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Skateboarding => USELESS WOODEN TOY BANTER => In Memoriam => Topic started by: GrossoRules on March 31, 2020, 05:40:58 PM
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Sad to say it. Fuck 2020.
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come on, you're kidding?
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did i just fall for the worst troll ever or am i superbummed
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This gave me chills.
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ok, 1 fuking post, i don't give a shit
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This year sucks
Rest in peace
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Just heard about this from my bowl friends. Such a bummer. RIP. His poor son.
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Damn. RIP
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no way what the fuck
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What!?
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-aq9lRBoMk/?igshid=1g293waa2fuq2
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:(
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sucks, rip to a real one
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whoa, RIP
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Fuck 2020.
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RIP
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Woah, what the fuck? 2020 is awful. RIP.
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RIP what a fucking bummer.
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/742bd3a9c96fccfc6851937157658975/tumblr_n5uxmzAa0m1tphepvo1_1280.jpg)
This is one of my favorite skate photos ever
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RIP Legend fuck I love Grosso oneof the funniest, coolest dudes
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No
This is some early April Fools BS
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https://youtu.be/Doy_vHTtctA
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Dude, he was dancing with his son on IG less than 24 hours ago. I'm closer to his age than I'd like to admit, this one hurts. RIP Grosso.
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I really really really hope this is just some shitty April Fool's prank. But with the way 2020 is going. I doubt it.
RIP.
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:( rip
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R.I.P. this is fucked.
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feels like a rumor I hope it's a bad april fools joke
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Males me sad, dude been one of my heroes for 33 years. Seemed like a great guy. Especially sad for his son. Love ya Jeff
http://youtu.be/jmO4pNVDxbQ
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If this is a joke, it's not a good one.
If not, RIP to a real one.
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No
This is some early April Fools BS
Hopefully you're right
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was it Covid?
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No No No shut the fuck up
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I'll take my kooks and ask what everyone is thinking. What the fuck happened???
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Is this real?
(https://i.imgur.com/l9BD43l.png)
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I’ve been binge rewatching all his loveletters these days
Fuck
This
Shit
What a fucking bummer if true, fuck.
Last thing i rewatched was the body corporate
I also hope its not true
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This year is super fucked. Could it be cuz of covid? Relapse? I know it's none of my business but I'm always interested in the cause of death if I'm being honest. I've always avoided love letters but I did watch his nine club.
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feels like a rumor I hope it's a bad april fools joke
Edit: Damn, I gotta go push around for him
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Ronnie Sandoval posted pic of him with heartbreak emojis.
This sucks.
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some dude said on insta he passed today from a heart attack
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some dude said on insta he passed today from a heart attack
I saw that dickhead was spamming that comment on every post tagged #jeffgrosso
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This sucks. I was lucky enough to skate with him once like 10 years ago and i was blown away at how hard he still ripped. I’m not saying this to be disrespectful at all but he was pretty much obese and flat out shredded. Truly someone who was born to skate
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It’s been April 1 for like 12 hours in Australia.
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If it is from Coronavirus, can we immediately delete all those bad taste speculation “who’s gonna catch it” threads?
RIP
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Is this real?
(https://i.imgur.com/l9BD43l.png)
Who's that?
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fuck. RIP. one of my favorite personalities in skating.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-al74anMvN/?igshid=kzvjic9emof6
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Heart attack his son found him 😢😢😢
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how come no one like thrasher, vans, dlx is posting about it sounds like total bullshit
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Heart attack his son found him 😢😢😢
Heartbreaking :'(
Edit: No pun intended
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this sucks so bad
can we start 2020 over please?
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Expand Quote
Heart attack his son found him 😢😢😢
Heartbreaking :'(
Edit: No pun intended
you made me laff and then you made me cry... i think jeff would have liked that one...
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how come no one like thrasher, vans, dlx is posting about it sounds like total bullshit
Expand Quote
Heart attack his son found him 😢😢😢
Heartbreaking :'(
Edit: No pun intended
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Source?
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how come no one like thrasher, vans, dlx is posting about it sounds like total bullshit
Probably preparing a proper statement. When Raemers died, his sponsors, with the exception of Enjoi, took a moment prepare a proper statement/post. Even when Phelps died, Thrasher didn't post first.
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Fuck this year
Condolences to his family
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No fucking way. Rest in Peace to one of the realest people in skateboarding. Still remember passing by him at the Independent rider rally in San Jose some years back. I was tripping seeing him in real life. he looked stoked big smile on his face and drenched in sweat.
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I can't believe this. For the first time ever I hope this is some kind of sick joke.
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I can't believe this. For the first time ever I hope this is some kind of sick joke.
He is gone 😢❤️
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https://skateboarding.transworld.net/news/jeff-grosso-r-i-p-1968-2020/
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RIP
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Total bummer:( I got a copy of The Body Corporate in the mail today and was thinking about him earlier as I opened it. My buddy has been skating the Grosso low battery deck recently too. really sad. his contribution to skateboarding is tremendous.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a4glxh6fc/?igshid=q6eqcnwbk87l
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Fuck
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This is his sister:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a3gmwhM1-/?igshid=4ibiuncic5xg (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a3gmwhM1-/?igshid=4ibiuncic5xg)
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Fuck 2020.
This shit bums me out because I was saying fuck 2019 all year. It was bad for me personally, mad people I know dying. Was looking forward to 2020 being better but not lookin great.
RIP Grosso. What’s your favore love letters episode?
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I can’t even register this
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https://skateboarding.transworld.net/news/jeff-grosso-r-i-p-1968-2020/
fuck. it's legit. r.i.p. ripper.
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his last IG post is loaded with skate celeb goodbyes
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I was obsessed with the Loveletters series for a long time. Still love re watching some of the old episodes.
RIP in peace Jeff.
:'(
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R.I.P.
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My heart goes out to his family. He is the definition of a skateboarder.
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Fuck 2020. RIP to one of the greatest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJZ6ty5xyOM
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This shit bums me out because I was saying fuck 2019 all year. It was bad for me personally, mad people I know dying. Was looking forward to 2020 being better but not lookin great.
RIP Grosso. What’s your favore love letters episode?
So many of them are so good but the one on slams really gets me going.
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There are no words. RIP Jeff. Fuck.
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Fuck I love grosso. I love how grounded he was. I love that he would call people on their bullshit. I love that he didn’t take this skateboard shit seriously, and how much he appreciated the opportunity he had. I loved the love letters. Fuck. This legitimately made me tear up. Grosso was the best.
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Goddamnit. RIP
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this is fucking bullshit how the fuck can this happen
RIP grosso
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RIP to a real one. So sorry for Oliver, what a scary time to grow up in.
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I hope Bruce Jenner looking Gym Grey doesn’t say shit. He is a phony bitch
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Rest in Paradise. Such a bummer.
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Well this fucking sucks.
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Nah bullshit, what the absolute fuck.
If this is really real then my heart breaks for jeff
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RIP to a real one. So sorry for Oliver, what a scary time to grow up in.
He's gonna be one tough kid. I couldn't even imagine
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This shit bums me out because I was saying fuck 2019 all year. It was bad for me personally, mad people I know dying. Was looking forward to 2020 being better but not lookin great.
RIP Grosso. What’s your favore love letters episode?
So many of them are so good but the one on slams really gets me going.
Word thanks. I ask because I really liked them but only ever got around to watching a few. So keep the suggestions for episodes coming yall.
Honestly a lot of people are dying lately without really knowing if it was Covid. Personally hearing about grandparents and less healthy folks passing lately and we ask “was it covid” but they weren’t tested, symptoms were vague. We don’t know but probably. It’s gnarly.
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Rest in peace
Damn
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Damn, I saw how proud he was of his son Everytime he would post about him. This is one that really sucks. Hopefully Oliver learns how to boardslide 15 pool blocks to honor his pops.
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This is really fucking sad. Rest in peace. Gonna binge all the Loveletters.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YxBy6hI7k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
19 hours ago. I'm very sad for that kid, they had an enviable relationship that was my favorite thing to watch out of all the years of Jeff Grosso. I want my last memories on earth of me to be laughing and as happy as he was. Condolences to his friends and family, I hope we meet on the other side.
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Fuck this is a bummer. I hope love letters does a love letters to grosso.
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i understand keeping the cause of one's passing private, but if covid-19 took him out, it needs to be broadcasted throughout the skate community. this could wake up those that aren't taking things seriously and save a lot of lives. i'm sure grosso would want that.
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fuuuuuck
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RIP
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I can’t even register this
Same. It's tough...RIP
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YxBy6hI7k/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Fuck
I'm pretty numb to this kinda shit, but this got me
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Damn my condolence to his son and his family. This year has taken a heavy toll on a lot of us.
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RIP Grosso
We might all go this year who knows.
Be a good friend to people.
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RIP Grosso. i always dug your interviews.
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This one really sucks. So sad to hear this. RIP
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RIP to a real one.
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RIP Grosso. Skating lost another Godfather.
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God damn this sucks. I feel so bad for his family. You can tell he was his kid’s hero... ugh this one got me.
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wow. I'm speechless. Never met Grosso but he seemed like the most genuine person to ride a skateboard. RIP and condolences to his loved ones
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https://youtu.be/WBhi-kRIhF8
@ 1:00 i luv his attitude
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Unreal, so sad, RIP.
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A life well lived. RIP.
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Wait what the fuck?
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What the fuck. Grosso was like an encyclopedia for obscure skateboard history. I learned so much about the history of skateboarding from a time before I even started skating from him. This fucking sucks
RIP
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I can’t believe this. A complete punch to the stomach. A true softie yet a tough motherfucker.
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wow. I'm speechless. Never met Grosso but he seemed like the most genuine person to ride a skateboard. RIP and condolences to his loved ones
I never met him but I was skating the vans park the same time they were filming the vans x Star Wars commercial and Grosso was there hamming it up in a belly shirt and honestly I think that was perfect
Also was there two days before and he was skating with John which made me stoked.
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i understand keeping the cause of one's passing private, but if covid-19 took him out, it needs to be broadcasted throughout the skate community. this could wake up those that aren't taking things seriously and save a lot of lives. i'm sure grosso would want that.
This. They should've lied and said it was covid anyway though (Harvey Dent style) to save lives.
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Fuck this is so heartbreaking. Poor goo
RIP grosso
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RIP what a fucking bummer.
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/742bd3a9c96fccfc6851937157658975/tumblr_n5uxmzAa0m1tphepvo1_1280.jpg)
This is one of my favorite skate photos ever
RIP Jeff Grosso. Absolute legend. Had a great smile and laugh, too.
Sick photo, thanks for sharing.
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Wait what the fuck?
:'(
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RIP
This guy touched the bottom and came back. Legend.
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RIP
the love letters is what got me inspired to get into skating again. condolences to his family.
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Fuck man thrasher posted it. This year is fucked already. Rest easy. Best to his family..
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
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I was mindlessly scrolling through IG and saw the black and white portrait of his face and my heart sank.
RIP GROSSO
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I didn't grow up watching him skate but this video of his presenting Lizzie Armanto her Thrasher cover for her pro board is so good. Looks like a great dude who loved skateboarding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqT8xesnqvg
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https://youtu.be/WBhi-kRIhF8
@ 1:00 i luv his attitude
Wow thanks for sharing this, the whole run was rad. Falling on the ramps hahah. Always liked his attitude.
RIP :'(
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Tragic, RIP Grosso.
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Complete shock. Was just watching love letters. Heart goes out to his family. And of course his son. RIP
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I remember him passionately harping away on the nine club about what happens when he's too old to skate anymore. "Fuck you I found my outlet, I've had it since I was 6 years old." At least he'll never see that day. RIP.
