B.B. ’79
S.H.O.F. – 2022
Scott Foss began his skateboarding voyage in the summer of 1968 at 4 years old in San Jose, California, launching over the garage expansion joint, feeling his first taste of speed bombing down the driveway and mastering the bottom turn onto the sidewalk. At that point skateboarding became his personal instrument of expression and the world his wide open canvas. He was soon so covered in cuts and bruises that his mother didn’t want him wearing shorts for fear the neighbors would think he was being abused! The punishment did not faze the young Foss. Supported by his parents, his mother worried while his father proudly photographed and bragged. Scott quickly progressed, even mastering handstands down the driveway at a very young age by watching his older brother and friends trying and failing at them.
After winning his first competition at a local Park & Recs contest in the early 70’s (“I felt I had reached the pinnacle of skateboarding greatness”), Foss’ skateboarding took off when he returned to San Jose from Hawaii in 1977. Immersing himself in the local scene, he rode his first pool, met Keith Meek and Bob Denike and connected with his local skate crew. By 1978 he got sponsored by Santa Cruz Skateboards and soon was also riding for the Winchester and Campbell skatepark teams.
“One day at Campbell skatepark Fausto handed me some Stage I Independent trucks, a bunch of stickers and claimed me for Indy, I didn’t argue” (He still has most of those stickers) At his first contest down south in SoCal at Big-O skatepark in early 1979 Stacy Peralta tapped him to be on the newly collaborated Powell-Peralta label and join a visionary, conceptual team he was forming, the original Bones Brigade.
Influenced heavily by skaters like NorCal’s Rick Blackhart, Z-boy Jay Adams and style master Ray ‘Bones’ Rodriguez, Foss was known for his fast, hard-charging style and dedication to supporting his fellow skaters. While he never had a pro model during his competitive years (though one was planned with Powell-Peralta before he shifted his focus to surfing), he has since collaborated on signature decks with smaller, NorCal based companies.
A proud, single father of three grown children, Foss remains a respected figure in skateboarding history and the skateboarding community. He will always be remembered for his powerful, speed and style driven skating and his positive impact on skateboarding culture.
“I am a child of skateboarding.”
by J. Greenwood (additional by Scott Foss) – Dec. 2024
