This is literally my life, step by step. I remember seeing Natas in Thrasher, getting sponsored by Alva, watching Natas start 101, skating with Gabriel Rodriquez and more!
These cats were my heroes back in the 80s. Gonz first...Natas and Tommy very close...even Jesse Martinez, who wasn't in this but his board was...those guys were the first true street skaters. There was the pretty boy-Hosoi and squeeky-clean Hawk, but I always dug these guys. Street was just taking off and you didn't need a ramp or a pool...just a spot. Ohio was a million miles away from Santa Monica and Huntington Beach and Venice...but we didn't care. Several times I'd layer up in long underwear and thick jackets to go outside and skate where the sun had melted the snow, but it was still 30 degrees. My favorite all-time board was the Vision Gonz deck...you could Ollie the moon with that thing...HUGE kicktail. Second was SMA Natas deck with the panther. It was fairly tame compared to Gonzs deck, but to this day it was the only board I've ever been able to kickflip. Now kickflip are the norm, but back then with a 10 x 30 deck it was an accomplishment. After about the mid 90s I all but quit skating. I got married, settled down. Had a couple of the newer double kick decks, but I just never got into that style. No, I'm old and tired and in bad health now...but I always dream of hopping back on a huge 10 x 30, P&P Gorilla Rib rails, Thunder trucks and Powell 95a Rat Bones or Santa Cruz 92a Bullets and rolling somewhere...anywhere. Thank you for posting this...lot of history for us old farts... ...and Natas...the kid who at 16 looked 30 and who at 30 looked 16... Right on.
So funny hearing him talk about the kickflip. "We'd ollie and kick it and it was just so funny, because we'd spend the whole day landing with one foot on and one foot off." Haha little did he know that 10-15 years later this is the struggle every skater would know while learning kickflips
I love modern tech skating and what it has evolved into, but this video shows the kind of skateboarding I grew up with. I still think it's fucking gnarly.
I hear you man. I got into skating right before Tony Hawk's Pro Skater came out so I knew technical skating from the get go but I still love watching my old favorite skaters of that particular time now and appreciate how ahead of their time these guys are.
I owned a skateshop in bakersfield ca from 95 to 2013 we had vita shoes in beginning ahead of time!!! and we would get natas stuff in but the "New Breed" sk8r only cared about bam muska mike v. in the early days of my store I always Loved Natas style and personality!!!
Natas you are a true skateboard legend remember skateboarding at 8yrs ... Watching your vids spinning around that fire hydrant blew my mind then plus the wall rides epic n carving it up down the street ...totally wicked ..I'm 39 now n don't skate much after having the same injury in 2000 as this great man ..a metal plate n 8 screws in my right ankle after a nose stall revert went wrong n bent my foot back the other way woooooooow that hurt .. Keep skateboarding enjoy life to the max I do ......peace out ✌️✌✌
Steven Sippio Hey Steven I'm here bro ..ask away ..it seems funny as I wished when I was young skateboarder that CZcams wasn't invented n watching CZcamsr john hill ..Arron kyro and co..skating reminds me of them great times ..me and my friends made ramps learnt tricks together and it was epic you know ..but yea hook us up bud ..peace out ✌️
Came here looking to confirm that deck rails were introduced to skateboarding before handrails. Stayed here for the incredibly interesting and entertaining video. Haven’t heard of him before just now, but Natas is an inspiration !
Landsdowne was fun to skate but we had to leave someone at the car otherwise it wouldn't be there when we got back. The place was super sketchy back in 80's. Someone told me that the city build a project house on top of part it. You could kinda see where the rest of the snake run up hill used to be.
Owned Streets of Fire in the late 80s and remember being blown away by Natas. Had seen pictures of him in a magazines before of crazy WTF things he'd do but watching the footage was transcendental to a young me then. That ollie onto a school table still gives me chills; those old boards were heavy and lacked the pop of boards these days. The best kids rolling down Wilshire Blvd would grab the board and jump onto small handrails to do boardslides; I remember the heated debates about the rumors that Gonz and Natas had actually ollied onto them. Many of us were 100% sure that it couldn't be done.