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Just saw it on Chima's insta. RIP, my condolences to his family. That video with his kid is awesome but hard to watch.
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RIP
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Been a rough year for me as well with too many personal losses. I had to force myself to give up drinking because I was on the brink of total self destruction. I've only been sober for three weeks but I feel like I'm starting to pull it together. I'm lucky to have kept my job and been really thankful lately because there's a lot of people who are way worse off. Hang in there, shit has to get better eventually
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:'(
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUe4hfUWoAApBNu?format=jpg&name=large)
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He would always smile at me/everyone when passing by on his way to skate the bowl at the Vans HB park.
Proper human on & off the board.
My condolences to the family.
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RIP. 2020 is garbage.
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Hang in there man, if you need a bud I'm just a DM away.
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0dFrz0ZHsg/T7BUekZUmzI/AAAAAAAAS8w/y1OtBYtTw7Y/s1600/grossersadderthanafuneralchrome.jpg)
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Loved watching his insta clips skating with his son. You could they had a lot of fun together.
Respects to Grosso. Another huge blow for the skate community.
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If there is a gofundme to help Oliver, will donate for sure
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Damn dude. RIP. I loved anything I could see of the dude. Skate footage, him taking shit, hanging with his kid. He just exuded a love for skating and had a rad fucking attitude about life it seemed. What a bummer.
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RIP
xoxo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK451sh0zaA
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Unreal. RIP Grosso!!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ymIcc54Zvo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ymIcc54Zvo)
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:( this is too heavy
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Dude, he was dancing with his son on IG less than 24 hours ago. I'm closer to his age than I'd like to admit, this one hurts. RIP Grosso.
I said the same thing when I heard like 30 minutes ago. How can a year suck so bad when we're only 3 months in?
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This is crazy, worst fucking year. RIP Grosso
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Thanks Pal, truly appreciate it
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I remember him passionately harping away on the nine club about what happens when he's too old to skate anymore. "Fuck you I found my outlet, I've had it since I was 6 years old." At least he'll never see that day. RIP.
Was thinking the exact same thing. Godspeed.
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This shit bums me out because I was saying fuck 2019 all year. It was bad for me personally, mad people I know dying. Was looking forward to 2020 being better but not lookin great.
RIP Grosso. What’s your favorite love letters episode?
Easily the slappy ep. Watching him yap with Lance and John was the best. Whole series was really insightful.
Fuck this sucks. Next curb sesh goes out to you bud. Enjoy the spoils of the afterlife.
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(https://wheelbites.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/grossoradchrome.jpg)
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RIP. Another legend gone.
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This one choked me up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a_OGNHZZY/?igshid=1xz0l8ctdb2cq
I chatted with him on insta a few months back, I happened to be in Tokyo while he was filming for a Love Letters.
I was hoping to meet up with the crew and buy them some beers as a thank you for all the enjoyment I got out of the Letters, but scheduled didn’t match up, and it never happened
Beautiful human.
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Really heartbreaking to hear. He brought a lot to skateboarding, overcame addiction, and most importantly was a great dad. Rest in peace.
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Was going to post his savanna slamma, always loved that
He was our hero...
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rip to a legend
please for the love of skating, no trolling in this thread
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RIP. 2020 is garbage.
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RIP Grosso
https://youtu.be/MU2uOmfmFRg
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damn
fuck
RIP
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2020 can suck a massive chode
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(https://wheelbites.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/grossoradchrome.jpg)
I loved this photo. One of my all-time favorites.
I hope his son's doing ok.
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Been a rough year for me as well with too many personal losses. I had to force myself to give up drinking because I was on the brink of total self destruction. I've only been sober for three weeks but I feel like I'm starting to pull it together. I'm lucky to have kept my job and been really thankful lately because there's a lot of people who are way worse off. Hang in there, shit has to get better eventually
Gotta keep getting it for those who can’t. 🖤
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Been a rough year for me as well with too many personal losses. I had to force myself to give up drinking because I was on the brink of total self destruction. I've only been sober for three weeks but I feel like I'm starting to pull it together. I'm lucky to have kept my job and been really thankful lately because there's a lot of people who are way worse off. Hang in there, shit has to get better eventually
Props, Rick. You're one step ahead of me.
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Between Grosso and Phelper so much precious knowledge has been lost. Bummin for his family, and our skate community.
RIP
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Keep on ripping out there, wherever you may be. You're gonna be loved forever.
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Very sad. Rest In Peace. I wonder how much shittier 2020 can possibly get. Stay safe out there everyone. Life is short.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qql2Uk6yk1E
I feel pretty fucking sucked out RIP
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Bummer.
He didn't hold anything back. I remember getting a pretty good laugh when he compared Street League to watching paint dry.
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The first time I has a chance to talk to him was for an interview. He told me he didn't want to do the interview over Skype text because there was no honesty in it.
The last time I had a chance to talk with him was in Malmo after the last Park Series. He ranted about how we're all lost boys from Peter Pan that never had to grow up.
Skateboarding lost some edge today.
*pic from interview in 2014
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Heart breaking, this year has been so trying and painful. I’ve lost my job to covid, struggling with alcoholism, and just keep getting bad news like this. 💔
Open line here too man. Shits rough out there. Have been struggling/struggled with similar issues. One love
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RIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3oZS3kYCe4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3oZS3kYCe4)
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Between Grosso and Phelper so much precious knowledge has been lost. Bummin for his family, and our skate community.
RIP
I’m so bummed might crack open a cold one for this news......
RIP Jeff you were a real one.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-a5ZbEl10R/?igshid=1plauhp23mnfb
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RIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3oZS3kYCe4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3oZS3kYCe4)
Damn, I didn't remember him having the nice 540, especially at that point in his career. All-time style on rock n rolls, Madonnas, and eggplants. RIP to the man.
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He was skateboarding’s cool uncle. This hurts. Bad.
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Ouch, that hurts. I'm so sorry to hear this. RIP Grosso
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Truly terrible and isolating time for a family to be grieving. Hope they’re doing okay and have support however that works during a time like this.
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he's the only one that could've done the love letters. it's great that we will always have them because he actually put the effort into doing that for us.
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just got the May 2020 issue in the mail yesterday and this was the Anti Hero ad, (sorry for the crappy scan).
RIP
(https://i.imgur.com/WTV8ML1.jpg)
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Damn, gonna dedicate the session to him tomorrow. Binge some love letters. He will be missed.
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Roll In Power Grosso.
I genuinely loved and respected that guy for all he had done, done wrong, and redone in his life.
He made being a salty-ass old grump a legit occupation, and the level of skating he was still capable of at his age, in THATphysical shape?!? Un-fucking-real. Truly a great.
Thank you Jeff, for all you done did.
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fuck man, this is hard
he was my dad's fav skateboarder, someone we could bond over and love
my heart goes out to oliver and everyone else close to him
2020 fuckin sucks. if its bc of covid i hope motherfuckers really start taking this shit seriously
rest in power.
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he never got his cover.
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One of the coolest dudes I had the pleasure to meet in person. RIP my dude.
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Damn it.. RIP...
Grosso had something that is missing in skating today: personality.
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I didn't grow up watching him skate but this video of his presenting Lizzie Armanto her Thrasher cover for her pro board is so good. Looks like a great dude who loved skateboarding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqT8xesnqvg
Thank you for posting this if only so that I could see the footage of Clive Dixon looking like Eddie Van Halen @2:10
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I watched everything of his a million times. Couldn't get enough. This is shocking and painful, and like it's been said, it's even more painful thinking of how much fun he had with his son.
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Everyone needs to shave their eyebrows in respect to him. He was an honest asshole and I miss him
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(https://i.imgur.com/BPrvDgt.gif)
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Why am I hoping that it was anything other than Covid-19? Maybe I am afraid for my Dad, as he is older. Fuck
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just got the May 2020 issue in the mail yesterday and this was the Anti Hero ad, (sorry for the crappy scan).
RIP
(https://i.imgur.com/WTV8ML1.jpg)
Big love to friends, family and fans of Grosso.
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What the fuck, this can't be real. Couldn't have been a wronger person to be taken from us. RIP.
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2 of my favorite wall hangers out of the 60-something I have in the house are Grosso’s. Fuck. I always really wanted to meet him and get heckled.
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2020
Australian fires, corona virus, losing Grosso, Kobe, and Genesis P-Orridge.
This stuff is heartbreaking but I truly appreciate the time I/we have on earth. Much love.
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Why am I hoping that it was anything other than Covid-19? Maybe I am afraid for my Dad, as he is older. Fuck
WAS IT REALLY COVID? SOMEONE SAID IT WAS A HEART ATTACK ON INSTA
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happy april 1st
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my condolences to his family. He truly was one of a kind, he'll be sorely missed.
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(https://popskateshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/3/image/1000x650/b65cbfba2e2e878366736024401d7f71/m/o/monopatin-santa-cruz-jeff-grosso-re-issue-10.jpg)
My second pro skateboard was a hand me down Grosso board from a friend (in natural finish not red like this one).
I was lucky enough to buy speed freaks as one of my first skate videos with his infamous intro to his part.
From the get go, he was part of what was appealing to skateboarding for me.
Like many of my favorites, he dropped out of the skate spotlight, and when he came back, I was super stoked.
He did it like no other by being a solid dude in so many aspects. I'm so thankful for the legacy he has left to us all. Skateboarding may not owe us anything, but I know I owe my sincere thanks to the influence he had on me and I know I'm not alone in this.
RIP.
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RIP Grosso. Gonna have a drink to him tonight.
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Why am I hoping that it was anything other than Covid-19? Maybe I am afraid for my Dad, as he is older. Fuck
These exact thoughts for me. except my dad is probably closer to Jeff's age. still wild. Rest in peace.
I luckily have had the opportunity to meet him once at a music festival. I was blown out of my mind and probably talking his ear off but he still took the time to talk for a bit and was nice as hell. heartbreaking for his son
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Fuck.
RIP Grosso.
His contribution is undeniable, from his 80s pro career to the letters. His irreverence always seemed authentic and partially in jest, not mean spirited. We just lost an embodiment of skateboardings ethos, a piece of its history and culture. And a father, so damn sad.
Just poured one out, layered up, and bombed the mellow hill on my street as the sun went down. Got home, and just before I walked into the house, turned around and did it again. Thanks Jeff, you will be missed.
Big up Slap. Stay safe in these strange times and love your people everyday. You never know when it's coming. Salud.
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Shitty news today, was hoping it was just a bad early April Fool's joke, but that wasn't the case.
RIP Grosso, you were one of the first guys I loved watching when I started back in '86, you'll be missed.
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What happened?
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well this sucks he was an awesome guy. loved everything about the dude.
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Wow. Just rhink how fucked it be to never skate with your dad again. Most of us never had that ever. Feel for the kids for sure.
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Damn!! RIP JEFF GROSSO!!
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Rest In Peace.
Respect.
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sad to have lost such a beautiful soul. condolences to all who loved him.
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I don’t have IG, but hearing that he posted a day ago just with him and his kid is really heavy to hear. 2020 is going through crazy stuff. First Mark , now this :(
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He was only in his early 50's right? So messed up :( RIP
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He was taken too young. FUCK!!!! What a rad guy who inspired a lot of skaters. He will be missed. WHAT A FUCKING YEAR SO FAR!! FUCK!!!!!
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No way man... this is heartbreaking to hear. Can't help but still hope this is just an awful April Fool's...
RIP Grosso. I never met you, but on top of your skating I really admired your love, opinions, and bluntness when it came to skating, leaving an everlasting mark in the culture. Gonna go watch some love letters now.
