A group gathered at the base of the Acosta Training Center steps as Adam steamed toward them at full speed.
He bent his knees and then sprang into the air effortlessly, taking his skateboard with him.
Adam, a scrawny 13-year-old, cleared the nine steps easily ““ a gap of about 8 feet from the top to the bottom of the steps. The other skaters were stoked and banged their boards to show it. Even a few students walking towards the hill clapped in approval.
But there was a problem ““ no one caught his trick on tape. Without footage, it’s like it never happened.
So Adam scaled the steps again, but before he could hop on his skateboard for another attempt, red and blue lights beamed through the heavy February fog.
Busted.
A patrol car pulled up and the skaters knew their fun, at least at Acosta, was over. The disgruntled group of skaters evacuated as a unit and moved on to the next spot.
“Skaters like to go out and see what else is out there, even if it’s somewhere they’re not supposed to be,” skateboarding legend Tony Hawk said following an appearance on campus last month. “(Breaking the law) is not the point ““ the point is the progression of skating.”
According to Hawk, skating on campuses and schoolyards is popular because the challenges are easily accessible. Skaters can get creative with the array of staircases, rails and benches found at school sites. All of that is at their disposal, even though it is most likely forbidden.
The stage at Bruin Plaza, for instance, is invaded almost on a daily basis. A number of skaters claim it to be an ideal practice location for tricks such as aerial kickflips because the drop is not too high or too low.
It’s also an accident waiting to happen. With one miscalculated jump, the board can fling toward pedestrians walking by.
“In general, skateboarding (on campus) is allowed,” Sgt. Mark Littlestone of the university police said. “But there are spots marked as pedestrian zones.”
According to Littlestone, the UCPD has to intervene a few times a week because the safety of pedestrians is the main concern. This concern for safety is something Hawk agrees with.
“If you’re not putting pedestrians at harm, I think it’s cool,” Hawk said. “It’s not like they’re doing it maliciously. They just want to see what else is available.”
Hawk added the lack of local skate parks makes the UCLA campus a hot spot for aspiring skaters. The nearest option is The Cove Skatepark, which is located almost four miles away in Santa Monica.
“It’s proximity,” he said. “There aren’t many skate parks in this area. People like the variety.”
Hawk sympathizes with what some skaters have to go through in order to push their sport to the limits. During his 27-year career, he has had his share of run-ins with law enforcement. But there is one incident that he remembers most ““ an incident that perfectly reflects how skaters are perceived in society.
Hawk was casually skating with a friend at the boardwalk in San Diego when suddenly, an officer put his friend in a headlock and took him into a small police station.
“I thought it was a little extreme because we were just skating for transportation,” Hawk said. “We weren’t trying to grind anything. We were just skating down the boardwalk.”
Skaters are often classified as delinquents who carelessly trash private property. The UCPD intervenes because of the possibility of damage to campus staircases and handrails.
Yet, of all the negative stigmas that surround the skateboarding culture, Hawk said he is most bothered by some skaters’ motivation to pursue the fame and fortune.
“That just didn’t exist when I was a kid,” he said. “When people get a taste of that, they lose their motivation for skating.”
In the modern age of flip cams and YouTube, a single video upload can earn a skater notoriety and perhaps even a sponsorship. Skaters are just a trick and click away from stardom.
“If you’re getting photos and really good video footage, you can make a name for yourself,” Hawk said. “The newer generation of skateboarders has shown that the urban landscape can be your skate park.”
And for a number of skaters, the UCLA campus is that urban landscape.