Shogo Kubo (September 19, 1959 – June 24, 2014) was a Japanese American

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboar ...

ing pioneer and one of the original members of the

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 Z ...

that formed in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city unti ...

in 1975.Colin Bane
Z-Boys skateboarder Shogo Kubo dies
ESPN.com, June 25, 2014, accessed January 28, 2017. Born in

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

city, Japan, Kubo first tried skateboarding when he was six years old on a very rudimentary toy skateboard, and after falling he did not try it again until seeing someone skateboarding outside his

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

class when he was 12.

Jay Adams Jay J. Adams (February 3, 1961 – August 15, 2014) was an American skateboarder who, as a teen, was the youngest member of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team (Z-Boys). His spontaneous freestyle skateboarding style, inspired by ocean surf ...

Dogtown Chronicles: Shogo Kubo
''Juice'', August 1, 2002, accessed January 28, 2017. Kubo moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

at a relatively young age without any knowledge of the English language. For his inability to speak English, he was teased and thought of as "slow". When he moved to the United States, he took an interest in surfing. He became friends with

after responding to a newspaper ad about a surfboard Adams was selling. Kubo used Adams's skateboard, which eventually led to his passion for skateboarding and his joining the Z-Boys. His style was widely respected by his peers.RIP Shogo Kubo
'' Thrasher'', June 25, 2014, accessed January 28, 2017. He influenced future pro-skateboarders such as

Christian Hosoi Christian Rosha Hosoi ( ; born October 5, 1967) is an American professional skateboarder. He is also known by the nicknames "Christ" and "Holmes". Early life Hosoi was born on October 5, 1967 to a father of Japanese descent from Hawaii, and a mo ...

and was featured in the Dogtown photos of

Glen E. Friedman Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campai ...

Obey Giant, June 27, 2014, accessed January 28, 2017. Shogo left the competitive scene in the 1980s, later moving to Hawaii where he got married and had two children. In the 2005 American biographical drama film ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...

,'' Kubo was portrayed by pro skateboarder Don Nguyen. Kubo designed a sneaker for Nike in 2007, the Nike SB "Shogo" Blazers.Nike SB Blazer “Shogo” Release
August 18, 2007, accessed January 28, 2017. Kubo had worn Nike Blazers while skateboarding since the 1970s.Russ Bengtson
Gallery: '80s Skate Icons In Classic Basketball Shoes
''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', August 17, 2011, accessed January 28, 2017.

Death

Kubo died at age 54; he was found unresponsive while

paddleboarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneeli ...

in the water at a surf spot off Portlock Point in Hawaii Kai, Honolulu. Later reports indicate he died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circu ...

Shogo Kubo R.I.P.
June 25, 2014, accessed January 28, 2017. At the time of his death he was working as a tour agent, and was survived by his wife Michiyo, son Shota, daughter Meagan H., brothers Yoshifumi and Shinya, and sister Reiko Masuda.Shogo Kubo
''Honolulu Star-Advertiser'', June 27, 2014, accessed January 28, 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kubo, Shogo 2014 deaths 1959 births American skateboarders American sportspeople of Japanese descent People from Kagoshima Japanese emigrants to the United States