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He was one of the most special guys in the industry, rest in peace
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Gutted. Went and push around in the rain when I heard the news. Can safely say I wouldn’t be who I am without Jeff’s influence. I Can’t imagine how his friends and family are feeling. RIP❤️
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Why?
RIP Grosso.
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Words can't begin to explain how gutted this makes me feel.
Grosso reminded me why I love skateboarding so much everytime I'd feel burnt out on it. The biggest softie and the toughest dude at the same time. The real stoke though, was seeing Grosso post clips of him and Goo just going for it - that smile on his face - that will be how we remember him. the intergenerational godfather of stoke.
Here's to you, Jeff. Rest easy, Oliver will carry that stoke forever in his heart!
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What the actual fuck! I've seen the ad for the love letters with Rowan before about 50 YouTube videos and finally decided to watch it. As soon as it was over I come to Slap and see this shit.
Even though his his nine club was the probably most interesting episode ever and love letters was pretty cool I've never really cared about him but for some reason reading this news made my stomach sink.
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:'(
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUe4hfUWoAApBNu?format=jpg&name=large)
Forever one of my favorite photos.
Shocking. RIP
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Saw Grosso skate a few years ago and was absolutely astounded. He also made a real point of hanging out and talking to the kids when he wasn't ripping. Stand up guy.
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RIP Grosso
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In the Memory Screen thread, everyone was saying how they identified with the video. It made them almost proud to be a part something like skateboarding. Grosso makes me feel the same way. He’s a big reason we’re not all jockish kooks. He made it good, fun, and special. We were fortunate to have experienced him.
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:'(
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUe4hfUWoAApBNu?format=jpg&name=large)
Forever one of my favorite photos.
Shocking. RIP
I remember when I saw that I was like- no fucking way. Everything about that- how committed he is, where his feet are and that crazy ass pool is terrifying. I forgot it was him
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“Blondey McCoy? Is that a stunt name?”
Rip in peace
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Fuck this. RIP to a legend and pillar of the culture.
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Damn. Repose en paix monsieur Grosso.
Thanks for the France episode. And everything else.
Even though some of their antics made me cringe, losing him and Phelps is a big blow to skate history and our culture. Especially now it is being diluted into Mountain Dew ads and olympics squads in uniforms.
I actually think pretty often about how it would affect my kids, if something were to happen to me or my wife. Fuck. Gonna have to binge watch the Love Letters again.
Edit : obviously I was thinking more of Phelps, when talking about 'antics'...
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RIP to an absolute legend. I grew up on those old videos. Nothing but respect. Sorry for his friends and family. Thanks for everything you did for skateboarding Jeff.
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Terrible news. RIP
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Rip
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2020 sucks
RIP Grosso
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R I P
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It’s taken a few hours for this to sink and be real.
I walk by a photo of Jeff each and every morning, it’s after a combi run, in the bottom of the bowl, fist raised and all energy. I look at it to keep my spirits high even if I can’t feel it at that moment. I’ll continue to do this but always feel a little saddened about a life cut way too short
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RIP :(
fuck 2020
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I'd love to see a final Loveletters episode titled "Loveletters to Jeff" in his memory. If there's someone at Vans reading this, please make it happen.
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2020
Australian fires, corona virus, losing Grosso, Kobe, and Genesis P-Orridge.
This stuff is heartbreaking but I truly appreciate the time I/we have on earth. Much love.
worst recent year
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Fuck sakes
RIP
He will be missed. Gutted, hope his family is ok.
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Thank you for the time, thanks for bustin balls, thanks for the opinion, thanks making me feel like a kook, thanks for making me feel like im a part of this, thanks for not caring about shit but also caring about shit that matters. Thanks for being you. Rest in peace Grosso.
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https://youtu.be/MU2uOmfmFRg
I thought I was gonna get sad and emotional watching love letters tonight.
Started with this episode, and I'm smiling and laughing. Thanks Grosso for keeping it real as fuck.
RIP
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Fuck. This really sucks to hear. RIP
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I saw this on facebook hoping it would be an april fools joke.
A cruel one but still, ufortunately it isn't a joke.
This hurts me as much as Dylan's passing... one of the most genuine dudes out there.
I'm speechless.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q227nCd15vE
The quote starting at 18:04 always stayed with me. RIP to one of the truest to ever do it.
Burnett should finally give him a thrasher cover.
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RIP
Condolences to his family.
Skateboarding lost a great one
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This shit bums me out because I was saying fuck 2019 all year. It was bad for me personally, mad people I know dying. Was looking forward to 2020 being better but not lookin great.
RIP Grosso. What’s your favore love letters episode?
So many of them are so good but the one on slams really gets me going.
Word thanks. I ask because I really liked them but only ever got around to watching a few. So keep the suggestions for episodes coming yall.
Honestly a lot of people are dying lately without really knowing if it was Covid. Personally hearing about grandparents and less healthy folks passing lately and we ask “was it covid” but they weren’t tested, symptoms were vague. We don’t know but probably. It’s gnarly.
usually you will know very clearly when someone dies of covid: first they get a cold and then they get pneumonia and eventually die of suffocation. It is not a sudden death.
Hearing that Grosso died made my stomach hurt. It is so sad!
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RIP Grosso.
I hope his family can find a little solace in all the love and respect the skateboarding world had for him. My condolences.
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This is some terrible news. Skateboarding lost it's favourite encyclopedia.
Best of luck to his friends and family.
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Oh no. I really liked Jeff.
Seemed like a really genuine dude. Wore his heart on his sleeve, proudly.
I remember a kid at school turning up with Jeff's first Santa Cruz pro model, black dipped with a blue demon.
I couldn't believe how high the tail was on that thing, wicked board.
Six months later I saw his Coca Cola inspired board in the wild, my 13 year old brain just thought 'what the fuck...'?
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Very sad news.
RIP Jeff Grosso.
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Fuck.
Rest In Peace Jeff, this is not the news I expected or wanted to hear this morning.
He was a bit like Phelps for me- just a face and voice in skating that I consider part of the fabric of my skateboarding life and our culture as a whole. Which I guess is why this hit hard.
I really hope his family are okay.
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Ok,
I am officially done with this year! FUCK THIS!
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Sad news, RIP Jeff
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This is so incredibly sad. RIP Grosso
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R.I.P., O.G. Skateboarding is a little less cool today. A little less funny. A little less stylish. :'(
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Im speechless, this one hurts, dude was a legend. RIP Grosso
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I loved how he totally upstaged Hosoi in the Hosoi doco.
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Man this year sucks so much. I've been binge watching all the loveletters the last days 'cause my work closed because of that virus. Yesterday I still watched Grosso dance with his son. Such sad news this morning.
Rest in peace Jeff
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Rip and props to the dude.
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
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Was it a heart attack?
RIP
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
I feel you. Had hour + phone interview with him. Truly a real person. Talking about shit like the Olympics and basically pimping skating. Love him. RIP
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I still can't resonate with this, he's been the voice for all skateboarding lovers and for the "purists".
Somehow I wish it's a shitty April's fools joke.
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Dude loved skating more than most and was never afraid to tell it like it is ... even if it pissed off people in the industry.
Please wake me and tell me this is some sick April fools joke🖤
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This year is bumming me out.
RIP
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This ones a deep cut. Tracks right through to your childhood and throws mortality in your face. RIP Jeff. My heart aches for his son...
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Well that fuckin sucks... RIP
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You know as much as you guys don’t believe in the big cats, this one truly hurts my clan. The cheetah and many others knew Jeff when he was a young boy. Jeff was a true spirit that burned very bright, I’m sad to hear about this, and i hope his son knows how truly amazing his father was.
Love from the big cat clan(there’s a heart for every single one of us)
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
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makes no sense
RIP legend
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This one's fucking with me. Our kids are the same age. I can't fucking imagine...
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Jeff is one of the skaters that absolutely no one can hate on, everyone agrees that he's a true skateboarder, he's funny and just all around cool. This is heartbreaking may his beautiful soul rest in peace. I hope his son stays strong. This sucks
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Damn this one is hitting me a lot harder than Phelps. I'm a huge Grosso fan not just because the letters has been one of the best skate documentary series ever and he was funny as hell, but I really identified with him on a personal level. I'm an ex junkie piece of shit and his struggles and road to redemption always made me feel more confident about my own. That is important, but I think what I liked best about him was that even as he aged he never stopped having fun and that reminded me that getting old doesn't have to mean acting old. He still had that childlike passion for all things skateboarding and I just thought that was so genuine and incredibly endearing.
Even though I never met the guy, this still feels like I lost a friend.
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I feel like vomiting
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Damn this is just sad
JEFF GROSSO was to me like a cool older brother telling me whats wack and whats rad, through videos, articles and whatnot
I will miss him for that
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Skateboarding lost a huge junk of enthusiasm.
This dude's show really taught me that it is important to know about the history of skateboarding.
He really loved skateboarding and wasn't afraid to confront those, who were in it for the wrong reasons.
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someone might have already said this above, but just in case:
"start nervous breakdown"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ymIcc54Zvo
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It seems like he put an effort into raising his kid and that’s all kids ever ask of a parent. Effort. I hope his son will be ok. He’s got a big family out there of skaters.
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Wow, 9 pages in, and not a single negative comment from SLAP. That’s a testament to the man in itself.
I’ve got his ‘oil painting’ deck where he is reclining naked front and center, like a portly Venus on my shelf in the living room.
Beautiful man who embraced his damaged side and wasn’t afraid to show it to the world.
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I’m crying more than when my dad died. This is fucked and we can’t even go skate. Reading everything you guys have to say is making it worse but better at the same time. Truly a national treasure. Everyone go do a fucking roast beef
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This one hits hard. I have real respect for a person who isn't afraid to voice their opinion. His 9 club is my personal favorite. I think he should finally get this Thrasher cover
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RIP to one of the realest
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Wow, RIP to an OG
True skateboarder gone , 2020 has been heavy year already
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There’s like not a lot true legendary skaters left who tell it like it is. Rest In Peace Grosso
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Anyone got any good recommendations for his "love letters" series?
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RIP.
:'(
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Sad to say it. Fuck 2020.
Worst start to a new decade.
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Anyone got any good recommendations for his "love letters" series?
All of em.
RIP grosso, and bless his family
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Legend, really sad news in what are currently challenging times. RIP
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Fuckin heartbreaking. This has me all fucked up.
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Wasn’t ready for this.
Gonna watch all the love letters.
Big love to the man.
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(https://i0.wp.com/skateboarding.transworld.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Grosso-Vukovich-PA3-88-72.jpg?ssl=1)
(https://coresites-cdn-adm.imgix.net/kingpin_new/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/JeffGrosso_Invert-620x874.jpg)
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I can’t even register this
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(https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/560589d0e4b0dce67062f871/1503182813985-E0IQTOMPPWO4H0LNGUAE/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBqZKGEd5IotpaYmRYDAsV97gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UYXHvO3AlG5qAFDx5BBWbEnTecsx1VxL9XkiyXErq2cftN_KfIuurh-w-x7bjNuMJA/_MG_4616.JPG?format=750w)
Wish we got more time with you, Grosso, but we’ll never forget the time we had.
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https://youtu.be/wnzoNfNXVyI
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Is this real?
(https://i.imgur.com/l9BD43l.png)
She works for Vans. I still don’t know where she came up with the coronavirus stuff though. It looks like she cropped that email.
(https://i.imgur.com/v704Z9p.png)
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didn't sleep at all last night, thinking of Goo :'(. RIP
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Hope all of his friends and whoever make a love letter to him for all to see
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=de-z2QAAm6o
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I'm sure he had a lot of underlying conditions. He talked about it like 10 years ago, and I don't think most of that stuff gets better with time. I hope it was something sudden and quick and his son didn't find him.
