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PROFILE: LYNN COOPER I've
been skateboarding for over 29 years now. I
began seriously skating in 1976, when the first precision bearings and urethane
wheels started appearing on the market. My
first board was a "Black Night" Skateboard with Clay wheels. When I would carve fast around a corner, I used to spend a
lot of time looking for the little ball bearings that would fall out of the
wheels.
EARLY
YEARS I
spent the early years building and skating ramps and empty swimming pools in
Anaheim, California. Sadlands, The
Fishbowl and the Concrete Wave Skatepark were my local hangouts back in the
mid-70's. When the Skatepark era
hit, I spent every possible moment skating with my friend Terry Jackson (now a
legendary stuntman and stunt director) at all the new concrete skateparks all
over Southern California, for several years.
Buena Park/Skatopia, Orange/Big-O Skatepark, Fountain Valley Skatepark,
Paramount Skatepark, Whittier/Skate City, Colton/Rancho Mediteranea Skate Park,
Pomona Pipe & Pool, Del Mar/Skate Ranch, Upland Pipeline Skatepark, Marina
Del Rey Skatepark, Lance Mountain's Ramp... and the list goes on...
I was really fortunate to have been born at the right time and lived in
the right part of the world. 1987 - Knoxville
COMPETITIONS I
started competing in Vertical & Pipe skating back in 1981, under the ASPO
(Association of Skatepark Owners) series. I
was strictly a vert skater at that time and didn't know much about Freestyle.
I was very competitive and always going for the overall points.
Therefore, I had to also compete in the Freestyle, High Jump, Downhill,
Cross-country, Pipe Pasting and Slalom competitions as well.
It was great to be able to learn all aspects of skateboarding this way.
I became a well-rounded skater because of it and was able to learn from
the worlds top Pro skaters, in each specific area. FIRST
FREESTYLE CONTEST My
first Freestyle contest was at Magic Mountain, in 1981.
It was the first time I had ever seen Pro Freestylers.
It was the first time I saw Rodney Mullen.
It was quite impressive. I
didn't even own a real Freestyle board at that time.
I ended up cutting down my Eddie Elguera pool board into the shape of a
freestyle board to enter the contest. I
entered the 1A division and earned 1st place in both the Freestyle and Slalom
events and skated to "Just What I Needed", by the Cars.
I'll never forget that contest. Not because I won, but because my truck was almost stolen. John Lucero and I found it at the other end of the parking lot all beat up. Brian Martin helped me to hotwire my truck, so I could get home. The door locks and ignition switch were gone. I had to duct tape a tool socket in the ignition switch hole, so that my steering would turn, otherwise it would lock in place. I'm glad the socket didn't fall out while I was driving through LA's freeways on the way home.
1980'S The
80's were an interesting time for me. I had so many vert skating friends that turned Pro and so
many new friends that were into Freestyle.
I would spend half my time at the skateparks and the other half
freestyling. For this article, I'll
concentrate on my Freestyle influences. If
I went on about vert skating and the friends I skated with, I'd end up
writing a whole book on the subject. INFLUENCES
Anyways, I met Russ Howell, George "Pineapple" Douville and Victor Starr and started skating with them a lot at the Belmont Shore Pier, back in 1981. I also skated with Primo, Bob Schmelzer and Mike Foster at Huntington Beach Pier and later with Pierre Andre', Don Brown, Stefan Johansson, Hans Lindgren, Fabian, Per Welinder and many others for many years. They were ALL influences to me for getting into Freestyle skating. Kevin Harris was my biggest influence as far as "style" goes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS I competed from 1981-1990 in well over a hundred contests. The only reason I stopped competing is because the skate industry stopped promoting and holding Freestyle contests. If Freestyle contests were ever to re-emerge, I'd be up to competing for fun again. (Update: Freestyle/Flatland contests started up again in 2001. I am competing again!) Major
Accomplishments: Note:
NSA= National Skateboard Association
Stephen Baldwin & Lynn - 2004 Chad Muska & Christian Hosoi (B-Day on the Livin' It set) - 2004 2004 - I'm still skating strong and thoroughly enjoy all aspects of skateboarding as much as possible. I feel that I'm skating better than ever! I'm really excited about my upcoming segment that was filmed for the new Stephen Baldwin movie, "Livin' It LA, as well as participating in the upcoming Christian Hosoi documentary! I've had great feedback on my new Pro Freestyle & Street models from Reverse Freestyle, as well as my new line of skatelegends.com decks. My favorite skateparks right now include: the ESPN X-Games, the Castle Rock and the Trinidad skateparks, so I'm spending additional time skating at these parks. Other than that, I've also been snowboarding for over fourteen years and continue to enjoy Photography and the great outdoors whenever possible!!! I'm now performing demos, shows, many private lessons and yes, even Birthday parties! :) I'm running the Clement Skatepark Skateboarding program for the third year now and conduct classes on Saturday mornings. I also run the Highlands Ranch (Redstone skatepark) programs, as well as the Castle Rock skatepark programs. Sponsors: GLOBE Shoes, Thrifty Sticks Skateshops, Ninja bearings, Tracker trucks, Equillibrium clothing and our own Reverse Freestyle Pro team. I'm in the process of building up a
Skatelegends.com demo and instructional team as well.
SUMMATION I've always valued the experiences and confidence I gained from having competed for so many years. However, what I truly value the most are the great people and close friends that I have had the honor of making through the last 29 years. Skateboarding is the single-most element that has had the largest impact on my life, in so many ways. Wherever I skate, I end up working with the other skaters and teaching them old-style my-style tricks, as well as a history of skateboarding, where certain tricks came from, how skating differs today vs. yesterday and how skating can create a positive image in your mind, so that you can remain successful in life. Success is what you make of it! When
I was a kid, I remember a line someone wrote in Skateboarder Magazine.
It simply said: "Go
Where You May!" That
about sums it up for me! - Lynn Cooper
Lynn Cooper - Recent Photos
Note: New Sponsor: GLOBE SHOES - new Rodney Mullen Shoes! Cooperflip, Triple Fingerflip Airwalk
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Sept. 2004 - Denver Skatepark
2003 - Trinidad
