Jay Adams
Dogtown, Ca.
Died from a heart attack.
The Z-Boys became a skate team when they heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975 and Jay Adams was the first member to enter the competition, taking 3rd 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.
Adams and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame, including
was due to Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown articles" in Skateboarder magazine in 1975.
In the late 1970s, Adams was a leading figure in a seminal vertical skateboarding scene rising in Santa Monica and Venice, which later became known as "Dogtown".
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 spent the next two decades in and out of prison as he battled drug addiction and his own demons. After the deaths of his brother, father, grandmother and mother in less than two years, he hit bottom during the late 1990s. Adams was, in his words, “a down-and-out junkie.”
Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.
Adams and his wife were there on a long surfing holiday. They had been there for about three months.
Jay is survived by his wife and two children.
Another member of the original team, Shogo Kubo passed in June of this year.
*Sourced from several online articles. I cannot confirm accuracy of all the details, including his year and place of birth.
*Complete obituary (click to view all images)
Find A Grave contributor G Jack Donahue has sponsored Jay's memorial.
Dogtown, Ca.
Died from a heart attack.
The Z-Boys became a skate team when they heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975 and Jay Adams was the first member to enter the competition, taking 3rd 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.
Adams and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame, including
was due to Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown articles" in Skateboarder magazine in 1975.
In the late 1970s, Adams was a leading figure in a seminal vertical skateboarding scene rising in Santa Monica and Venice, which later became known as "Dogtown".
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 spent the next two decades in and out of prison as he battled drug addiction and his own demons. After the deaths of his brother, father, grandmother and mother in less than two years, he hit bottom during the late 1990s. Adams was, in his words, “a down-and-out junkie.”
Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.
Adams and his wife were there on a long surfing holiday. They had been there for about three months.
Jay is survived by his wife and two children.
Another member of the original team, Shogo Kubo passed in June of this year.
*Sourced from several online articles. I cannot confirm accuracy of all the details, including his year and place of birth.
*Complete obituary (click to view all images)
Find A Grave contributor G Jack Donahue has sponsored Jay's memorial.
Jay Adams
Dogtown, Ca.
Died from a heart attack.
The Z-Boys became a skate team when they heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975 and Jay Adams was the first member to enter the competition, taking 3rd 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.
Adams and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame, including
was due to Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown articles" in Skateboarder magazine in 1975.
In the late 1970s, Adams was a leading figure in a seminal vertical skateboarding scene rising in Santa Monica and Venice, which later became known as "Dogtown".
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 spent the next two decades in and out of prison as he battled drug addiction and his own demons. After the deaths of his brother, father, grandmother and mother in less than two years, he hit bottom during the late 1990s. Adams was, in his words, “a down-and-out junkie.”
Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.
Adams and his wife were there on a long surfing holiday. They had been there for about three months.
Jay is survived by his wife and two children.
Another member of the original team, Shogo Kubo passed in June of this year.
*Sourced from several online articles. I cannot confirm accuracy of all the details, including his year and place of birth.
*Complete obituary (click to view all images)
Find A Grave contributor G Jack Donahue has sponsored Jay's memorial.
Dogtown, Ca.
Died from a heart attack.
The Z-Boys became a skate team when they heard about the Bahne-Cadillac Del Mar Nationals in 1975 and Jay Adams was the first member to enter the competition, taking 3rd 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.
Adams and the rest of the Zephyr team's fame, including
was due to Craig Stecyk's "Dogtown articles" in Skateboarder magazine in 1975.
In the late 1970s, Adams was a leading figure in a seminal vertical skateboarding scene rising in Santa Monica and Venice, which later became known as "Dogtown".
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 spent the next two decades in and out of prison as he battled drug addiction and his own demons. After the deaths of his brother, father, grandmother and mother in less than two years, he hit bottom during the late 1990s. Adams was, in his words, “a down-and-out junkie.”
Adams was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2012.
Adams and his wife were there on a long surfing holiday. They had been there for about three months.
Jay is survived by his wife and two children.
Another member of the original team, Shogo Kubo passed in June of this year.
*Sourced from several online articles. I cannot confirm accuracy of all the details, including his year and place of birth.
*Complete obituary (click to view all images)
Find A Grave contributor G Jack Donahue has sponsored Jay's memorial.