I take solace in that he never had to deal with what seemed to be his biggest fear, living without being able to skate. He was still ripping for everyone he wanted to rip for at the end.
RIP Grosso
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RIP OG.
Stand up man who called out bullshit when he saw it. Kept integrity within skateboarding intact.
His rise, fall and subsequent rise is inspiration. Loveletters is dope, and that last IG video is golden. I feel for his kid man..Hopefully people who were close to Grosso can keep a hand in his child’s life.
Glanced at my board in the garage yesterday and said, “Nahh”. It’s been months.
It’s time to get of Slap and skate, peace out & stay safe.
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Remember when we thought 2016 was the worst? RIP
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That old contest run where he's just fucking around (sorry if it's been posted here...didn't read through the whole thread) is probably my favorite skate video clip ever. It's amazing. He's who I always wished to be.
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This fucking gutted me. I was making pancakes this morning crying a little imagining his boy, who's the same age as mine, finding him and dealing with this. I've been sad the direction skateboarding has gone since about 2007 but was okay with it because we still had some greats involved who would remind us of the glory days. Fuck. This one hurts.
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Huge bummer, RIP to a legend.
Hoping for the best for Goo & the rest of his family.
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Have to say, Jeff was my absolute favorite skater of all time. He always kept skaters from growing big heads, and supported those who needed it. Not to mention he has one of the best styles ever. Him posting with goo was the thing that motivated me to go out and skate during the worst times, when I thought that I should quit skating.
If someone hasn't either figured out what is going to happen to Oliver, or no one has started a GoFundMe page yet, I think I will. He was lucky enough to have an awesome dad, and I think the best we can do as a community is to support Oliver in any way we can. This shouldn't happen to a seven year old kid.
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You know as much as you guys don’t believe in the big cats, this one truly hurts my clan. The cheetah and many others knew Jeff when he was a young boy. Jeff was a true spirit that burned very bright, I’m sad to hear about this, and i hope his son knows how truly amazing his father was.
Love from the big cat clan(there’s a heart for every single one of us)
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
leave it to this insufferable narcissist to make a post about him in a memorial thread, along with trying hard to be funny. Today is ignore day as well as April fools.
This sucks, I'm just gutted for the GOO and could never imagine how this will impact him. Makes me want to have kids young even though i'm oldish.
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Had such a great personality and u could tell he truly loved skateboarding. Im glad he made so many episodes of love letters so he can at least live in through that.
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Anyone got any good recommendations for his "love letters" series?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhtIWWEXRFk
this one is my fav, sadly too fitting today.
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Speechless, what a horrible loss to his family and to all of skateboarding!
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one of my favorites. this one always cracked me up- jeff casually listing off the encyclopedia of foot plants while painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GracvV0UK8s
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
I recommend everybody set some time aside today to read this whole interview. It’s fantastic and a wonderful tribute to him.
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fucking legend. 2020 is pretty shitty. has the cause of death been said? skimmed this thread and didnt see anything other than possible heart attack but is that true?
rest in peace
free max b
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“Turn this off, go skate, go outside”
That shit would make me get up and get out.
Pure motivation with no ill intentions.
I love skateboarding.
I love being in the streets with the homies.
Rest easy Jeff
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I'll have a beer on him and binge watch love letters tonight!
Shit.
R.I.P to a real one
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Seeing that last instagram post with him dancing with his son to Leonard Cohen is some sad stuff. RIP :'(
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Not gonna lie. I'm a 37 year old grown man and I cried when I read it.
Terrible loss for the sport. He was doing so well the last few years.
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(http://thegoodproblem.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/JeffG.jpg)
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Really shitty to lose anyone period but I feel so bad for the family considering most funerals right now are limited to 10 people. Just a bummer all around.
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My heart goes out to Goo.
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Anyone got any good recommendations for his "love letters" series?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhtIWWEXRFk
this one is my fav, sadly too fitting today.
Damn man im at work, trying to not cry now, thats an amazing loveletter
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That Savannah Slam 2 run (page 4 of this thread) as funny as it is really showcases the dude's skills.
Somebody should reenact that run if we ever see a contest again.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaZC_hIgeeE
This is perfect. Rest in peace to a real one.
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Rip Jeff Grosso, im devastated. this has depressed me more than losing phelps or monk that fucked up on opioids.
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Truck wars is a masterpiece. I feel bad for his friends especially Lucero.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-bUoITpvfX/?hl=en
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(https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=109951.0;attach=19258;image)
I'm glad you posted that. Huge loss for skateboarding and tragic loss for his family and son. Trying to think on the bright side, I'm glad for him that he was able to straighten his life out and become an important part of skateboarding again, and have time to be what looks like a really good dad.
He was able to leave his legacy behind with a positive light instead of being another drug casualty. Grosso rules.
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(https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=109951.0;attach=19258;image)
I'm glad you posted that. Huge loss for skateboarding and tragic loss for his family and son. Trying to think on the bright side, I'm glad for him that he was able to straighten his life out and become an important part of skateboarding again, and have time to be what looks like a really good dad.
He was able to leave his legacy behind with a positive light instead of being another drug casualty. Grosso rules.
Gnar'd wise words to live by......
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(https://i0.wp.com/skateboarding.transworld.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Grosso-Vukovich-PA3-88-72.jpg?ssl=1)
(https://coresites-cdn-adm.imgix.net/kingpin_new/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/JeffGrosso_Invert-620x874.jpg)
Never knew he had a workshop tattoo. Pretty dope.
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Never knew he had a workshop tattoo. Pretty dope.
He talks about it in this amazing clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXbpb2LCO0
That was basically my introduction to Grosso besides just hearing his name throughout the years. Instantly thought he was the most entertaining dude. I show that clip to people who don't even skate just because it's so funny.
Gonna listen to The Chameleons right now...
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man i remember watching that weekend buzz, that was some seriously inspiring stuff.
this fucking sucks.
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Never knew he had a workshop tattoo. Pretty dope.
He talks about it in this amazing clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXbpb2LCO0
That was basically my introduction to Grosso besides just hearing his name throughout the years. Instantly thought he was the most entertaining dude. I show that clip to people who don't even skate just because it's so funny.
Gonna listen to The Chameleons right now...
LOL fuckin amazing.
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Never knew he had a workshop tattoo. Pretty dope.
He talks about it in this amazing clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXbpb2LCO0
That was basically my introduction to Grosso besides just hearing his name throughout the years. Instantly thought he was the most entertaining dude. I show that clip to people who don't even skate just because it's so funny.
Gonna listen to The Chameleons right now...
Right there with you on the chameleons
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Expand Quote
Never knew he had a workshop tattoo. Pretty dope.
He talks about it in this amazing clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXbpb2LCO0
That was basically my introduction to Grosso besides just hearing his name throughout the years. Instantly thought he was the most entertaining dude. I show that clip to people who don't even skate just because it's so funny.
Gonna listen to The Chameleons right now...
Right there with you on the chameleons
"when you fail to make the connection, you know vital it is
when something slips through your fingers, you know precious it is"
RIP Jeff
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):
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This is such a drag.
Like a lot of you, I saw the clip of him and his son dancing last night, and wondered how this could possibly happen.
I feel so bad for Oliver, especially if the claims of him discovering his dad are true.
I was going to put off skating until tomorrow night when the weather is a bit more decent, but I'm at the very least, going to bomb a hill and cruise around for a bit.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaZC_hIgeeE
This is perfect. Rest in peace to a real one.
Im not crying, YOU'RE crying.
Rest easy Jeff.
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I reached out to Jeff a couple months ago after listening to/reading interviews about his struggle with addiction problems throughout various stages of his life. At the time I was headfirst in a bad way myself, desperately needing advice and guidance. I thanked him for being open about his past, told him how much it helped me and thanked him. His response was so real and honest, just like something a close friend would tell you - to just some random dude on the internet who he never met or had any obligation to talk to. That stuck with me, inspired me to talk to someone and get help. As real as it fuckin' gets. RIP </3
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Damn... R.I.P.
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fucking legend. 2020 is pretty shitty. has the cause of death been said? skimmed this thread and didnt see anything other than possible heart attack but is that true?
rest in peace
free max b
Yeah, heart attack.
I was a mess when I scrolled that last insta post of him and his kid dancing. A fitting last nudge. Gonna miss him.
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This fkn hurts man. Second time I cried today. RIP to a LEGEND.
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So, so, so, fucking heavy.
Though I never met Grosso, I've always wanted to. Seemed like one the most genuine dudes on a board.
Rest in Peace to real one.
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I remember reading Grosso interviewed in the short-lived French version of Thrasher - he was talking about the bad things he did in the past, when his skateboarder career was down. Shitty things like stole a TV from his roommates, sell it for money and then never come back. He also tell stories about overcoming his bad behaviors, working in regular jobs to make money etc
At the time my father just passed away and I was a big moron with my family, my friends etc
Reading this interview made me think a lot, I started to try to be a better person, I was young and I hated everything due to the loss i suffered, so thanks to Grosso for opening my eyes
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I remember reading Grosso interviewed in the short-lived French version of Thrasher - he was talking about the bad things he did in the past, when his skateboarder career was down. Shitty things like stole a TV from his roommates, sell it for money and then never come back. He also tell stories about overcoming his bad behaviors, working in regular jobs to make money etc
At the time my father just passed away and I was a big moron with my family, my friends etc
Reading this interview made me think a lot, I started to try to be a better person, I was young and I hated everything due to the loss i suffered, so thanks to Grosso for opening my eyes
that’s awesome dude. Everyone dies but not many make an impact like that
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Hope 18 keeps printing his
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When I first heard of Grosso I found him annoying and I didn't really get him, but very quickly I began to like him and found him endearing. He seemed so pure and genuine with a clear love/obsession for skateboarding. I love his section in Destination Unknown and the song went so well with it, It always gets me so stoked.
I think this is one of the greatest skate photos ever, even if it's not necessarily meant to be.
Very sad for his son. RIP Grosso. We love you.
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one of my favorites. this one always cracked me up- jeff casually listing off the encyclopedia of foot plants while painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GracvV0UK8s
YES I fucken loved this one!
We are so lucky to have this series.
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This is the absolute worst.
RIP Jeff.
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fuuuuuck going to listen to chameleons uk in his honor
-
Always felt a personal connection to him
Praying for his son and family
RIP
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Hope 18 keeps printing his
Grosso has his own unique deck shape. I hope it will be produced forever as the Grosso shape. They can pay Goo the royalties. If 18 stops making the decks some brand will copy the shape. its in the catalog of notable shapes forever no matter what brand makes it.
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I remember reading Grosso interviewed in the short-lived French version of Thrasher - he was talking about the bad things he did in the past, when his skateboarder career was down. Shitty things like stole a TV from his roommates, sell it for money and then never come back. He also tell stories about overcoming his bad behaviors, working in regular jobs to make money etc
At the time my father just passed away and I was a big moron with my family, my friends etc
Reading this interview made me think a lot, I started to try to be a better person, I was young and I hated everything due to the loss i suffered, so thanks to Grosso for opening my eyes
This was rather nice to read. Good on you for being self-aware enough see you needed to get your shit together.
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Hope 18 keeps printing his
He was installing flooring for a living with a shitty back so I doubt he was rolling in it.
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one of my favorites. this one always cracked me up- jeff casually listing off the encyclopedia of foot plants while painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GracvV0UK8s
YES I fucken loved this one!
We are so lucky to have this series.
I grew up when vert was dead and there were no parks. I feel like I missed out. I kind of want to get pads and learn now.
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When Grosso was at the Uffizi, I went up to him, threw up a fist, and shout whispered “GROSSO!”
He said “Weird”
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RIP to the Grosso! one of the raddest. I will be changing my name.
