Photos: Glen.E.Friedman
Skateboarding lost one of the original Z-Boys this week following the unfortunate death of Shogo Kubo who is said to have suffered a heart attack whilst paddle boarding in Hawaii.
Born in Kagoshima City, Japan in 1959, Kubo moved to Southern California and became one of the 12 members of the Zephyr skate team put together by Jeff Ho and Skip Engblom back in 1975, a team who dominated and pushed skateboarding forward tenfold. It’s said that he met Jay Adams at a Judo class who he bought a used surfboard from before the pair became good friends.
Known for his amazing style on a skateboard, he was an innovator, whose technique on a board was awe inspiring. So much so, that Shogo’s movements undoubtledly inspired the next generation of high flyers; the likes of Christian Hosoi and a plethora of others in the 80s due to his unique approach to his tricks, especially, full blown laybacks.
It’s a huge loss for a generation that kickstarted what we have today in skateboarding worldwide, and to skateboarding in general. Please raise a glass to an absolute legend. The King of Style.
Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.
RIP Shogo Kubo.
“Shogo was ALL about style. There was a time when style actually mattered…”