Natas was always my favorite skater. I traded a brand new Jeff Kendall for a well used Natas board because I liked the concave and size better. Had it for a day and my brother ratted me out to my dad, it's Satan backwards, and he threw it away. I had to save all summer to get a vision double tail.
He's the most badass street skate ever,no one has fun like he did back in the day,Natas saved skate boarding,all skaters owe this man props, he's the realshit.
Had so many of the Natas decks from '87 to '89. I also like Tommy Guerrero's sword w/flames deck. Right up until Matt Hensley King Size came out. I still love skateboarding and how it has evolved, but there will never be times like these again. Shit was so fresh.
2 tricks in two weeks fuckers bow down to a pioneer. Natas shaped the way you skate. Pay homage. He was doing handrails that would make your sack bleed 20 years ago. Legend.
Man, as a musician who really appreciates skating, natas is probably my favorite. His seamless, improvised use of everything in his path reminds of a lot of radical jazz musicians, like the fucking John coltrane of skateboarding. He utilizes everything at his disposal, yeah, but with completely perfect flow, no artifice, or technical sporty bullshit for the sake of. A real artist
So Inspired! He is now my favorite skater! Wow! I love all the old school skaters from the late 80's early 90-'s Gonz & Marc Johnson as well.This was a great vid I really enjoyed it! THANK YOU
That fire hydrant is nothing less than national heritage and should be put in a museum. I remember reading an interview with Natas in which he talked about touring and doing demos in the aftermath of that video. People would put a fire hydrant in their street course just for him, expecting him to replicate the spin, only they'd be huge, four foot tall European style hydrants.
+Arno Theadorno Right! I remember read some about some Asian company flew him over there (Japan maybe?) and they had a fire hydrant and a photographer. They pointed at the hydrant smiling at Natas. Funny shit.
wow that was cool, i had heard of natas spins, but never knew of his contribution to skateboarding until having watched this movie. I liked that he was friends with Mark Gonzales, i am a fan of his for sure, and also i think that his contribution to the artistic and design aspects of skateboarding were very interesting.
The trick off the chain link fence is still my favorite. I can remember watching that video back in the day! Still love Firehose & 'Brave Captain' to this day!
I'm 44 now and too broke down to skate.Seeing Natas in Transworld doing wall rides got me doing em back when.I appreciate Ritchie and William but,watching Natas,Gonz,and Mullens gets me stoked as much as it used to.Damn getting old.
Bro, you + me both.. *tell me hearing that song kick in from Streets of Fire " CAPTAIN, there are doubts!" when that kicks in I instantly get super stoked and Psyched to skate BUT a remix of that feeling as it's a old school version..Makes me happy remembering doing 50/50 axel stalls on low benches.. and what a big deal learning backside stuff was.. **I'm SAME age as you dude.. I UN-retired 3-4 years ago when I saw Adidas Busenitz skate shoe and emmediately went home and watched Video Days and this led me to watch Streets of Fire... (I stayed a skater whole life but hadn't skated since late 90's..... you?
+Steven Sippio I've got a 21 year old son and we moved to a rural part of town about 10 years ago. On two acres and I'm a carpenter so what did I do?Yup,built a mini half for me and the boy. (For me,ha!)I admit that I'm not what I used to be but,I still get the same rush that I did when I was 16.If Animal Chin could do it,why can't we?
I had an original santa monica airlines made natas deck back in '85. I remember it fondly, but today it would be very weird, it had the shortest nose a street skater could imagine using today.
The best thing about Natas' skating is that he isn't smooth. He is always on edge and borderline out-of-control, so it makes it more interesting to watch. It is the counter to someone like Nyjah Huston who is also fun to watch because everything looks so effortless.
as the vid goes on i really see the evolution of skating. at first it was like the old bowl sessions but then, everything changed starting from those wall rides
always wanna to be good at this an i know mostly the reason i wusnt i wus so scared to jus go wit it i psych myself out an i also wldnt comit to the tricks 100 percent but still i wld skate with my friends growing up bc to me i jus loved all that came with skating the hanging out the times an ppl i knew cld skate so i wus always stokked for them to perform an like a fen jus cheering for them to do there thing my teenage days 2002 to 2006 fun times i havent stopped since 2001 2002 luvin skateboarding its radical
I have that Thrasher with Natas on the cover, the dude was so mysterious to anyone not in Cali at first, it's things like that that kids nowadays can't experience. I think Mullen should be given a little more props if you're gonna say the history of street skating but, yes, Natas was the shit.
you, are the man! $Natas,yah you Tommy,Mike,vGonz,and Ron Allen! not mention many others I look up to,frogger out law sk8er! of the sanmateo co sheriff's office! Derek Bullene
Natas should get Rodney Mullen type credit for tricks, he was exciting, stylish .- "Captain there are 'no' doubts in your ability" (Still a classic song from 'streets of fire')......he is also a big influence thru 'suspension of disbelief' for me.