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One of my favorite singular things coming back to skating later in life was Jeff’s passion for it.
I fully believe that no one loved skateboarding more than Mr. Grosso, and listening to someone speak on something they genuinely love is a beautiful thing.
What a sad occurance.
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I remember reading Grosso interviewed in the short-lived French version of Thrasher - he was talking about the bad things he did in the past, when his skateboarder career was down. Shitty things like stole a TV from his roommates, sell it for money and then never come back. He also tell stories about overcoming his bad behaviors, working in regular jobs to make money etc
At the time my father just passed away and I was a big moron with my family, my friends etc
Reading this interview made me think a lot, I started to try to be a better person, I was young and I hated everything due to the loss i suffered, so thanks to Grosso for opening my eyes
This was rather nice to read. Good on you for being self-aware enough see you needed to get your shit together.
I was like 18. I just graduated when my father die, decided to not go to university and to try to live from my passion, graphic design. It worked out. It is strange how a few lines in a skate magazine from a bowl / vert old guy I will never meet had an impact on me. But I was a little shit at the time, stealing things here and there, smoking a lot, and drinking and partying too much. And here in France we don’t have this culture of being sober, rehab, etc.
So thank Jeff Grosso hehe.
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fuuuuuck going to listen to chameleons uk in his honor
fuck yeah
https://chromeballincident.blogspot.com/2017/04/recommended-by-vols-1-and-2.html
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Hope 18 keeps printing his
If 1-8 were to stop I'm sure the Label would pick them up without a doubt.
Also, Lucero and Lance should make the last last Love letter to Grosso. Get mad cheesy and start with the Speedfreaks intro and then end with the Destination Unknown re-do.
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We lost a good one. A real one. It’s comforting to know that Goo has the best family in the world that will be there for him. As shitty as skaters can be, we know when it’s time to take care of our own. Goo will always have us. And I’m sure Jeff knows he’s in good hands. R.I.P. to an undeniable legend.
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RIP to the Grosso! one of the raddest. I will be changing my name.
I’m gonna be keeping mine
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one of my favorites. this one always cracked me up- jeff casually listing off the encyclopedia of foot plants while painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GracvV0UK8s
YES I fucken loved this one!
We are so lucky to have this series.
The very end when he’s talking about testing out boards is fucking hilarious. He was such a sick genuine dude and it showed. RIP
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R.I.P. Grosso, thank you for everything.
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He was unique in that you could tell when he talked shit it was because he cared about skateboarding so much. Not just cool guying it, but a passion for it. Even though my perspective of skateboarding is so different, he made me appreciate all these things I would have overlooked. Tucking I a boneless on transition, sticking the leg out straight ona sad plant, the foot positioning on rocknrolls. He will be missed, I wish we had more time with him.
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Lucero and Lance should make the last last Love letter to Grosso.
I hope this happens
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-cjU1HF8SM/?hl=en
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I'd love to see a final Loveletters episode titled "Loveletters to Jeff" in his memory. If there's someone at Vans reading this, please make it happen.
I hope this happens. 👍
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I'd love to see a final Loveletters episode titled "Loveletters to Jeff" in his memory. If there's someone at Vans reading this, please make it happen.
I hope this happens. 👍
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Truck wars is a masterpiece. I feel bad for his friends especially Lucero.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-bUoITpvfX/?hl=en
I'll buy each tribute board if it'll go to his family, AH, Black Label, special edition Schmidt Stix.
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
I recommend everybody set some time aside today to read this whole interview. It’s fantastic and a wonderful tribute to him.
Cheers mate. I’ve actually got 4 or so hours of audio with us talking shit. Maybe I’ll put that out there.
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2020 keeps getting worse wtf
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
I recommend everybody set some time aside today to read this whole interview. It’s fantastic and a wonderful tribute to him.
Cheers mate. I’ve actually got 4 or so hours of audio with us talking shit. Maybe I’ll put that out there.
Please please post it
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I've been first and last
Look at how the time goes past.
But I'm all alone at last.
Rolling home to you.
-Neil Young
Rest in Peace Mr. Grosso.
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Anyone got any good recommendations for his "love letters" series?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhtIWWEXRFk
this one is my fav, sadly too fitting today.
Fuck this hit hard, packed my board with me to work today. Hitting up the park for Grosso today.
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Cant wait for the LGBTQ+ Buddy announced for the last episode.
Grosso just loved. He learned from mistakes, learned from the mistakes around him, and seemed like an amazing dad.
Thanks for getting me back in the pool.
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RIP :(
fuck 2020
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Woke up today to see if it wasn't a sick/cool publicity stunt pulled off by Grosso on april 1st to release a new video or boardgraphic.
I'd see him do that.
Not in an asshole way, but in a way we'd all find charming and cool.
Unfortunately it wasn't a stunt...
RIP man, this hit me just as hard as Dylan.
And a lot of people were asking 'who will replace Phelps?' when Phelps died.
Honestly?
I saw Grosso doing it.
And he'd be great at it.
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R.I.P. Jeff.
For as much sadness as there is for Jeff's death, there should be an equal amount of anger toward drugs and the idiots who sell them. Cocaine took Jeff Grosso and Jay Adams from us.
Cocaine takes the limiters off your heart and makes it beat faster than normal, this causes the left ventricle to hypertrophy (your heart muscle grows like it's on steroids), an enlarged, out of shape heart cannot keep a steady beat, and then people tend to die in their fifties from massive heart attacks. Jeff used to smoke cocaine every day at one point, and his most famous board is a joke about cocaine. Jay Adams died from a heart attack in his fifties as well, one of his nostrils was bigger than the other from snorting coke.
Drugs have ruined the lives of so many pro skaters, in a sport mainly pursued by impressionable teenagers. That isn't cool, drugs aren't cool. The next generation of skaters have a chance to learn from our mistakes. If you're partying and your 'friend' offers you a line, tell him or her where to stick their poison.
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This one hits really hard. It was the first thing I saw on my Instagram feed when I woke up yesterday and couldn't process it. It was hard to hold back the tears at work reading/watching all the tributes or listening to his Nine Club again. France being on lockdown, I snuck a 40mn flatground session/cruising for groceries in honor of him. On my ride home, I met a kid starting skateboarding with his father (who apparently use to skate pools in the late '70s/'80s). Gave the kid some tips on ollies and starting/meeting kid his age to skate, and talk shit with his father. I needed that. Later I binge-watched the Love letters with some beers.
Grosso knew exactly how to put words on our love for skateboarding and how it is a big part of our life. This "I don't know how to process life without skateboarding" speech talk resonates so much to me. He embodied this love and knowledge. Just while talking shit, it was out of pure love for skate. Even skate-wise, I was so stoked seeing him come back and rip. And again after the recent injuries, or just kicking around with his kid.
Rest in peace
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I think all of skateboarding owes you a tremendous thank you. He was at his lowest, but he came back and gave us some of the best views on how awesome, and dumb skateboarding can be.
We're all going to miss you.
Also just because no one posted it yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRurTK8JLbs&t=279s
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Gutted.
Shot the shit with him in Malmo a little while ago. Ended up in a lengthy interview as Jeff could talk.
http://sessionmag.co.za/the-jeff-grosso-interview/
I recommend everybody set some time aside today to read this whole interview. It’s fantastic and a wonderful tribute to him.
Cheers mate. I’ve actually got 4 or so hours of audio with us talking shit. Maybe I’ll put that out there.
Please please post it
I'll have a go in the coming days. Dealing with a skate shop on the brink and just had a baby. Things are fuuuucked!
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not sure if posted already, but if u aint watched his 9 club u are blowing it
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I16Vj4_xdxY
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54...
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Not sure if this has been linked to as of yet-
http://thegoodproblem.com/2020/03/31/r-i-p-jeff-grosso-2/
Good playlists from Jeff in here.
Thanks for all you gave us. RIP in power.
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I think all of skateboarding owes you a tremendous thank you. He was at his lowest, but he came back and gave us some of the best views on how awesome, and dumb skateboarding can be.
We're all going to miss you.
Also just because no one posted it yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRurTK8JLbs&t=279s
This always makes me smile. It also makes me really want to skate.
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that final Instagram clip is so damn poignant - a father dancing with his son, grinning & laughing as Leonard Cohen sings.......
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows
And everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows
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R.I.P. Jeff.
For as much sadness as there is for Jeff's death, there should be an equal amount of anger toward drugs and the idiots who sell them. Cocaine took Jeff Grosso and Jay Adams from us.
Cocaine takes the limiters off your heart and makes it beat faster than normal, this causes the left ventricle to hypertrophy (your heart muscle grows like it's on steroids), an enlarged, out of shape heart cannot keep a steady beat, and then people tend to die in their fifties from massive heart attacks. Jeff used to smoke cocaine every day at one point, and his most famous board is a joke about cocaine. Jay Adams died from a heart attack in his fifties as well, one of his nostrils was bigger than the other from snorting coke.
Drugs have ruined the lives of so many pro skaters, in a sport mainly pursued by impressionable teenagers. That isn't cool, drugs aren't cool. The next generation of skaters have a chance to learn from our mistakes. If you're partying and your 'friend' offers you a line, tell him or her where to stick their poison.
Start a new thread, or dig up on old one. Actually, just don't post.
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Grosso was a great guy who I and a lot of people could relate to. We've all had our ups and downs. He came out on top through it all. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Definitely a huge loss for Skateboarding.
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R.I.P. Jeff.
For as much sadness as there is for Jeff's death, there should be an equal amount of anger toward drugs and the idiots who sell them. Cocaine took Jeff Grosso and Jay Adams from us.
Cocaine takes the limiters off your heart and makes it beat faster than normal, this causes the left ventricle to hypertrophy (your heart muscle grows like it's on steroids), an enlarged, out of shape heart cannot keep a steady beat, and then people tend to die in their fifties from massive heart attacks. Jeff used to smoke cocaine every day at one point, and his most famous board is a joke about cocaine. Jay Adams died from a heart attack in his fifties as well, one of his nostrils was bigger than the other from snorting coke.
Drugs have ruined the lives of so many pro skaters, in a sport mainly pursued by impressionable teenagers. That isn't cool, drugs aren't cool. The next generation of skaters have a chance to learn from our mistakes. If you're partying and your 'friend' offers you a line, tell him or her where to stick their poison.
Start a new thread, or dig up on old one. Actually, just don't post.
I disagree, every death is an opportunity to do something right, Grosso himself spoke about the hard life he lived; honestly and brutally. If his example can save another from making the same mistakes I believe he would be all for that. Shame Phelpers cover squad didn't see it that way.
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R.I.P. Jeff.
For as much sadness as there is for Jeff's death, there should be an equal amount of anger toward drugs and the idiots who sell them. Cocaine took Jeff Grosso and Jay Adams from us.
Cocaine takes the limiters off your heart and makes it beat faster than normal, this causes the left ventricle to hypertrophy (your heart muscle grows like it's on steroids), an enlarged, out of shape heart cannot keep a steady beat, and then people tend to die in their fifties from massive heart attacks. Jeff used to smoke cocaine every day at one point, and his most famous board is a joke about cocaine. Jay Adams died from a heart attack in his fifties as well, one of his nostrils was bigger than the other from snorting coke.
Drugs have ruined the lives of so many pro skaters, in a sport mainly pursued by impressionable teenagers. That isn't cool, drugs aren't cool. The next generation of skaters have a chance to learn from our mistakes. If you're partying and your 'friend' offers you a line, tell him or her where to stick their poison.
Start a new thread, or dig up on old one. Actually, just don't post.
I disagree, every death is an opportunity to do something right, Grosso himself spoke about the hard life he lived; honestly and brutally. If his example can save another from making the same mistakes I believe he would be all for that. Shame Phelpers cover squad didn't see it that way.
