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Douglas Keith Saladino was born of Filipino and Japanese heritage and raised in San Diego, California. He started skating in third grade on a homemade board his dad made him. When Cadillac Wheels came out in 1973, Doug began surf skating curbs and getting tubed under overhanging bushes. By the next year, he was sponsored by Bahne, then later by G&S. In 1976, Doug scored a “Who’s Hot?” in Skateboarder, and after winning a few amateur contests, he turned pro. Unbeknownst to many, Doug named the famous Soul Bowl pool in San Diego, and was bros with Dennis Martinez at Spring Valley and at his home park, Oasis. With the advent of skatepark pools and the Hester Series, Doug’s emphasis shifted to riding vert, although he also excelled at various other types of skating.
In September 1978, Doug made the cover of Skateboarder magazine with a frontside air at Oasis–complete with a cool chrome logo floating in the darkness above. In February 1980, he earned another Skateboarder cover—a solid footplant at Oasis–along with a full-length interview inside. After the Gold Cup Series in 1980, Doug felt skating had become less fun and too much of a job, thus he was ready to pass on the baton to the younger generation. After that, he stopped skating for 15 years and got into low riders and Harleys. Around 1996, Doug got back into skating when his son started. More recently, he formed a skate rock band called the 169ers with Brian Brannon, Salba and Steve Olson.
