Chris Strople in da house!?!

So when I moved to Cali in 1978 I came across Del Mar Skate Ranch and started riding there. There were all these older rippers there. A couple dudes I remembered were Tom Inouye and Chris Strople. They both rode Caster decks. They were these awesome thin composite decks. So I bought them and rode them. Fast forward 25 years. When Charlie and I did our transaction with Watson Lamintes in 2005 I did not really know of the full history going on here. Watson made Caster boards. Probably the very boards I rode when I started skating. Crazy. Lo and behold Chris Strople shows up at WLHQ in San Diego a few ago and I got to get a shot with him here with a vintage Caster deck made here.

Second photo is Damon, Jim, Brad Strandler, Strople and Biker. Party!

Damon finally posts!

Hi, I'm Damon (the guy in the middle) and I get to make skateboards for a living, it's a dream job of sorts. I learn all the secret tricks to make the best boards around from the big boss Jim (on the left), and I make them for my buddy Doug (on the right). It's a pretty cool deal. Jim has been making boards at Watson for over 30 years and Doug has been riding them for over 30 years too. Woah.

Ground Surfer Electric Skateboards

Stephane Pelliter and his wife Anne from France, stop by Watson HQ in San Diego to discuss details on deck production for their high end electric skateboards. Mac Dawg, Jim and Damon in attendance.