Public Domain.

A video extravaganza in living color and drop dead b&w.
(Bones Brigade Video Four)

I have been thinking a lot about the Powell Peralta skate video Public Domain for the last few weeks due to me getting that video on Christmas morning back in 1988. Exactly twenty years ago. Getting Public Domain that Christmas was a huge deal, one that had a huge effect on me. I guess for any of this to make any sense, we have to take a little journey back in time. Let’s go back a few years, shall we?

I started skateboarding in 1985. To say it was a big deal to me would be an understatement. Besides the physical act of actually skateboarding and goofing around with my friends I also couldn’t get enough of what I guess you would call “skateboard media.” I lived, breathed, ate and slept skateboarding so much that I needed to consume every image, every video, and every magazine that I could find. I loved reading the interviews with the pros, seeing the photos and it helped me learn new tricks.

After awhile, magazines and videos couldn’t be made fast enough to keep up with my craving. I had to find older skaters in my town and raid their magazine stash to see magazines from before I started skating and it helped fill in the gaps in my head. I was looking forward as well as looking back.

Fast-forward a few years to 1988. I was 14 years old and I was what you might consider a bonified skate nerd. Every word I ever read in a skate mag was burned into my head and I thought I knew everything there was to know. I could probably quote you Lance Mountain’s interview from Transworld word for word but yet, I sucked horribly in school. Math equations from school couldn’t seem to penetrate all the skateboard trivia in my head.

In the Fall of 1988, I was entering the 9^th grade and the greatest skateboard company that ever existed (and my favorite), Powell Peralta, began advertising that they were going to release their fourth skate video later that year entitled, Public Domain. To say my friends and I were excited would be an understatement. The first three Powell Peralta videos were my bible so I was more than ready to add a forth volume. My friends and I would discuss at length what we thought we might see in the video. What would it be like and who might be in it? Would it have a story line like The Search for Animal Chin did? Skate videos were very few and far between back then, maybe only three were released in one year so any video being released was a huge deal.

We were all excited about seeing Mike Vallely in Public Domain. By 1988 he had emerged as the greatest street skater and we had been following him in the magazines and brief video appearances for two years or so. We were definitely excited to see him in the video and knew it wouldn’t disappoint.

At some point in the early weeks of December my Mom needed to go to the Eastern Hills Mall for some reason or another, which I can only guess, was to do some Christmas shopping. To me a trip to Eastern Hills only meant one thing… a trip to Endless Summer Skateshop as well. After a quick stop to pick up my partner in crime Eric Shugats we were headed south on route 78, Transit Road for the twenty minute or so drive.

A trip to Endless Summer was always the greatest and I had to seize ever chance to get there that I could. Once inside you got to check out all the newest boards, latest t-shirts and rap out with the owners Mike and Jim. We weren’t in the shop long that night until I saw what to me at the time might of well have been the Holy Grail. My eyes locked with a copy of Public Domain inside the glass display cabinet. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There it was, right in front of me. I now knew it was real and very attainable.

Eric and I said goodbye to Mike and Jim and headed out of the shop and hopped in the car and I told my Mom that they had a copy of Public Domain. She knew I wanted it as I had probably mentioned it to her a million times. After telling her they had it for sale, she kinda shrugged it off saying she need to get to the mall and we made the five minute drive up the road to the mall.

When you’re 14 years old just about the uncoolest thing ever is to be seen with your mom at the mall. Upon entering the mall Eric and I arranged a specific time to meet up with my mom when she was to be finished with her shopping. She gave us ten dollars to split between us and we were off to play in a Christmas decked out mall.

Unbeknown to us, my mom really didn’t have any shopping to do at the mall that day. While Eric and I ate at Burger King in the food court, cruised Cavages and The National Record Mart for punk tapes, played video games in the arcade and walked around wishing we had the balls to talk to chicks, she was out the door, back in the car and driving back to Endless Summer.

