 Stepping
on a skateboard for the 1st time in 3rd grade, Steve
Alba graduated to bigger and better boards throughout
the 70's
to become one of the most talented skaters to emerge
during skateboardings vertical period. Winning the very
first pool contest ever held at Spring Valley during
the historic Hester Series
in 1978, Steve went on to win many contests including
the last contest of the series at Big-O Skatepark in
Orange, CA. These victories proved to all the doubters
that Steve really did belong in skateboarding's vertical
elite. It was because of Steve's consistent high-ranking
finishes he earned the nickname "Le Machine."
In between contests, Steve focused on strength and endurance
at places like the Central Pool, L-Pool, Baldy Pipe,
and later the proving grounds of Pipeline
skatepark
in Upland—home to some of the finest vertical
riders to have ever have skated such as Chris Miller
and brother Micke Alba.
The late 70's and early 80's saw Steve ride for many
sponsers such as G&S, Tunnel, Ick Stick, Tracker,
Powerflex, Gullwing, Alva, and Independent trucks (his
longest running sponser). Colorado's Kryptonics offered
Steve his first signature pro model—the "S.alba"
Model (a moniker that exists to this day). According
to those who were there, Steve got his new name "Salba"
from Jim Ford who made his graphics by shortening his
given name to make proper space on the "We never
wood " board. Steves pro model would later become
the best selling board during 1978-79.
Steve quit Kryptonics following
the 2nd Hester Series
final at the Boulder skatepark
where he shot his board
into the air venting his
frustration at becoming
the "All-American"
skater that Skateboarder
Magazine (and soon to
be Action Now) editor
D.David Morin wanted him
to be, or the punk-rocker
Steve knew he was. While
pondering his future,
the legendary Steve Olson
jokingly said "Why
don't you ride for Santa
Cruz?"
He did.
What was to become the first split in the All-American
sports culture, the Santa Cruz team of Steve
Olson, Steve
Alba, and later Duane
Peters brought the new culture of punk rock to the
forefront of skateboarding. Taking on the whole sport
and shocking much of the skate world like the Z boys did
at DelMar in 1975, the Santa Cruz team terrorized skateparks
and competitors alike enforcing a modus operandi that
is still practiced by todays youth. In 1979 Santa Cruz
introduced the Steve
Alba Bevel model. The Salba Bevel featured the first
deep side-to-side concave and upturned nose to ensure
foot placement during radical maneuvers.
Through the late 80's, 1990's, and today Steve has maintained
a somewhat "cult status" for not only his
place in skating's history, but also for his search
and adventure for skating concrete not made to be skated.
Specializing in finding and sniffing out pools, secret
fullpipes, and concrete wonderlands, Salba started writing
and taking pictures of his adventures for skate mags
like Thrasher, Heckler, and Concussion. Although Santa
Cruz would give Salba three more pro models during the
late 80's and early 90's, the streetskate phase brought
about major changes in the skateboard world and most
of the vert pros from this era including Steve had their
salaries slashed and pro models taken away making room
for the new generation of street pros. Since then, Kelly
Bellmar from Screaming Squeegies fame has made all of
Salba's boards through his board company called Factory
Mfg.
Although Steve is happily
married with two
boys,
his obsession for pool-riding continuues and has allowed
him to travel the world over in search of the motherlode
of terrain and his exploits have most recently been
seen on ESPN, Blue Torch "Rush Hour" on Fox
Sports, and the underground cult DVD " Fruit
of the Vine" (where Salba lent his writing
skills to the special edition liner notes).
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