You look at old Natas pictures and the guy looks like he'd fight you anywhere. You hear him talk and he sounds like he's waiting for his latte
Like Rodney he was isolated to a point and seems to be an introvert. It's like creativity through skateboarding became their expression to the world.
I feel like this should be called history of natas kaupas
storm redford it's cause of copy right he can't put the real name for the documentari
Agreed .
This is literally my life, step by step. I remember seeing Natas in Thrasher, getting sponsored by Alva, watching Natas start 101, skating with Gabriel Rodriquez and more!
These cats were my heroes back in the 80s. Gonz first...Natas and Tommy very close...even Jesse Martinez, who wasn't in this but his board was...those guys were the first true street skaters. There was the pretty boy-Hosoi and squeeky-clean Hawk, but I always dug these guys. Street was just taking off and you didn't need a ramp or a pool...just a spot. Ohio was a million miles away from Santa Monica and Huntington Beach and Venice...but we didn't care. Several times I'd layer up in long underwear and thick jackets to go outside and skate where the sun had melted the snow, but it was still 30 degrees. My favorite all-time board was the Vision Gonz deck...you could Ollie the moon with that thing...HUGE kicktail. Second was SMA Natas deck with the panther. It was fairly tame compared to Gonzs deck, but to this day it was the only board I've ever been able to kickflip. Now kickflip are the norm, but back then with a 10 x 30 deck it was an accomplishment. After about the mid 90s I all but quit skating. I got married, settled down. Had a couple of the newer double kick decks, but I just never got into that style. No, I'm old and tired and in bad health now...but I always dream of hopping back on a huge 10 x 30, P&P Gorilla Rib rails, Thunder trucks and Powell 95a Rat Bones or Santa Cruz 92a Bullets and rolling somewhere...anywhere.
Thank you for posting this...lot of history for us old farts...
...and Natas...the kid who at 16 looked 30 and who at 30 looked 16...
Right on.
Natas is the man, a humble living legend and the prototype modern skateboarder.
So funny hearing him talk about the kickflip. "We'd ollie and kick it and it was just so funny, because we'd spend the whole day landing with one foot on and one foot off." Haha little did he know that 10-15 years later this is the struggle every skater would know while learning kickflips
4l4ddin77 and pretty much every other flip trick, my problem right now with hardflips
Only it isn't fun and games anymore, people take it too seriously.
none of that makes any sense.
4l4ddin77 it was immediate and everybody started trying to kick flip. I was 14 and spent hours learning them.
mine is varial kickflip man
I remember Natas first "double-tail" deck. It changed everything.
I still remember being the only street skater at comps and freakin people out. Natas was my inspiration.
its good to note that a 1988 Natas SMA with Thunders, cellblocks, OJ's and rails weighed 68 lbs.
Yeah I remember picking up my friend's Natas board and being amazed at how heavy it was.
@@BakjeLeip he is exaggerating alot...not even close..between 10 and 20lbs ...i rode sma natas and thunder in the 80s...68lbs lmao
Really? Im born in 1991 so I've really only skated more modern boards. That is crazy to think those boards weighed that much
I cant hear "brave captain" without imagining Natas skating...
' Everyone intensely serious ' then gonz comes on with trousers on his head
skatey47 Dogtown was life or death man you were lucky to see 20
skatey47 "
he was awesome!!
It's worth saying it's a sweatshirt - not trousers. I may be too *serious*, tho. :P
He is the raddest ever.
still have his original board with the jaguar and it STILL till this day rides like a champ
I know nothing about skating. watching this because am doing research on skaters. But this man (Natas) has a beautiful smile.
watch mark gonz stuff. super cool dude.
