Chapter 3: The Power of Generational Flex
As 1976 rolled into 1977, my passion for skateboarding began to snowball. It consumed me, and my focus was learning new tricks. I wanted to get better and, of course, get sponsored! The way to do this was moving from a generic plastic deck to what the pros rode. And what was the ultimate setup? A Gordon & Smith FibreFlex deck with Bennett Truks and Road Rider 4 wheels. It took a lot of convincing and many days of waiting, but in the spring of 1977, my parents took a trip to Oregon and brought back this dream skateboard.
You could say that this skateboard was a birthday present that arrived a few months early. I was beyond stoked. I rode this board throughout the year. I enjoyed riding until November and then headed down to the basement of my house for the winter months. The FibreFlex was my prized possession, and riding this skateboard remains one of the greatest experiences I had during the 1970s.
When it came time to do research for my book The Concrete Wave, I was fortunate to interview people who were directly responsible for creating this legendary setup. This includes the folks at Santa Cruz/NHS who brought out Road Rider wheels and Ron Bennett of Bennett Truks.
For this story, however, I want to focus on Larry Gordon – the G in G & S. The original FibreFlex skateboard came out in 1964 – the year I was born. I think at that time, it was probably too sophisticated for most skaters. The history of the brand is fascinating and a quick Google search will give you plenty of information.
Always having a plan b
But Larry Gordon didn’t just help create an iconic skateboard brand, he helped me in a most monumental way with my career in the skate industry. I’ve never shared this story publicly but it shows the power of always having a plan b along with proper back up!
In 1998, I registered as media for the Action Sports Retailer in Long Beach, California. I had planned to interview dozens of people who made up the skateboard industry. In particular, I wanted to meet up with Larry Gordon. The FibreFlex brand was coming back and Larry had a booth at the show. He was kind enough to send a fax confirming our appointment at his booth. Before I left for Canada, I brought the fax because I wanted to remind myself where we would meet and at what time.
When I arrived at the show, I went straight to registration and believed it would be easy to get into the show – I had pre registered and all I needed to do was to pick up my pass. It turned out they didn’t have my registration and didn’t care that I’d flown more than 3,000 miles to be at the show. I begged and pleaded and the show officials just kept saying “No.” I was beyond frustrated and extremely worried that my book would be delayed or canceled .
Then I remembered I had the fax that Larry had sent. I carefully pulled it out of my backpack and showed it to the gatekeeper. Once I proved I had an actual interview that I had booked with an exhibitor, I was allowed into the show. From there, I started my two decades journey within the skateboard industry.
Sometimes, the smallest things can make all the difference in the world.
Larry was gracious with his time and I was pretty awestruck meeting the man whose products had given me so much joy. After the book was published, I contacted Larry to see if he’d be interested in advertising in a new magazine I was creating calle “International Longboarder.” It was quite a thrill having him as a customer and publishing his ads in the magazine.
Sadly, Larry died in 2016 at the age of 76. His daughter, Debbie Gordon took the reins of the company a number of years ago and they are still producing FibreFlexes to this day. Which leads me to this very intriguing segue about generations.
My children started skateboarding at a very young age – that would seem like a given. But what is most interesting is that a number of their cousins also started riding at a young age and have kept at it. I have one particular nephew who seemed to have gravitated to cruising and at one point I lent him a very flexy FibreFlex reissue. He also got a chance to ride one of my original FibreFlex slalom decks. I got this board over 25 years ago via a trade of an original 36” Schmitt Stix Longboard.
My nephew loves riding FibreFlex’s as much as I do. He became so enamored that he went out and purchased his own FibreFlex. While it didn’t have the same flex as my decks had, I have tried to make amends. I have lent him my boards. I also told him that I’ve put my FibreFlex decks in my will with his name on them both. It might take some time before he actually acquires them!
