Beginnings
Steve was twelve years old when he began skateboarding. First discovering his passion for it in 1976. He wanted to be a BMX rider and says, “I found out really quick that BMX racing is very difficult.
”I was always kind of short for my age“, so the guys that were my age at around twelve were two feet taller than me, and their legs were longer. He goes on to say, "skateboarding is still difficult, but you don’t have to be built a certain way". (Source, Enoch magazine - nothing to run to video)
His skating skill quickly became apparent as he skated at the concrete wave in Orange County. His first skateboard park, it was 1977 and that’s where he fell in love with it. At the age of 14, Steve started his skate career. He was killing it, his first sponsor, Campbell skate park backed him early on. In 1979, Escondido California, he entered a national skate contest where Stacy Peralta spotted Steve, he placed fifth and was offered sponsorship with Powell Peralta. Where he would stay loyal to throughout his career.
Challenges
Steve was born with a slight curvature of the spine, he says, ” one gland grew longer than the other and kind of pulled one side of my neck to the side“. ”I’ve always had kind of like a little tilt“. This didn’t stop him from pursuing life to the fullest. He adapted and overcame the physical and mental barriers he faced. (Source, Poweredge magazine, Steve Caballero interview video)
We all face unique fears and roadblocks. It’s how we learn to react to them that can make all the difference. It doesn’t matter if you naturally have this mindset young. Or if you have to cultivate it later in life. Hold onto hope and survive, because when it does happen and you begin to have break troughs. It’s those moments that matter and change your life.
The Caballerial
Steve went pro in southern California at the Gold cup series comp, Oasis skate park. He had already invented the Caballerial, skateboarders have always inspired each other and fed off each others energy. An individuals art and sport connected to encouraging community.
Steve says, ”A pro skater from Norcal riding for Tunnel, Robert Schlaefli also know as The Fly, inspired the Caballerial. He saw The Fly pull an accidental fakie 360 in the air. Steve already knew how to do a fakie ollie. Seeing what The Fly did at speed by accident, he thought, “maybe I can pull that off”. A fakie ollie spin all the way around. (Source, Larry balma .com blog)
Skateboarding is kind of like fractal art. It keeps growing and expanding, taking new paths off what came before, with every individual adding to the expansion.
Steve’s Influences
He lists some of his influences as, “Shogo Kubo, Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams, a lot of the Dog town Z boys”. He also says, “When I got into skateboarding it was the guys coming up after them, like Brad Bowman, Steve Olson”. Steve goes on to say, “one guy that had a lot of influence on me was, Eddie Elguera, one of the most innovative skaters at the time”.
The Half Cab Shoe With Vans
Steve wonders if the shoe actually influenced skateboarding or more just the fashion part. I think that skateboarding influenced the shoe.
we know that skaters began cutting the original Caballero to create a mid-top that would gain them more range of motion and less resistance. So they could perform more effortless and efficient street tricks. (Source Wikipedia, Transworld 30th anniversary interviews)
I think Steve is right, the shoe was something new with a different appeal and style. Its roots came from a place of meeting the needs of skaters and skateboarding, not the other way around. To those continuing to discover it the fashion sense of it kicked in. He says, “it’s really the fans and people who have worn the shoe that has put it in the spot today as one of the most successful skate shoes.
”It could have been any shoe, the timing, what I’ve done in my career, its design, a combination of things“. ”That has made this shoe so popular for so many years“. ”I’m just stoked that I was apart of that“.
Skateboarding Today
It has come a long way since it’s beginnings, rising in popularity then bottoming out to the fringe with core skaters keeping it alive. Waves of style, growth, and rebirth. Steve says, ”right now is a great time for skateboarding. “The fact that if you look at what we have to skate and where we can skate”. “We never had this in the past, you can go to any city and find a skateboard park”.
Skateboarding has gone global and people are traveling all over for competitions. It’s in the Middle East now. He goes on to say, “kids are getting younger and better, there is a lot of Women really shredding these days, it's incredible the talent they have”. Steve is stoked to be apart of skateboarding and see what the future holds. It's an amazing time to be a skater. (Source Transworld 30th anniversary interviews)
So true, skateboarding is a life saver for many bringing value and health to their lives. Community and new social connections. I can say I discovered it at a very needed point in my life, something needed to change. Now that I’m a skateboarder I have an anchor to happiness and to life. When things get really hard I remember I can still skate tomorrow.
By Andrea Biggs
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