August 14th, 2012 - 1:31 pm

Dew Tour: Dundalk Skate Legend Returns to Ocean City

By Ron Cassie

Courtesy Facebook

In 1984, 12-year-old Bucky Lasek woke on Christmas morning to find a Steve Caballero skateboard and his calling under the family tree. Amazingly, Lasek, turning 40 this December, still makes a living as a skateboarder after turning pro more than two decades ago.

The Dundalk native, with six X Games gold medals to his name, started developing his skills on the infamous “Hell Ramp” (see photo below) back in the day at the old Fisherman’s Inn on Miller’s Island and with road trips to skateparks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Returning to Ocean City this week for the annual summer Dew Tour (he bested Shaun White, the Olympic snowboarding champion, among others, to win last year’s vert title at Ocean City), Lasek tells Baltimore that he and his friends “would go anywhere to skate,” coming up.

Scheduled this Thursday through Sunday, the Dew Tour features skateboard and BMX competitions, as well as a surf event and multiple music performances. Anybody heading to Ocean City can check out the wild, fan-friendly action. Information on times, events and tickets can be found here.

Today, Lasek lives in Southern California with his wife and three girls. Returning to Maryland this week, we spoke with him over the phone.

Baltimore: We hear you have the world’s largest skate bowl in your backyard? How big is it?

Bucky Lasek: Fourteen-and-a-half-feet deep and about 120-feet-long and 175-feet-wide.

Baltimore: How do you stay fit for this at 39?

BL: Be active and stretch. I stretch all day long.

Baltimore: Yoga?

BL: I do yoga.

Baltimore: What about nutrition?

BL: I've been living in California about 15 years. Eating healthy is a way of life.

Baltimore: Do your girls skate?
 
BL: They roll around a little. They ride horses and do gymnastics.
 
Baltimore: What did the X Games mean to you, personally, when they launched in the mid-90s?
 
BL: Before the X Games, I was working at Nick's Auto Body on Pulaski Highway. I was skating, but I couldn't pay the bills with it.
 
Baltimore: Big effort here to get funding for facilities like the Hampden Skate Park. How important is that stuff for kids?

BL: Very important. Idle time is the devil’s playground. You can’t always get 12 kids together to play baseball, but you can always grab a skateboard by yourself and go.

Baltimore: You're also racing rally cars these days. How serious is that? A second career?

BL: Very serious. It is (a second career). I think the two share a similar discipline. I'd equate the tricks in skating to the turns in racing. They're different, but it terms of feel, how your body feels compared to the car — there's something common.

Baltimore: What’s your signature skateboard trick these days?

BL: Usually a frontside cab heel flip. It’s a fakie 360 and when your board flips, you grab it as you come down. It’s a blindside turn, so you can’t really see where you’re going.

Baltimore: What are the hopes for this weekend? Another vert win?

BL: Have fun and don’t get hurt.
 

Courtesy Facebook

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