Never even knew about the guy before this, hugely inspirational to artists and skaters alike. Thank you, Natas
True Pioneer in Skateboading. Back in the late 80's we would constantly try to do all of his tricks from his video parts and magazine shots.
I love modern tech skating and what it has evolved into, but this video shows the kind of skateboarding I grew up with. I still think it's fucking gnarly.
I hear you man. I got into skating right before Tony Hawk's Pro Skater came out so I knew technical skating from the get go but I still love watching my old favorite skaters of that particular time now and appreciate how ahead of their time these guys are.
I owned a skateshop in bakersfield ca from 95 to 2013 we had vita shoes in beginning ahead of time!!! and we would get natas stuff in but the "New Breed" sk8r only cared about bam muska mike v. in the early days of my store I always Loved Natas style and personality!!!
Natas you are a true skateboard legend remember skateboarding at 8yrs ... Watching your vids spinning around that fire hydrant blew my mind then plus the wall rides epic n carving it up down the street ...totally wicked ..I'm 39 now n don't skate much after having the same injury in 2000 as this great man ..a metal plate n 8 screws in my right ankle after a nose stall revert went wrong n bent my foot back the other way woooooooow that hurt .. Keep skateboarding enjoy life to the max I do ......peace out ✌️✌✌
dude the revert story hurts
Tony,,,Hit m,e up,,i wanna ask you questions about you're skating and injury.(nothing weird)
Steven Sippio
Hey Steven I'm here bro ..ask away ..it seems funny as I wished when I was young skateboarder that CZcams wasn't invented n watching CZcamsr john hill ..Arron kyro and co..skating reminds me of them great times ..me and my friends made ramps learnt tricks together and it was epic you know ..but yea hook us up bud ..peace out ✌️
Started skating when I was 10 I'm now 36, and I embarrassed to say I never heard of Natas Hahaha 🤔 Awesome documentry 🤘
Came here looking to confirm that deck rails were introduced to skateboarding before handrails. Stayed here for the incredibly interesting and entertaining video. Haven’t heard of him before just now, but Natas is an inspiration !
20:08..... The pioneer of scootering.... getting in skaters paths hahaha
Lansdowne Maryland. That place had it all in regards to kooks and tweekers.
Landsdowne was fun to skate but we had to leave someone at the car otherwise it wouldn't be there when we got back. The place was super sketchy back in 80's. Someone told me that the city build a project house on top of part it. You could kinda see where the rest of the snake run up hill used to be.
Sk8r h8r
I was literally about to post this same comment with the same angle of comedy lol
Thank you NATAS!.......From Collins reserve S.A. 1988...........till now.
Owned Streets of Fire in the late 80s and remember being blown away by Natas. Had seen pictures of him in a magazines before of crazy WTF things he'd do but watching the footage was transcendental to a young me then. That ollie onto a school table still gives me chills; those old boards were heavy and lacked the pop of boards these days. The best kids rolling down Wilshire Blvd would grab the board and jump onto small handrails to do boardslides; I remember the heated debates about the rumors that Gonz and Natas had actually ollied onto them. Many of us were 100% sure that it couldn't be done.
im so envious of those skate spots...all i have is shitty worn out asphalt here
Natas was always my favorite skater. I traded a brand new Jeff Kendall for a well used Natas board because I liked the concave and size better. Had it for a day and my brother ratted me out to my dad, it's Satan backwards, and he threw it away.
I had to save all summer to get a vision double tail.
Natas was awesome. In fact, my dog is named Natas.
That being said, Rodney Mullen is the king.
He's the most badass street skate ever,no one has fun like he did back in the day,Natas saved skate boarding,all skaters owe this man props, he's the realshit.
Had so many of the Natas decks from '87 to '89. I also like Tommy Guerrero's sword w/flames deck. Right up until Matt Hensley King Size came out. I still love skateboarding and how it has evolved, but there will never be times like these again. Shit was so fresh.
2 tricks in two weeks fuckers bow down to a pioneer. Natas shaped the way you skate. Pay homage. He was doing handrails that would make your sack bleed 20 years ago. Legend.
wow! what an awesome dude, artist, skater, surfer,photographer, and he looks like hes pretty humble too. cheers for him!!!