Come Christmas morning there was only one thing I wanted and if you have read this far you know what it is. My family had a tradition of each person taking a turn opening one present at a time instead of shredding them all open at once. This made opening presents and the excitement of Christmas morning last what seemed for hours instead of being over in five minutes. Each time I opened a present, it wasn’t Public Domain and I was starting to get worried as my pile of presents to open was getting smaller and smaller. I didn’t even see a present that resembled the shape of a vhs tape. Things were looking bleak.

As I opened my last present and it turned out to not be Public Domain I was trying my hardest to not look upset and I was already plotting a scheme on how I would get that video as soon as possible. As I sat there on the floor next to the Christmas tree, probably looking like the saddest kid ever my Mom says, “You know, I think I saw one more present in the other room, let me go check.” What was she talking about? Was she playing a joke? I still had hope.

She returned with one more wrapped present and again, it didn’t resemble a vhs tape. I was happy to receive another gift but was bummed it wasn’t going to be Public Domain. As I shredded the paper off that last gift, it revealed a shoebox. Oh great, just what I needed, some crummy shoes. As I opened the box there definitely were not shoes inside. As I pulled a layer of tissue paper out of the box, there in all it’s glory was what I was to know as the greatest skateboard video of all time, Public Domain. Wishes do come true.

My mind was blown! Here I was standing in my living room holding a copy of Public Domain and the tv and vcr were only a few steps away. I was torn as what to do. Should I watch Public Domain right away and have to be interrupted for our traditional family brunch? Or should I wait till after brunch? I went with the uninterrupted option of waiting till after brunch.

This is my actual copy of the video.

After knocking off a couple of bowls of Fruit Loops, a few cinnamon rolls and other assorted breakfast junk foods it was finally time to sink 100% into Public Domain. Now, to save this story from even getting any longer I’ll save you my play by play reactions as I watched the video but just know that it was everything I hoped for and more. My mind was continuously blown and I was introduced to many new skaters and tricks. This video was actually the first of two times ever that I thought there was some type of trick photography going on. I actually questioned that people could actually do these tricks.

After the final credits rolled off the screen I had to take a few minutes and think about what I had just saw. Unbelievable stuff. If you’ve seen Public Domain then you know. I immediately called my buddy Eric and filled him on the video. He was freaking out as I described some of the parts to him. The next mission was to get over to his house as soon as possible to show this video to him. After begging my Mom for what seemed like forever she was finally ready to give me a ride to Eric’s house.

Upon arrival at Eric’s, we took over his living room television and we settled in for my second viewing and his first. Again, amazing stuff and it was hard to get it to all sink in. All the images were hitting us so fast.

As the video was finishing we totally energized! We needed to skate! Now, if you are familiar with winters in Western New York then you know we didn’t have many options to skate that day. It was freezing cold, probably over three feet of snow on the ground but we didn’t care. We were skaters, nothing can stop us from skating.

Eric and I donned our winter coats and clunky winter boots and headed out into the winter wonderland carrying our boards and sneakers. We walked the two mile trek into downtown Lockport.. our destination… the Lockport parking ramp. The lowest level of the parking ramp was underground and pretty much sheltered from the snow but not the freezing temperatures. As we got to the lower level we shed our boots and jackets and put on our sneakers and proceeded to skate like we haven’t skated before. Or probably ever since. We were charged from the video and eager to try some of the new tricks we had seen. Especially those new no comply variations.

And there you have it. The greatest Christmas ever. Not sure if they were ever the same after that one.

Looking back, twenty years later, I still love public Domain. From Stacy’s opening to Guerrero bombing the hills in SF, Lance at Kevin Harris’ skatpark, the SB Rubber Boys, Mike V shredding NJ, DC and NYC, Thiebaud ripping Oakland Tech, the Rubber Boys and everything in between… it’s all with me everyday.

Thanks you Mr and Mrs Claus. Thank you Mike V. Thank you Lance Mountain. Thank you Stacy Peralta. Thank you Craig Stecyk.