steve steadham

From Vegas to LA, from the Bones Brigade to Steadham Skates Industries, Steve Steadham has persevered with natural creativity and talent. With a unending lust for tranny that’s as strong as his passion for music, Steadham continues to make his mark on the world. Steve is currently working on a revolutionary music and skateboarding video project featuring some of the heaviest names in vert skating. Look for Steadham on his tour bus at the Vans Skatepark in Orange, or across the country, coming soon, to a town near you.

Steadham? It’s Christian.
Yo. What’s up, man?

How’s it going, bro? Are you ready to do this interview?
Yes, sir.

Let’s start with where and when you were born.
I was born in Farmington, NM, in February, 1963.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Las Vegas and California. I went to high school in Las Vegas.

When did you first pick up a skateboard?
I was 17 when I started skateboarding.

Wow. You started late. What got you interested in skateboarding?
I went to a freestyle contest and it looked like fun. I was really into wrestling in high school. During the off-season, I started skating.

This was ‘79 or ‘80?
I think it was ‘79.

What was your first board?
My first real board was a Logan Earth Ski board with Road Rider 4s.

What brought you out to California?
The skateparks.

What year did you move out to California?
I moved to California in 1981, the week after I graduated. I moved to Anaheim and lived with Freddy Desoto for a year or two.

How long was it from the time you picked up a skateboard until you started to rip and decided that skateboarding was what you wanted to do? Was it right away or did it take awhile?
It was a few years. I was living in Vegas and skating hardcore. Then I moved out here and got sponsored by Powell in ‘82. It happened so fast. I remember coming out to California and seeing you at Marina. You were tiny. You had really long hair. You were ripping. I thought you were a girl.

[Laughs.] Do you remember where we met? Was it at Whittier?
Yeah, I started hanging out with you and your dad. I’d come over and stay at your place in LA.

Didn’t you work at Whittier?
Yeah, I worked there for a while, managing the pro shop.

Who were you working with?
Lance Mountain worked there. Neil Blender, Lester Kasai and John Lucero were locals. I hung out with Lester all the time and skated with him.

I remember those days. We were going over there after Marina closed. That became my little local park. How long did you work at Whittier?
It was probably a year and half. It was so much fun. It was quite a while before they closed.

You just went straight from riding a Logan Earthski to riding for Powell?
[Laughs.] No. I started riding Mike McGill Powell boards when I moved to LA. All I rode was Powell boards. The Bones Brigade was the bomb. I was just out there riding all the parks and skating every day.

How long did you ride for Powell as an amateur before you turned pro?
I think it was about a year and a half.

What year did you turn pro?
That was in ‘84.

By that time, Whittier was closed. Where’d you go from there?
I moved down to San Diego. I lived there for the next 20 years.

Who did you move down there with?
Just myself.

How much money were you making back then?
When I was pro, I was making $30,000 or $40,000 a year, but my board was only out for a year on Powell. Then I stopped riding for them and started my own company.

Was that your basic income? That’s what you were surviving on?
Yeah, that’s how I was doing it. I also worked at Uncle Wiggly skateboards for four years. I was making skateboards and stuff.

Who were you hanging out with in San Diego?
Grant Brittain, Tony Hawk and Tony Magnusson. I skated with all the locals like Owen Nieder and Tod Swank.

Who was that one guy that you used to live with when you had the ramp down there?
Dave Badore. I used to skate with him a lot. He used to work at Uncle Wiggly for a long time, too. We lived together and worked together. We were always skating.

What happened to Dave Badore?
He’s doing some music stuff now. I think he got married. He’s in San Diego somewhere.

I remember you were playing drums back then. Were you already playing drums when you got into skateboarding or did that come afterwards?
I played drums for a second before I started skating. I started playing drums seriously after I started skating. It was just something to do with my spare time when I wasn’t skating. Dave and I started a band called Shredded Steel. After that, I got into playing keyboards and doing vocals. Now I’m a songwriter and music producer, too.

What did you do after Shredded Steel?
I started a band called Citizen X. It was a reggae and ska band. I’m doing that full time now. We’ve been playing all over the place. We did seven or eight tours to Canada and all over the US.

When did that start?
That was around 1992.