This is so crazy these guys did a demo at a street skate comp i competed in 1988 . I was 10 yrs old .
Man, as a musician who really appreciates skating, natas is probably my favorite. His seamless, improvised use of everything in his path reminds of a lot of radical jazz musicians, like the fucking John coltrane of skateboarding. He utilizes everything at his disposal, yeah, but with completely perfect flow, no artifice, or technical sporty bullshit for the sake of. A real artist
If John coltrane and the minutemen formed a band . That's natas, yeah.
This is a very Cool documentary. His voice @ 8:52-8:55 cracks me up though man. Aahh DUUURT!
So Inspired! He is now my favorite skater! Wow! I love all the old school skaters from the late 80's early 90-'s Gonz & Marc Johnson as well.This was a great vid I really enjoyed it! THANK YOU
I was hated at school for my Natas shirt and board so I wore it often.
you, sir, win the internet, every day you were a Natas shirt and ride a Natas deck.
Um, yeah. We're talkiun 87-88.
Haha
Why?
@Barry McCokiner oh
That fire hydrant is nothing less than national heritage and should be put in a museum. I remember reading an interview with Natas in which he talked about touring and doing demos in the aftermath of that video. People would put a fire hydrant in their street course just for him, expecting him to replicate the spin, only they'd be huge, four foot tall European style hydrants.
+Arno Theadorno Right! I remember read some about some Asian company flew him over there (Japan maybe?) and they had a fire hydrant and a photographer. They pointed at the hydrant smiling at Natas.
Funny shit.
Thank god for the wall riding, no comply, rail sliding, ollie king NATAS K.!!!
wow that was cool, i had heard of natas spins, but never knew of his contribution to skateboarding until having watched this movie. I liked that he was friends with Mark Gonzales, i am a fan of his for sure, and also i think that his contribution to the artistic and design aspects of skateboarding were very interesting.
The trick off the chain link fence is still my favorite. I can remember watching that video back in the day! Still love Firehose & 'Brave Captain' to this day!
this dude is the forrest gump of skateboarding
This is the best line ever
Skated in the 80’s. Can confirm Natas was The Man!
Pure mith. Everything on the video. Pure mith. Legend.
muy bueno. la esencia pura del skateboarding. hoy ya no es lo que era. ya no es lo que era. je
I'm 44 now and too broke down to skate.Seeing Natas in Transworld doing wall rides got me doing em back when.I appreciate
Ritchie and William but,watching Natas,Gonz,and Mullens gets me stoked as much as it used to.Damn getting old.
Bro, you + me both..
*tell me hearing that song kick in from Streets of Fire " CAPTAIN, there are doubts!"
when that kicks in I instantly get super stoked and Psyched to skate BUT a remix
of that feeling as it's a old school version..Makes me happy remembering doing 50/50 axel stalls on low benches..
and what a big deal learning backside stuff was..
**I'm SAME age as you dude..
I UN-retired 3-4 years ago when I saw Adidas Busenitz skate shoe and emmediately went home and watched Video Days
and this led me to watch Streets of Fire...
(I stayed a skater whole life but hadn't skated since late 90's.....
you?
+Steven Sippio I've got a 21 year old son and we moved to a rural part of town about 10 years ago. On two acres and I'm a carpenter so what did I do?Yup,built a mini half for me and the boy. (For me,ha!)I admit that I'm not what I used to be but,I still get the same rush that I did when I was 16.If Animal Chin could do it,why can't we?
I had an original santa monica airlines made natas deck back in '85. I remember it fondly, but today it would be very weird, it had the shortest nose a street skater could imagine using today.
I bought this on VHS when it came out back in 2003, always loved Natas and the soundtract to this was just awesome. Anyone have a tracklist?
youtube wouldt accept the original title dej to copyright shit. got deleted a few times because of it
The history of NATAS....dude just stayed on his board after every pop..I wonder if he ever even refilled anything..bad ass
He is a genius. Plain and simple.
I have learned a lot about Natas and skating in just a half hour. Wow
It makes me wonder what hasn't been done in terms of genres of skating and objects to skate.
Well we'll find out sooner or later when another like the Z-Boys or Natas comes along.
