Jay Adams

For the Christian theologian and counselor, see Jay E. Adams. For the Texas musician and singer, see Jay Boy Adams.

Jay Adams
Adams in 2011
Born	Jay J Adams (1961-02-03)February 3, 1961 Venice, Los Angeles, California
Died	Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
Nationality	American
Occupation	Professional skateboarder
Known for	Member of the Z-Boys skateboarding team

Jay J Adams (February 3, 1961 – August 15, 2014) was an American skateboarder most prominently known as one of the original members of Z-Boys skateboarding team. He is known as "The Original Seed" of the sport and considered one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. Adams died of a heart attack on August 15, 2014.

Early life

Jay Adams was born in a part of Venice, California known to locals as "Dogtown". He grew up with his mother and his stepfather, Kent Sherwood. He began skating and surfing at the age of four. Sherwood worked at Dave Sweet's Surf Shop under Pacific Ocean Park, where Adams was introduced to skateboarding by all the surfers who visited. Adams' skateboarding was greatly influenced by Larry Bertlemann, a professional surfer who was known for dragging his hands along the waves as he rode them. In 1974, Adams became the youngest member to join the Zephyr surf team that represented the Santa Monica shop Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions. When asked about Adams, fellow Z-Boy Tony Alva said, "Some kids are born and raised on graham crackers and milk, he was born and raised on surfing and skateboarding."

Career

The Z-Boys became a skate team when they heard about the Bahn-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975. Jay Adams was the first member to enter the competition, held in Del Mar, California, taking 2nd 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 tricks formulated in the 1960s.

According to Bones Brigade founder 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." Much of Adams and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame is due to Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown articles" in the relaunch of Skateboarder magazine in 1975. The Dogtown articles were a series of magazine articles that chronicled the adventures of the Z-Boys, riding empty swimming pools in Southern California over a two-year period, which is said to have laid the foundations for vertical skateboarding.

The Zephyr team broke up shortly after the Del Mar Nationals and half the team followed Kent Sherwood, who made the Zephyr boards, to a new team. 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.

Adams was sponsored by Hurley, Nixon, Osiris Shoes, Z-Flex, Tracker Trucks, Vercelli Surfboards, Carver Racks, Abec 11 wheels and Black Flys.

Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.

In popular culture

Adams is featured prominently in the 2001 award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys and in the 2005 dramatized film account of the Z-Boys origins, Lords of Dogtown. In the movie, he was played by Emile Hirsch, who was praised by critics for his performance. Adams had recently revived EZ Ryder as EZ Ryder Originalz with Jef Hartsel, and had custom designed, tested, and handcrafted their own equipment. Jay Adams had also collaborated with Z-Flex and designed skateboards in the Z-Flex range, most notably the Z-Flex Jay Adams Cruiser Skateboard. Adams also featured in 2010 movie The Westsiders

Legal problems

Adams spent time in prisons as he struggled with drug addiction. In 1982, he was charged with murder but convicted of assault following a fight he instigated in Los Angeles which led to the death of Dan Bradbury. Adams served 6 months in prison for the assault. In the late 1990s, after the murder of his brother, and the death of his mother, father, and grandmother all in the same year, he 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. 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 of 2014.

Personal life

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.

As of 2005, Adams was drug-free and spoke to children at local schools about his past struggles.

Death

Adams died of a heart attack on August 15, 2014.

Further reading

• DOGTOWN – The Legend of the Z-Boys, C.R. Stecyk III & Glen E. Friedman, Burning Flags Press, 2000, ISBN 0-9641916-4-4
• JAY-BOY – Classic photographs by Jay Adams stepfather, Kent Sherwood, Concrete Wave Editions, 2006, ISBN 0-9735286-6-4 *[1]
• Scarred for Life – Eleven Stories About Skateboarders by Keith Hamm, Chronicle Books, 2004, ISBN 0-8118-4053-0

External links

• Jay Adams at the Internet Movie Database