Awesome. So you started your band Shred - http://www.juicemagazine.com/STEVESTEADHAM.html

From Vegas to LA, from the Bones Brigade to Steadham Skates Industries, Steve Steadham has persevered with natural creativity and talent. With a unending lust for tranny that’s as strong as his passion for music, Steadham continues to make his mark on the world. Steve is currently working on a revolutionary music and skateboarding video project featuring some of the heaviest names in vert skating. Look for Steadham on his tour bus at the Vans Skatepark in Orange, or across the country, coming soon, to a town near you.

Steadham? It’s Christian.
Yo. What’s up, man?

How’s it going, bro? Are you ready to do this interview?
Yes, sir.

Let’s start with where and when you were born.
I was born in Farmington, NM, in February, 1963.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Las Vegas and California. I went to high school in Las Vegas.

When did you first pick up a skateboard?
I was 17 when I started skateboarding.

Wow. You started late. What got you interested in skateboarding?
I went to a freestyle contest and it looked like fun. I was really into wrestling in high school. During the off-season, I started skating.

This was ‘79 or ‘80?
I think it was ‘79.

What was your first board?
My first real board was a Logan Earth Ski board with Road Rider 4s.

What brought you out to California?
The skateparks.

What year did you move out to California?
I moved to California in 1981, the week after I graduated. I moved to Anaheim and lived with Freddy Desoto for a year or two.

How long was it from the time you picked up a skateboard until you started to rip and decided that skateboarding was what you wanted to do? Was it right away or did it take awhile?
It was a few years. I was living in Vegas and skating hardcore. Then I moved out here and got sponsored by Powell in ‘82. It happened so fast. I remember coming out to California and seeing you at Marina. You were tiny. You had really long hair. You were ripping. I thought you were a girl.

[Laughs.] Do you remember where we met? Was it at Whittier?
Yeah, I started hanging out with you and your dad. I’d come over and stay at your place in LA.

Didn’t you work at Whittier?
Yeah, I worked there for a while, managing the pro shop.

Who were you working with?
Lance Mountain worked there. Neil Blender, Lester Kasai and John Lucero were locals. I hung out with Lester all the time and skated with him.

I remember those days. We were going over there after Marina closed. That became my little local park. How long did you work at Whittier?
It was probably a year and half. It was so much fun. It was quite a while before they closed.

You just went straight from riding a Logan Earthski to riding for Powell?
[Laughs.] No. I started riding Mike McGill Powell boards when I moved to LA. All I rode was Powell boards. The Bones Brigade was the bomb. I was just out there riding all the parks and skating every day.

How long did you ride for Powell as an amateur before you turned pro?
I think it was about a year and a half.

What year did you turn pro?
That was in ‘84.

By that time, Whittier was closed. Where’d you go from there?
I moved down to San Diego. I lived there for the next 20 years.

Who did you move down there with?
Just myself.

How much money were you making back then?
When I was pro, I was making $30,000 or $40,000 a year, but my board was only out for a year on Powell. Then I stopped riding for them and started my own company.

Was that your basic income? That’s what you were surviving on?
Yeah, that’s how I was doing it. I also worked at Uncle Wiggly skateboards for four years. I was making skateboards and stuff.

Who were you hanging out with in San Diego?
Grant Brittain, Tony Hawk and Tony Magnusson. I skated with all the locals like Owen Nieder and Tod Swank.

Who was that one guy that you used to live with when you had the ramp down there?
Dave Badore. I used to skate with him a lot. He used to work at Uncle Wiggly for a long time, too. We lived together and worked together. We were always skating.

What happened to Dave Badore?
He’s doing some music stuff now. I think he got married. He’s in San Diego somewhere.

I remember you were playing drums back then. Were you already playing drums when you got into skateboarding or did that come afterwards?
I played drums for a second before I started skating. I started playing drums seriously after I started skating. It was just something to do with my spare time when I wasn’t skating. Dave and I started a band called Shredded Steel. After that, I got into playing keyboards and doing vocals. Now I’m a songwriter and music producer, too.

What did you do after Shredded Steel?
I started a band called Citizen X. It was a reggae and ska band. I’m doing that full time now. We’ve been playing all over the place. We did seven or eight tours to Canada and all over the US.

When did that start?
That was around 1992.

Awesome. So you started your band Shred - http://www.juicemagazine.com/STEVESTEADHAM.html