I'd like to see a hybrid parkour-street style skateboarding.
MICHAEL M no
MICHAEL M Fuck no
MICHAEL M Shut the fuck up, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Gtfo before somebody beats your ass.
Not ashamed to say I learned some things from this and im glad i watched this
12:19 That extension is so sick.
Blown away.
Thanks for uploading this. Such a great story! What a cool person
Skating and surfing is the perfect match . Skating is all balance just like surfing
The best thing about Natas' skating is that he isn't smooth. He is always on edge and borderline out-of-control, so it makes it more interesting to watch. It is the counter to someone like Nyjah Huston who is also fun to watch because everything looks so effortless.
One of my favorite skaters along with Lance, Gonz, Barbee and Vallely
wow. amazing and inspiring
Absolutely legendary
Sin duda !! El creador del skate actual !!! .. el padre del skate stret son o es la base de todo!!
as the vid goes on i really see the evolution of skating. at first it was like the old bowl sessions but then, everything changed starting from those wall rides
im a rollerblader and thats what i thought this video was about, but it was cool to learn some of the history of skateboarding
My first skateboard was his pro model , my friend had a C, O'brian, and I had a Natas with some gull wings and toxic wheels
Exellent documentary old school skaters
always wanna to be good at this an i know mostly the reason i wusnt i wus so scared to jus go wit it i psych myself out an i also wldnt comit to the tricks 100 percent but still i wld skate with my friends growing up bc to me i jus loved all that came with skating
the hanging out the times an ppl i knew cld skate so i wus always stokked for them to perform an like a fen jus cheering for them to do there thing
my teenage days 2002 to 2006 fun times i havent stopped since 2001 2002 luvin skateboarding its radical
i watched the dogtown vid original doc an i always since 6th grade wanna to live like wut i saw
god bless jay adams also
Inspiring video.
I'm so glad I know the history now. Now I see where Mike V got some of his inspiration.
I have that Thrasher with Natas on the cover, the dude was so mysterious to anyone not in Cali at first, it's things like that that kids nowadays can't experience. I think Mullen should be given a little more props if you're gonna say the history of street skating but, yes, Natas was the shit.
my favorite skater. Natas!!!!!
"We were trying to be smooth like ruff" haha
20:07 first scooter kid
CHICKEN SALAD i know... well one moment of silence for the opportunity missed....
+qwertpoiuy430 lol😂😂😂
this was legendary!! so stoked ! very inspirational!! thanks for sharing!! :DDD
Thank you Natas!
That thing litteraly blew my mind.
...what an absolute talent!
"We were trying to be smooth like Ruff." -MG
Did my first heelflip at 12 years old on a Natas Baker deck 😊
amazing what Natas did back in the days with such a shitty board shape. Those are big ollies dood!!
Wow love that I can learn here on the youtube
Favorite video
Man i LOVED this Video, i never heard of Natas before cus i grow up to late i guess, o well This video need WAY MORE VEIWS.keep it up man
That hydrant spin,F#CKEN best ever dude
Great video...
Very cool..........
you, are the man! $Natas,yah you Tommy,Mike,vGonz,and Ron Allen! not mention many others I look up to,frogger out law sk8er! of the sanmateo co sheriff's office! Derek Bullene
who's watching in 2016
ACTIONS I am, and this is truly amazing. My mind has been expanded, and my love for skateboarding grows.
Thanks for the video.
I spotted Natas at the Whiskey A Go Go years ago..
dafuq man,he's really2 sick!
a big respect for him,frm malaysia
Natas' style reminds me of Bart Simpson, non stop badassery
good NATAS documentary
damn... I will immediately look for my 20 year old skateboard and will go for some awesome wallrides.
Great vid.
The history of rollerblading is that it is history.
Very good doc, i also recommend watching "OG: THE HARRY JUMONJI STORY" from 2017.
coolest guy in skateboarding tho, anyone?
Natas should get Rodney Mullen type credit for tricks, he was exciting, stylish .- "Captain there are 'no' doubts in your ability" (Still a classic song from 'streets of fire')......he is also a big influence thru 'suspension of disbelief' for me.
Natas Kaupas Forever Baby!
Natas ruled all the follow-ups!