Taking a Ride with the Cab: Steve Caballero Interview
May 14 2007 / Los Angeles, CA
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Legendary skateboarder Steve Caballero sits down with Lat34
His name is Steve Caballero, but you can call him 'Cab.' If you know anything about skateboarding, you know exactly who Steve Caballero is.
Cab is one of the pioneers of skateboarding. Hand-picked by Stacy Peralta himself to join Powell Peralta, Cab helped give the Bones Brigade, one of the most revolutionary groups of skaters in its brief yet exciting history, their identity as skateboarding entered its second phase of glory.
And while family life and age (Steve is now 42, man does time fly) have slowed the legend down a bit, in no way has Cab mellowed out completely. In fact, he came out of competitive retirement last year to compete in the San Jose leg of the AST Dew Tour!
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People are still gobbling up his famous Vans Half Cab shoe, and just this month, Transworld Skateboarding Magazine honored its initial cover boy by featuring him in their 25th anniversary issue. Not to mention there's a huge two-page advertisement in the magazine promoting the Vans Half Cab.
It's always an honor and a privilege to sit down and chat with legends, and Steve Caballero is no exception.
Lat34: You're a new dad, congratulations!
Cab: Thank you! Yeah, I became a dad about a month ago. Little boy, name is Caleb. We're super excited. It's been hard, a lot of sleepless nights and just kind of getting used to that again. I have a nine year-old daughter as well from a previous marriage. It's awesome, I've always wanted to have a son and I'm so blessed to be able to enjoy this.
Lat34: The amount of generations of skaters you've seen throughout your reign is countless. Where do you see skateboarding 25 years ago versus now? Do like the progression and where it's going, or do you feel like some changes need to be made?
Cab: I can't really tell the future. I've always thought that skateboarding wasn't going to progress as far as it did. I remember back in the 80's making up tricks and just thinking, “What could be next?” It's hard to tell what's going to happen, but as far as how it's gone so far, I'm totally stoked on all these free public parks that are popping up all over the country. It's pretty amazing.
The people who can enjoy skateboarding today are pretty blessed because back in the day, we didn't have public skateboard parks. It was either you snuck into a backyard pool, or you snuck into a ditch, or you built your own ramp. I had to pay to skate. And now kids don't have to pay anything to skate, and yet you find them complaining about how the park sucks! That's taking things for granted and just being kind of spoiled and not knowing where I came from as far as appreciating where skating is now.
When I first started, my parents only paid for me to go on weekends. So I would only go once a week. As soon as I got on the team, the park team let me skate for free. So then I was able to skate everyday. I would take the bus from the east side of San Jose (California) and go over to Campbell and skate. For people to have a free skateboard park, that's pretty amazing. I skated until those parks closed, and then there was no where to skate. And we had to build our things. I think sometimes kids just don't understand what they really have, and it would be rad if they could just appreciate what they have.
Lat34: The Bones Brigade is probably the second-most influential skate group behind the Z-Boys. I believe you were only 14 when you joined the group. What was it like to be a part of that whole movement?
Cab: When I was in it, the movement was actually on its way down. It was pretty much kind of new to me, and I really didn't know what to expect. When I got on Powell Peralta, it wasn't even a company yet. Stacy Peralta had approached me at a contest he was judging, and he said, “Hey, I'm going to team up with George Powell and we're going to make this company called Powell Peralta.
“I got Alan Gelfand, I got Ray Bones Rodriguez, I got Mike McGill, all these guys are on the team. Do you want to be on the team too?” And I said, “Yeah, I'd love too!” I came from a team that was sponsored by a skateboard park, and went onto this team of professional skateboarders that I looked up to, and it was still forming.
It wasn't anything when I got on the team. So it wasn't something I was super-intimidated by. We built Powell Peralta to what it was.
Lat34: I had an opportunity to sit down with Stacy Peralta twice, and he spoke directly about you. He said at 15 you weren't a really big guy, but he said you were the most powerful skater all wrapped up into this little body with a balls-to-the-wall, go-for-it attitude, and that's what he loved about you.Cab: I think it was the help of me using my arms to pump my legs to get up the wall! (Laughing)
Lat34: You started skateboarding at the age of 12, which is a rather late age. Are you just a natural?
Cab: I don't really believe in natural talent. I believe in a natural ability to be dedicated at things, to be motivated. All it takes is motivation. You cannot just 'be good.' People only see the results, but they don't ever see how much hard work you put into something. You just have to have a drive. And if you don't have a drive, you're not going to be good at anything. I believe in having a natural drive, but talent comes with practice.
Lat34: TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine is celebrating their 25th anniversary this month. You graced the cover of their very first issue. Are you featured in the 25th anniversary edition?
Cab: I just saw the issue. They did little interviews in there with a couple of people that had covers. I have a top 5 in there, and I have a really cool Vans ad for the Half Cab shoe. A two-page spread, back-to-back in that issue. So it's really, really cool. I've been pushing those guys to push that shoe because everyone still wants it, but they never advertise it.
Lat34: In this humble writer's opinion, you're amongst the top 5 greatest skaters ever. In your opinion, who is the greatest skater you've witnessed?
Cab: Probably Tony Hawk. Him or Danny Way. Both those guys have pushed the limits of skating. It's really hard to narrow it down, but I'm just stoked that Tony got to the position, considering he's such a humble person. And to get the most fame out of all of us, it couldn't happen to a better person.
Lat34: It's funny too that Tony was one of the up-and-comers when you were dominating the Bones scene.
Cab: As soon as I had my heyday, probably around 1980 to '84, that's when Tony and Christian Hosoi came into the scene as far as being in the battle, and I was shifted into third place. What happened, I think, with my career was that I didn't learn the 540 as soon as those guys did, and that kind of hampered my placing.
Lat34: Speaking of Hosoi, he spent those years in jail and came out as a born again Christian. The topic of religion pops up with your name from time to time because of different affiliations. What is your religious background?
Cab: Back in the day, around '95, I started reading a lot of books that Bruce Lee wrote about Zen. I chose to follow the Zen way because it didn't have a religious aspect to it. There wasn't a belief system; It was a way of life.
It didn't help me though in terms of the sinful ways that I used to hide. We all have our little skeletons in the closet. Getting saved, and giving my life to Christ actually made me expose those sins, and not be embarrassed about them. It's really good because it opened my eyes to the truth. Out of the 42 years of my life, I have not found a better way to live.
Lat34: Who's sponsoring you these days?
Cab: Powell Skateboards, Vans Shoes, Independent Trucks, Sessions Clothing, Vestal Watches, Random Hardware, and Bones Swiss Bearings.
- Cyrus Saatsaz