Using the early death of a community hero to shake your fist at coke dealers is some fucking 80s war on drugs shit, and it just serves to shift the blame onto an evil Other instead of the person who ingested the drugs in the first place. That's a really dumb way to look at it, where the world consists of people who do things to others and other people who have things done to them without any choice in the matter. So if you want an honest discussion, it's got to start with "Jeff Grosso liked doing hard drugs that are very bad for your health and decided to spend years of his life doing them, making his early death considerably more likely," which we can be pretty sure he would have agreed with. Maybe that's an important discussion, and it's sure harder to do any moral grandstanding that way, but even that isn't probably appropriate where we're trying to grieve the loss of a beloved elder.
So I say: let's focus here on memorializing a good dude who died way too young, instead of starting an argument about who is morally to blame for his death, which is most definitely beside the point of Grosso's frankly amazing life and how he was able to positively affect so many other people in the end through his love of the skateboarding world, even though he had to go so soon.
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don't really want to get into the debate above but I will comment that Joe Strummer died aged 50 of an undiagnosed heart condition - it was not lifestyle related........perhaps Grosso suffered from a similar condition.
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don't really want to get into the debate above but I will comment that Joe Strummer died aged 50 of an undiagnosed heart condition - it was not lifestyle related........perhaps Grosso suffered from a similar condition.
I don't want to debate either, so I'll just dip and say: RIP Grosso, who was as real as they come.
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This still sucks, it feels like losing family.
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RIP
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Trying hard to process this, just had to hop on here and be with our big weird family for a bit. I learned so much about skateboarding from Jeff, from the goofball run to love letters... and will never forget the cautionary tales about frozen burritos and benders. Goddamn this one hurts. Be good to friends and family, learn new things and share knowledge with people. Love you all.
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i was looking at Grosso decks on ebay. i thought this was funny. RIP
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anyone seen his story from about an hour ago
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i was looking at Grosso decks on ebay. i thought this was funny. RIP
That’s crazy, I literally have that one just sitting in my basement skated a few times. Not the shaped one though. Wish it was
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Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Listening to the song is eerie in itself, reminds me of song to the sirens by Jeff buckley
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My local shop shared this on their IG
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fkgKIFOdK/?igshid=hs6znvd2s5kr
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anyone seen his story from about an hour ago
yes, by the looks of it, oliver has taken over the account. so cool! Send love to him on insta
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My local shop shared this on their IG
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fkgKIFOdK/?igshid=hs6znvd2s5kr
Just copped a T. Hoping all the profits do indeed go to his son. Much love
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My local shop shared this on their IG
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fkgKIFOdK/?igshid=hs6znvd2s5kr
man that picture of Jeff and Oliver brought tears. Just heartbroken for Oliver, Jeff seemed to be more than a dad at times, he encompassed father, brother, skate partner, and best friend rolled all up in one present dad.
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anyone seen his story from about an hour ago
yes, by the looks of it, oliver has taken over the account. so cool! Send love to him on insta
already ahead of you
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I don’t have ig. Please post that somehow
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Far East Skate Network our this together
http://youtu.be/w6-P0Ot5m7E
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I don’t have ig. Please post that somehow
He posted this photo.
(https://i.imgur.com/2KPifcJ.jpg)
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I hated on him until the first time I listened to him. Forever after, he was the voice of skateboarding as i'd like to hear it.
There is no one else who could provide his unique perspective. I will miss him more than I miss most of my dead relatives.
Now i've been fucked up sitting around my house, mad about losing the presence of someone I've never met.
Every day gets more lame. I'm so grateful/thankful that we have the Letters.
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😕
I pray and hope goo will grow up around solid folks
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hyhWMhUxl/?igshid=191o6zmhxv79h
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loving seeing Goo posting on the account.
My heart breaks for the kid. As a Dad of 11 and 7 year olds, going early is my biggest fear.
It ends up being that my biggest goal is for them to be competent emotionally adjusted adults before I go and thats all I care about.
RIP Jeff.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hyhWMhUxl/?igshid=191o6zmhxv79h
anyone know the specs of that vehicle in the background??
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61 62 Oldsmobile?
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61 62 Oldsmobile?
61 special
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My dad died when I was 10. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I’m so stoked if he takes over the account. Also, I just bought 2 love letters shirts from sixstair on Instagram. Can’t wait til they come
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My dad died when I was 10. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I’m so stoked if he takes over the account. Also, I just bought 2 love letters shirts from sixstair on Instagram. Can’t wait til they come
Yeah man...
Thanks for the tip on sixstair. Just DM'd them.
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I hope his son is ok. Just saw Grossman’s insta. Teared up a bit
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hyhWMhUxl/?igshid=191o6zmhxv79h
Idk specs but looks like an early-60's Impala hardtop coupe. I think.. 1962-64ish, and no B-pillar makes it a hardtop?
Could be on hydraulics and Daytons
Keep your chin up lil Grossman!
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No cap Goo has the most stylish mongo push I’ve ever seen.
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Not an impala. I've owned a 64 since I was 14 and I'm an old man it's an olds 61 the guy below me is right
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Not an impala. I've owned a 64 since I was 14 and I'm an old man it's an olds 61 the guy below me is right
Aah. You can tell by the fender vent thingies? Forget what Buick called those. Portholes?
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Yes. The fenders on a 1964 impala are straight and almost 90 degrees at the front where they drop off on the side. This car is earlier hence the not so straight line on the fender. Google 1964 impala and 1961 oldsmobile you will see the difference. And also that car is RIP lost in a fire November 2018. If I knew how to post pictures I would. Also I lost both my parents at 12 it sucks.
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Not an impala. I've owned a 64 since I was 14 and I'm an old man it's an olds 61 the guy below me is right
yes buick is famous for those. Not sure what they're called I think you're close. Gills? O Reilly's and other places now sell stick on 1s that look super tacky.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLFw_cNXMQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLFw_cNXMQ)
legend
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LA Times wrote short piece on him, noting his Arcadia roots. I was surprised most of the other networks have written a piece as well. Still trying to find that excellent Poweredge interview.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-04-02/jeff-grosso-legendary-skateboarder-dies-at-51 (https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-04-02/jeff-grosso-legendary-skateboarder-dies-at-51)
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hyhWMhUxl/?igshid=191o6zmhxv79h
It's a 61 Buick Invicta and rad to see Goo pick up where Pop's left off. Nothing but love to the Grosso's.
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https://youtu.be/txahSHR2Jb8
I thought about this song and the show
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Super sad. Seemed like a really good dude, who loved skateboarding, skateboarders, and life. RIP
It'd be cool if Vans did a tribute shoe or something, giving proceeds to his son.
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Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
That was his Father's song Tim Buckley. The Monkees version is the best. Hell of a writer and picker. The intro for that version has beautiful chord changes and fingering.
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(https://i.imgur.com/Te8DlgA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Y6rsNEl.jpg)
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LA Times wrote short piece on him, noting his Arcadia roots. I was surprised most of the other networks have written a piece as well. Still trying to find that excellent Poweredge interview.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-04-02/jeff-grosso-legendary-skateboarder-dies-at-51 (https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-04-02/jeff-grosso-legendary-skateboarder-dies-at-51)
That interview left an impression on me when i was 14. You'll be 'getting' Grosso if you read that one.
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The poweredge interview I think referred to drugs which wasn't common. Something like: , 'yeah I don't smoke pot, please buy my board'.
I guess when I was 14 or so, they had a big pro contest at my local indoor. I didn't know how big it would be but I went a few days earlier and as I'm walking down the stairs, Grosso is walking up. 'DUDE! What's up?!'
The ramps were super busy so I skated the 'street' area which was a bunch of curbs. I got to watch him and Lucero skate street which involved a lot of rolling around on the ground.
It left an impression on me that fucking around was a big part of skateboarding.
As an adult I got down with his sense of humility and being grateful. Yeah, it's fun to nerd out and talk shit, and he definitely had his lapses, but he seemed to understand he was lucky to even be around.
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Dude. Grosso was one of the tightest most eye opening people to ever had skated. I really hope his son is okay. Fuck man, hope he's resting easy...
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Great post from Brighton Zeuner. I love "Jeff did a lot for me. I’ll never forget it. He is a big part of my journey. He was my guard dog." Grosso really looked out for the girls. And he was one of the very few in the industry who raised an eyebrow at Neal Hendrix when others were either turning a blind eye or blatantly supporting him. I'm reading too much into this, but Hendrix was apparently the person who cast Zeuner in that Camp Woodward show. I'd like to think Grosso, as the guard dog, made sure none of these girls became the next Julz Lynn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/)
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(https://i.imgur.com/CcyOqrW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Pthu7V2.jpg)
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made me cry. breaks my heart seeing a video of him and his son dancing on IG hours before he passed. so glad I got a grosso tattoo a few years back. 💔
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Great post from Brighton Zeuner. I love "Jeff did a lot for me. I’ll never forget it. He is a big part of my journey. He was my guard dog." Grosso really looked out for the girls. And he was one of the very few in the industry who raised an eyebrow at Neal Hendrix when others were either turning a blind eye or blatantly supporting him. I'm reading too much into this, but Hendrix was apparently the person who cast Zeuner in that Camp Woodward show. I'd like to think Grosso, as the guard dog, made sure none of these girls became the next Julz Lynn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/)
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(https://i.imgur.com/CcyOqrW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Pthu7V2.jpg)
Yeah but doesn't Brighton side with Neal? Correct me if I'm wrong..
I thought it was great of him to step up like that too. Not a huge thing, but huge considering the industry denial and/or silence.
Fuckin A. RIP GROSSO :'(
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havent read any of this thread so not sure if its been mentioned and im sorry if it has been but wow, the lyrics to the song in the last video he posted is almost way too ironic..theres even a part in there about losing a father. This irony almost makes fate seem more real and makes me just a bit more heartbroken..again sorry, not here to get criticized if its been talked about already.
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Latest Antihero graphic is looking really weird now. Especially the text at the bottom. Too sad, RIP Grosso.
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Latest Antihero graphic is looking really weird now. Especially the text at the bottom. Too sad, RIP Grosso.
He had his own brand of openness and self-awareness. Rest in peace to a wonderful part of skateboarding.
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Great post from Brighton Zeuner. I love "Jeff did a lot for me. I’ll never forget it. He is a big part of my journey. He was my guard dog." Grosso really looked out for the girls. And he was one of the very few in the industry who raised an eyebrow at Neal Hendrix when others were either turning a blind eye or blatantly supporting him. I'm reading too much into this, but Hendrix was apparently the person who cast Zeuner in that Camp Woodward show. I'd like to think Grosso, as the guard dog, made sure none of these girls became the next Julz Lynn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/)
yeah, there's no getting through what Brighton Zeuner wrote about him with dry eyes--that little lady can write too, and that's just an instagram post.
it's heartening that her cohort of young female skaters are going to be influenced by the value systems of old pillars like Grosso as they make decisions in their "careers" as skateboarders...
