Andy Kessler Passes
East Coast skate legend Andy Kessler passed away yesterday. His early contributions to the NYC scene had a lasting impact on skateboarding. He will be missed, but his spirit lives on in street skaters everywhere. Learn more about the man in Deathbowl to Dowtown, Grandmaster of 108, and this 2005 New York Magazine piece. Epicly Later'd also has a photographic remembrance of Andy.
UPDATE 1: Derek's post about Andy Kessler on Skate Daily sums up the feelings of many of us today. Rip in peace, Andy.
UPDATE 2: Good Evening Tokyo has their tribute to Kessler here.http://www.epiclylaterd.com/asburypool.html
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/sports/features/11956/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/fashion/sundaystyles/25SKATE.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeCaaIVx1Qs&feature=channel_page
Skateboarding pioneer Andy Kessler dies in Montauk
Photo credit: Getty Images | Andy Kessler, right, and pro skateboarder Tony Alva attend the opening of the "Lords Of Dogtown" Art Collection at The Lounge Soho. (June 2, 2005)
When Andy Kessler started skateboarding with friends in the 1970s, there was no legitimate place in New York City to ride their boards.
They risked police ire by skating in Central Park and propped up wooden planks to turn apartment complexes into makeshift skate parks.
Kessler, who died Monday after suffering a heart attack following an allergic reaction to a wasp sting in Montauk, became a kind of Pied Piper for the sport he loved - building skate parks in the city and onLong Island while mentoring young skaters.
"He was kind of known as the godfather of skateboarding in New York City," said his friend, Moose Huerta, 30, of Brooklyn.
Kessler, 48, of Manhattan, was stung Monday as he worked on the deck of the cottage where he was staying, Huerta said. He died en route to Southampton Hospital, Huerta said.
Surfers plan to paddle off Ditch Plains in Montauk Friday night in tribute, friends said Thursday.
Kessler, who was born in Greece, was adopted by a New York City couple and raised on the Upper West Side. He was part of an underground community of graffiti artists and skateboarders who skated in playgrounds and empty pools.
"He's the elder statesman," said Tony Farmer, 40, of Brooklyn. "He's the cat that was there the longest, and he was there at the beginning and he always stayed true."
In a video on YouTube, Kessler said he dropped out of college because skateboarding was all he wanted to do. "We always need to step outside of our own limitations," he said. "You see somebody else and what they're able to do, and it'll help you to push it one step further."
While some skateboarders dropped out of the scene, Kessler continued skating between cars on busy New York streets, said Jaime Owens, editor of Skateboarder magazine in San Clemente, Calif.
"He still was a vital part of New York skateboarding," Owens said.
After beating drug addiction in the 1980s, Kessler created parks in the city and suburbs, including one in Montauk. Now they're ubiquitous, Farmer said. "He knew what the possibilities were," Farmer said. "He was just passing it on to the next generation."
Kessler used blunt language to steer acquaintances away from drugs, friends said. He was estranged from his family and usually celebrated holidays with friends. But he was generous and once madeThanksgiving dinner for homeless people, Farmer said.
"He did a lot and didn't really ask for much in return," Huerta said.
Friends are planning a funeral Sunday at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, N.J., Huerta said.
p.s. The deck I have in my large pic on the bottom of my blog is an ALVA.
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