LA Skate Street Legends: Unsung Heroes of the Concrete Jungle

By Jesse "Kicks" Martinez

LA streets aren't just pavement and sidewalks—they’re where legends are born, tricks are invented, and stories live forever. Everyone knows the pros, but this post ain't about them. It’s about those unsung street heroes who carved their own names into LA’s gritty heart, grinding rails at midnight, and skating spots most people wouldn’t even glance twice at.

Take Downtown’s legendary spot, "The Brick Banks," hidden behind a taco stand off Main. It wasn’t pretty—uneven bricks, sketchy rollaways, and always a risk of your wheels getting snagged. But back in '94, crews would flock there, transforming sketchy banks into a skate mecca. You had dudes like Benny “Breaks” Diaz pulling impossible tricks off banks you’d think twice before dropping in on. Spot's long gone now, paved over for a parking lot, but if you know, you know.

Then there was the spot we called "The Pit," near Venice. A gnarly ditch filled with debris, broken glass, and rusted metal rails, waiting to tear you up. The locals owned it—people like “Fast Eddie,” who never got pro deals but inspired countless others with fearless speed runs. They were the raw heart of skating in LA, representing pure passion with zero hype.

And how about the alley spot off Fairfax? Back in the early 2000s, it was nothing more than a forgotten loading dock—but it became legendary for midnight sessions under flickering streetlights. Skaters like Tony “Ghost” Ramirez turned it into their private proving grounds, landing tech tricks before they became mainstream.

Spots fade, legends grow older, but the stories remain. Real skateboarding lives on in these hidden, sometimes gritty corners of the city. Here’s to the unsung heroes of LA's concrete jungle—may their legends never fade.