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I've been binge watching love letters...he had such an asshole face but seems like he was pretty cool
"They're all still with us"
https://youtu.be/mhtIWWEXRFk
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Great post from Brighton Zeuner. I love "Jeff did a lot for me. I’ll never forget it. He is a big part of my journey. He was my guard dog." Grosso really looked out for the girls. And he was one of the very few in the industry who raised an eyebrow at Neal Hendrix when others were either turning a blind eye or blatantly supporting him. I'm reading too much into this, but Hendrix was apparently the person who cast Zeuner in that Camp Woodward show. I'd like to think Grosso, as the guard dog, made sure none of these girls became the next Julz Lynn.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/ (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lB4bpghpv/)
yeah, there's no getting through what Brighton Zeuner wrote about him with dry eyes--that little lady can write too, and that's just an instagram post.
it's heartening that her cohort of young female skaters are going to be influenced by the value systems of old pillars like Grosso as they make decisions in their "careers" as skateboarders...
it’s so rad that women’s competitive bowl skating - probably the most rampantly fetishized and commodified style of skating - had a mentor like grosso. someone who tried to keep the stoke on the board and not the dollar signs and business deals. cool that a 9 year old girl getting stoked on someone like lizzie night get inspired by something grosso taught her. that’s a meaningful legacy
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like a lot of you guys I've been rewatching the Love Letters....and I chanced upon this. Had never seen it at the time. It's bittersweet for sure rewatching that series, now he is gone. But the Love letters is a dope legacy really.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIxXidwQ_nc
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I don't get it... this gets no sticky?
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Seeing that his son has taken over his Instagram account leaves me feeling bittersweet. It’s heartbreaking yet gives me hope that Oliver will carry on his father’s ethos and pure love for skateboarding.
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R.I.P. Jeff.
For as much sadness as there is for Jeff's death, there should be an equal amount of anger toward drugs and the idiots who sell them. Cocaine took Jeff Grosso and Jay Adams from us.
Cocaine takes the limiters off your heart and makes it beat faster than normal, this causes the left ventricle to hypertrophy (your heart muscle grows like it's on steroids), an enlarged, out of shape heart cannot keep a steady beat, and then people tend to die in their fifties from massive heart attacks. Jeff used to smoke cocaine every day at one point, and his most famous board is a joke about cocaine. Jay Adams died from a heart attack in his fifties as well, one of his nostrils was bigger than the other from snorting coke.
Drugs have ruined the lives of so many pro skaters, in a sport mainly pursued by impressionable teenagers. That isn't cool, drugs aren't cool. The next generation of skaters have a chance to learn from our mistakes. If you're partying and your 'friend' offers you a line, tell him or her where to stick their poison.
Start a new thread, or dig up on old one. Actually, just don't post.
I disagree, every death is an opportunity to do something right, Grosso himself spoke about the hard life he lived; honestly and brutally. If his example can save another from making the same mistakes I believe he would be all for that. Shame Phelpers cover squad didn't see it that way.
Using the early death of a community hero to shake your fist at coke dealers is some fucking 80s war on drugs shit, and it just serves to shift the blame onto an evil Other instead of the person who ingested the drugs in the first place. That's a really dumb way to look at it, where the world consists of people who do things to others and other people who have things done to them without any choice in the matter. So if you want an honest discussion, it's got to start with "Jeff Grosso liked doing hard drugs that are very bad for your health and decided to spend years of his life doing them, making his early death considerably more likely," which we can be pretty sure he would have agreed with. Maybe that's an important discussion, and it's sure harder to do any moral grandstanding that way, but even that isn't probably appropriate where we're trying to grieve the loss of a beloved elder.
So I say: let's focus here on memorializing a good dude who died way too young, instead of starting an argument about who is morally to blame for his death, which is most definitely beside the point of Grosso's frankly amazing life and how he was able to positively affect so many other people in the end through his love of the skateboarding world, even though he had to go so soon.
I believe that your assuming the question of morality onto what dudes saying about drug use. What you said "he should start with" is inferable from the context. Lastly he used empirical evidence to corroborate how the use of drugs can end a life tragically. Although I find it to be a bit distasteful, I can at least appreciate the information and the fact that he using one of the only mediums available in reaching out to young skateboarders regarding the dangers of drug use.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
Cigarettes can and often do lead to heart disease. Not judging. I smoke. But yeah. There's that.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
Cigarettes can and often do lead to heart disease. Not judging. I smoke. But yeah. There's that.
Yeh, also smashing crack, meth and heroin for decades can also have a detrimental effect on the heart.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
Cigarettes can and often do lead to heart disease. Not judging. I smoke. But yeah. There's that.
Yeh, also smashing crack, meth and heroin for decades can also have a detrimental effect on the heart.
Yes. But you can also live a healthy life and die early. We always like to find a reason for someone dying too early, because we want to think we can control our own passing. The sad truth is many deaths cannot be explained by choices, lifestyle or otherwise. Dylan got cancer even though he was a healthy handsome young man. People also get heart attacks even if they take all the precautions possible. You may die tomorrow or next week or next year even if you're living extreme wellness Alex Olson style...
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is it ok to unfollow his instagram now?
His kid posts selfies and I don't think its going to change.
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Really hoped this was an April fools post :(
RIP Jeff you were a real one
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is it ok to unfollow his instagram now?
His kid posts selfies and I don't think its going to change.
and that’s okay. let him
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I've been binge watching love letters...he had such an asshole face but seems like he was pretty cool
"They're all still with us"
https://youtu.be/mhtIWWEXRFk
That was a heavy watch given the current context. I think Phelps said something along the lines of
'Do it for those that no longer can.'
For real.
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(https://ibb.co/nbvnDTT)
“In the basement of a Costa Mesa apartment, dr grosso floats in total darkness. The most terrifying experiment is out of control... and the subject is himself.”
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not sure if this was mentioned earlier but just in case
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-tF4xylzN1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (https://www.instagram.com/p/B-tF4xylzN1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
My god. The only things coalescing here are your stupidity and your ability to type words. You have no idea what caused his death. You may call it 'discussing with a younger person the idea that drug use could, theoretically, cause cardiopulmonary disease', but any reasonable person sees you speculating that this is what caused his death. To Gaseous' point, there are a million ways to die and you have no special insight here. Also, to be clear, fuck you.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
My god. The only things coalescing here are your stupidity and your ability to type words. You have no idea what caused his death. You may call it 'discussing with a younger person the idea that drug use could, theoretically, cause cardiopulmonary disease', but any reasonable person sees you speculating that this is what caused his death. To Gaseous' point, there are a million ways to die and you have no special insight here. Also, to be clear, fuck you.
Hahaha. I may have no "special insight" but I certainly incited an emotional response from you. My advice for those of you that suffer from the same problems as this guy: Don't do drugs.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
My god. The only things coalescing here are your stupidity and your ability to type words. You have no idea what caused his death. You may call it 'discussing with a younger person the idea that drug use could, theoretically, cause cardiopulmonary disease', but any reasonable person sees you speculating that this is what caused his death. To Gaseous' point, there are a million ways to die and you have no special insight here. Also, to be clear, fuck you.
nah, just 1000, theres even a show about it.
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His son has the insta now
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Just saw Todd Francis did a vans shoes for dlx Skateshop and all the proceeds go to Oliver and Jeff’s family. I’m too dumb to link the insta post but the shoes are the classic anti hero pigeons
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
My god. The only things coalescing here are your stupidity and your ability to type words. You have no idea what caused his death. You may call it 'discussing with a younger person the idea that drug use could, theoretically, cause cardiopulmonary disease', but any reasonable person sees you speculating that this is what caused his death. To Gaseous' point, there are a million ways to die and you have no special insight here. Also, to be clear, fuck you.
it's a lot more, there's a million ways to die in the west alone
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
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His son has the insta now
just unfollowed......not sure its healthy for a young kid to be running an Insta account with x amount of followers.
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His son has the insta now
just unfollowed......not sure its healthy for a young kid to be running an Insta account with x amount of followers.
For sure isn’t healthy. I don’t know what the ‘right’ move is, kid is in a tough spot.
I appreciate you pointing this out, definitely been on my mind when I’ve seen the posts from the young person.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
:'(
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That's a cover. Perfect.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
righteous Andrecht
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
Ok you've got my money. Definitely allocating part of my stimulus check to that shoe, but holy fuck the 303 boards one is awesome too.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
I just watched a video today of him going through the mag and mentioning that. Glad he finally got his cover
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All you fucktards hated Grosso before he died.
Strongly disagree. While I can’t speak for everyone I thought Grosso was fucking fantastic.
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Don't feed the troll.
That's a great cover.
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All you fucktards hated Grosso before he died.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/MDgpsiSR62RzR4rRov/giphy.gif)
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His son has the insta now
just unfollowed......not sure its healthy for a young kid to be running an Insta account with x amount of followers.
[/quote
For sure isn’t healthy. I don’t know what the ‘right’ move is, kid is in a tough spot.
I appreciate you pointing this out, definitely been on my mind when I’ve seen the posts from the young person.
Unhealthy to have thousands of followers supporting you and showing love in the hardest part of your life? Y’all tripping... the only thing that’s unhealthy is social media as a whole.
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The assumption that his death has anything to do with drugs is spurious without evidence.
It's not my place to assume how he died. But if I were having a conversation with somebody younger regarding his passing, I believe it would be appropriate to discuss the negative toll of drug use and how it could, theoretically, contribute to cardiopulmonary disease. Particularly in the case of Mr. Grosso because he was honest about his past. I would consider that a pilgrimage; Promoting the honesty and integrity that allowed Grosso to change his life for the better, when he had done so.
By all means, rampantly hypothesize, but don't start accepting your own speculation as fact.
I haven't been doing any speculation at all. The mortality rate of high school footballers, and the prospect of skate teams providing medical exams for their riders are both immaterial to my point. Drug use has deleterious health effects. I care about the skateboarding community. Because of those facts I find it reasonable to address any circumstance wherein those two coalesce.
My god. The only things coalescing here are your stupidity and your ability to type words. You have no idea what caused his death. You may call it 'discussing with a younger person the idea that drug use could, theoretically, cause cardiopulmonary disease', but any reasonable person sees you speculating that this is what caused his death. To Gaseous' point, there are a million ways to die and you have no special insight here. Also, to be clear, fuck you.
it's a lot more, there's a million ways to die in the west alone
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ECt89U_gwfQ
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
Got mine.
It cost $90 (witch didn't bother me at all) but they send you a $20 gift card to your email
(https://www.thrashermagazine.com/images/image/Junkdrawer/2020/04/750vansDLX_1x.jpg?t=1586466194)
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Psyched on that Cover. Thrasher got it right.
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
Got mine.
It cost $90 (witch didn't bother me at all) but they send you a $20 gift card to your email
(https://www.thrashermagazine.com/images/image/Junkdrawer/2020/04/750vansDLX_1x.jpg?t=1586466194)
Thank you!!
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
Picked mine up yesterday as well. Thanks for doing this DLX.
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
https://www.vans.com/customizer.slip-on-classic.html?recipe=9c2b40e4efbbd2453999742d540dab84&icn=FTB_deluxe[/url]
Picked mine up yesterday as well. Thanks for doing this DLX.
just ordered mine too...i love when our community acts like a community...
(https://media.giphy.com/media/MDgpsiSR62RzR4rRov/giphy.gif)
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
so sick, watched the curb episode of love letters last night
now that him and phelps are gone who we got left for cursty, call like it is, rub people the wrong way types? always liked both jeffs and felt their perspectives were important to skate culture. anyone carrying this torch now?
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The net proceeds from the Vans x DLX Foot The Bill shoe will go to Grosso’s son and family:
Picked mine up yesterday as well. Thanks for doing this DLX.
just ordered mine too...i love when our community acts like a community...
(https://media.giphy.com/media/MDgpsiSR62RzR4rRov/giphy.gif)
Thank you, pals!
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https://youtu.be/KE6YUN1cQ9s
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https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xVH5PhLQI/
He finally got his cover.
so sick, watched the curb episode of love letters last night
now that him and phelps are gone who we got left for cursty, call like it is, rub people the wrong way types? always liked both jeffs and felt their perspectives were important to skate culture. anyone carrying this torch now?
I worry about this a lot. Grosso was kind of the last beacon of that. At least, the last beacon that could be seen easily. I'm happy he got to do the letters and a 9 club, and that it is online for all to see.
