta and directed by

Catherine Hardwicke Catherine Hardwicke is an American film director, production designer, and screenwriter. Her directorial work includes '' Thirteen'' (2003), which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, '' Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' The Nativity ...

. He was also featured in Joshua Pomer's 2010 surf documentary ''The Westsiders''.

Personal life

Legal troubles and personal struggles

Adams spent time in prisons as he struggled with drug addiction.Edelstein, David
"A Lord of Dogtown Reemerges"
''The New York Times''. July 30, 2008, accessed November 11, 2008. After a Suicidal Tendencies concert in 1982, Adams screamed slurs at a gay couple outside a popular Hollywood hangout. When one of them yelled back, he knocked him down. Adams claims he fled but that the crowd behind him closed in and kicked and beat the men, killing one of them. He was convicted of felony assault and sentenced to six months in relation to the death of Dan Bradbury. In the late 1990s, after the murder of his brother and the death of his mother, father and grandmother all in the same year, Adams began using heroin. He was serving two-and-a-half years on drug charges in Hawaii during the production of '' Dogtown and Z-Boys'' and was released in 2002. The movie brought Adams back into the limelight and led to endorsement deals for him. As of 2005, Adams claimed to be drug-free and spoke to children at local schools about his past struggles. Nonetheless, in November 2005, he was arrested and sentenced to four years, after being caught on a wiretap acting as a go-between for a buyer and seller of crystal methamphetamine. He was released to a halfway house on July 8, 2008, for the remainder of his sentence. He completed his probation in January 2014.

Family

Adams' first wife was Alisha Adams, with whom he had a daughter, Venice. He also has a son, Seven, with ex-girlfriend Samantha Baglioni. Adams married Tracy Adams in 2011. They most recently resided in San Clemente, California, where Adams was an active member at a local church.

Death

Adams died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on August 15, 2014. A memorial funeral service was held in his honor at Venice Beach, California, on August 30, 2014. Surfers and skateboarders from across the country showed their respect by taking part in a traditional Hawaiian-style paddle-out tribute. A memorial skate session was held for Adams at the Venice Beach Skatepark by fellow skateboarders Tony Alva and Christian Hosoi. Two Venice-area murals have commemorated Adams. One is on the building site of the original Zephyr Skate Shop in Santa Monica. Shortly after his death, there was another on the surface of Venice Skatepark's bowl, featuring Adams alongside fellow Dogtown skater, the late Shogo Kubo, which has since been removed. "Jay Adams Mural by CBS Crew,"
''Juice Magazine'' (September 2, 2014). Retrieved on June 2, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jay 1961 births 2014 deaths American skateboarders Skateboarders from Los Angeles People from Venice, Los Angeles Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of California Prisoners and detainees of Hawaii American people convicted of assault American people convicted of drug offenses