Edit: I'm also happy that he never had to see skateboarding in the olympics.
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Anyone else feel they need a better love letter when this is all over? Fuck it they they should do a private bbq and skate sesh for his fam. And Maybe make a yearly skate jam fundraiser for his kid? Atleast until he’s old enough to get his footing. Feel that would be a nice send off even if it’s just the love letters and private bowl sesh/bbq for his fam
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Happy Birthday to Grosso. Still unreal
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Grosso Forever premiering on Vans YouTube right now
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Looking forward to this.
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It was sick what they put together today for him.
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Watched with my girl and both of us teared up a bit.
:(
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Anyone else feel they need a better love letter when this is all over? Fuck it they they should do a private bbq and skate sesh for his fam. And Maybe make a yearly skate jam fundraiser for his kid? Atleast until he’s old enough to get his footing. Feel that would be a nice send off even if it’s just the love letters and private bowl sesh/bbq for his fam
i may have misunderstood your comment, but in the grosso vans rip thing they said theres still an episode about japan that they havent released... hopefully a few more.
also on a side note while i was watching the vans grosso thing i thought it was a bit strange not including lance... isit coz hes on nike not vans... thought they might look past sponsors considering lance was such a big part of his life.
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https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEfn8qMSGQa8Yisy4mNhNa2VGnoUDCnEL
Don't know if this has been posted yet. It's all the Loveletters
RIP Grossman :'(
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Anyone else feel they need a better love letter when this is all over? Fuck it they they should do a private bbq and skate sesh for his fam. And Maybe make a yearly skate jam fundraiser for his kid? Atleast until he’s old enough to get his footing. Feel that would be a nice send off even if it’s just the love letters and private bowl sesh/bbq for his fam
i may have misunderstood your comment, but in the grosso vans rip thing they said theres still an episode about japan that they havent released... hopefully a few more.
also on a side note while i was watching the vans grosso thing i thought it was a bit strange not including lance... isit coz hes on nike not vans... thought they might look past sponsors considering lance was such a big part of his life.
That’s what I was thinking but guessing Nike May be strict like that.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CDuRbGCBjIz/?igshid=15zf0v6h6i9ad
Thrasher are selling Jeff Grosso shirt and all proceeds are going to his son
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CDuRbGCBjIz/?igshid=15zf0v6h6i9ad
Thrasher are selling Jeff Grosso shirt and all proceeds are going to his son
That's great! Wish that was a back graphic, but I'll still pick one up.
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sold out already
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sold out already
good news
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sold out already
Shit!
Too slow again, Strux!!!
Honestly, the last thing I need is another T-shirt.
Totally would’ve copped, though.
If they reprint ‘em (...and why wouldn’t they with a sell through rate like that?) I’ll for sure try my luck at the T-shirt lottery again.
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Get that monkey off your back if you can, it is one hell of burden.
Its still hard to accept Grossman is gone.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-12-17/jeff-grosso-cause-of-death-fentanyl-skateboarder (https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-12-17/jeff-grosso-cause-of-death-fentanyl-skateboarder)
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Fentanyl and a barbiturate played a role? This is an overdose. Full stop. Not judging. Just wish skaters would get the message. Dope kills. How many dudes is it gonna take? Even dudes that get sober for decades...relapse...and die. The shit is the devil. RIP Grosso you wonderful tormented soul. You made skateboarding skateboarding as much as anyone ever did.
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Thats a go to recipe for shtbags that press black market pills that look legit right? No one I know takes phenobarb intentionally. Never take anything unless it comes from your pharmacist. I'm having a hard time with this because I've got a few years of dope, and a young son I love unconditionally as well. Love for Grosso and Goo always.
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Damn Jeff. You broke my heart twice.
Addiction is evil shit.
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A friend who knew him well in CA said that when he was in the hospital he caught Covid as well and thats what did him in,
not sure if thats a partial reason .
Seems like doesnt make as good as a headline as FENTANYL SKATEBOARDER DEAD
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A friend who knew him well in CA said that when he was in the hospital he caught Covid as well and thats what did him in,
not sure if thats a partial reason .
Seems like doesnt make as good as a headline as FENTANYL SKATEBOARDER DEAD
The article has a link to a autopsy report. Nothing to do with Covid.
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A friend who knew him well in CA said that when he was in the hospital he caught Covid as well and thats what did him in,
not sure if thats a partial reason .
Seems like doesnt make as good as a headline as FENTANYL SKATEBOARDER DEAD
on euro tm friend confirmed
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Damn thats pretty sad.:(
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This revelation only increases the tragedy of his passing for me.
Mothra knew the struggle.
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Damn Jeff. You broke my heart twice.
Addiction is evil shit.
100%. RIP.
This turned an already sad event tragic.
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We love you, Grosso RIP <3
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A known junkie dies of an overdose...
No offense but how dumb are y’all? Serious question...
if you think appreciating someone after death is “dumb” because they have a substance issue i applaud you for never having left your gated community
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Skating for Grosso today.
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Skating for Grosso today.
he would have wanted you to skate cuz your here not for him....... nuff with the idol shit we are all humans, we ara all fragile and we all have demons, lets just be fucking true and real and kind to each other, fuck social media and all that fake bullshit
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A friend who knew him well in CA said that when he was in the hospital he caught Covid as well and thats what did him in,
not sure if thats a partial reason .
Seems like doesnt make as good as a headline as FENTANYL SKATEBOARDER DEAD
i could totally see him catching c-19, him and GOO were out there w/o masks all the time, numbers were still pretty low in CA at that time though. plus, Jeff having caught Dengue Fever on a trip a couple of years ago wouldn't help, Dengue Fever fucks you up! that shit and drugs took down Andy Irons (surfer).
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Skating for Grosso today.
he would have wanted you to skate cuz your here not for him....... nuff with the idol shit we are all humans, we ara all fragile and we all have demons, lets just be fucking true and real and kind to each other, fuck social media and all that fake bullshit
Dude you're fucked. He was just saying he was skating for someones memory, you need to chill and have a snickers or something.
I miss Love letters
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Skating for Grosso today.
he would have wanted you to skate cuz your here not for him....... nuff with the idol shit we are all humans, we ara all fragile and we all have demons, lets just be fucking true and real and kind to each other, fuck social media and all that fake bullshit
Ok,so that means you're gonna focus. Sick!
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Fentanyl kills everyone. America and its opioid bullshit is insane.
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Addiction sucks. And you can’t bank sober time. If anything you get weaker while the shit on the streets get stronger. RIP Grosso. Quit while you’re still alive, y’all. And stay quit. It only ends one way.
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Damn Jeff. You broke my heart twice.
Addiction is evil shit.
100%. RIP.
This turned an already sad event tragic.
This and Ben Raemers both are shredding in Valhalla you’ll be sorely missed both of you guy’s.
Anyone who has th the need to talk shit about Grosso can go fuck them selves.
Focus your account kooks
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Oh man.. :'(
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A friend who knew him well in CA said that when he was in the hospital he caught Covid as well and thats what did him in,
not sure if thats a partial reason .
Seems like doesnt make as good as a headline as FENTANYL SKATEBOARDER DEAD
on euro tm friend confirmed
Haven't really laughed at anything on Slap for awhile. You broke the spell.
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Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
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Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
Could you copy/paste that? I'm struggling to get around the paywall.
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Expand Quote
Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
Could you copy/paste that? I'm struggling to get around the paywall.
open it in a new tab, shut off your wifi, it’ll get around any paywall
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Really glad to see Anti Hero doing this, to help his son.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CL84nIcFfvR/?igshid=ztqsbxzqvnme
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Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
Could you copy/paste that? I'm struggling to get around the paywall.
Its long. Here's the 1st half of the text.
Jeff Grosso: The life and death of skateboarding’s soul
By Jack Harris
Los Angeles Times Exclusive
March 4, 2021 4 AM PT
Jeff Grosso’s first skateboard wasn’t much.
It was a hand-me-down miniature-sized banana board he got from his mom’s boss when he was 8 years old. Even for 1977, it was antiquated, with rickety old clay wheels and worn-out bearings. Grosso barely knew how to stand on the thing, struggling to keep his balance without toppling to the ground.
But for a curious boy whose childhood home was next to a steep hill, there was an instant connection. He would sit on his back or lie flat on his stomach and let gravity take over. Every time he bombed down the street, he fell more in love with the feeling.
“Initially, it was the rush of going down a hill, and the wind in your hair,” Grosso once said. “Poetic nonsense.”
The skateboarding world looks much different now than it did then. Its ever-increasing popularity is pulling the fundamentally subversive sport into the mainstream. Formerly relegated to back alleys and sparse concrete parks, it is now set to debut on the Olympic stage during this summer’s Tokyo Games.
But somewhere at its core, the lust for that poetic nonsense remains.
No one understood it quite like Grosso.
“He was the gatekeeper to why skateboarding was cool,” said skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.
Grosso looked an unlikely figure for such a role. He didn’t have a long pro career, flaming out at the end of the 1980s, hardly spanning the decade. He battled drug addiction and suicidal depression. By his late 20s, it seemed like his life had bottomed out.
But then he rebounded, embodying the resiliency that has defined the entire history of his sport.
Advertisement
Grosso became an ambassador, speaking for skateboarding’s soul through his beloved “Loveletters to Skateboarding” YouTube show. He was a guardian and a helping hand to skateboarding’s newest generation.
In many ways, he was like a north star, his effervescent personality and endearing pertinacity emitting a guiding light through the sport’s most transitional times.
And when he died unexpectedly last March of an accidental drug overdose, it left a void the skateboarding world is still trying to fill.
To best understand skateboarding — its counter-culture roots, its rise to the Olympics, its helter-skelter tale of competing styles, clashing customs and self-sabotaging plot twists — it’s best to understand someone like Jeff Grosso.
Complicated. Flawed. But an authentic source of joy to the end.
“It’s a total rush. It’s the feeling that when you go out there with your board, it’s a no-hero type of thing. And you either accomplish something or you don’t.” — Jeff Grosso, to the St. Louis Dispatch in 1986.
The rarest sight in skateboarding might be a frown.
Even after a failed trick or nasty wipeout, most skaters are wired to smile, laugh, shake off the dust, and climb back on their boards.
That carefree disposition is what initially captured Grosso’s interest. A stubborn and expressive freckle-faced kid born in Glendale in 1968, he felt like an outcast from a young age. He liked to draw, read “Lord of the Rings” and listen to punk rock. He picked contrarian arguments during conversations simply to spark a debate. And he moved around a lot as a kid: from the hillside house in Eagle Rock, to Las Vegas for a year with his mom, and then to Arcadia for the start of fifth grade.
Though he was naturally athletic, he found the structured pressure of team sports arbitrary and suffocating.
Only when he was on a skateboard did Grosso truly feel free.
“You have this culture of kids that need that,” said his mother, Rae Williams. “They need to go and do this and be creative and come up with new tricks and try different things.”
Like Grosso, skateboarding’s subversive identity was almost baked in from the start.
Originally popularized in the early 1960s by Southern California surfing companies innovating dryland alternatives, the sport was quickly tagged with a dangerous reputation. In 1965, the California Medical Assn. called it “a new medical menace.” Cities across the country banned the activity on public sidewalks and streets. It has teetered on the fringes of mainstream society ever since.
Its popularity spiked in the early ‘70s. Improvements to the board and wheels gave birth to more ambitious vertical skating, a style defined by gravity-defying aerial tricks off half-pipes and vertical ramps. A string of Southern California droughts turned empty swimming pools into skating bowls. Rapid construction of skate parks nationwide soon followed, bringing millions of kids to the sport.
It wouldn’t last.
The newly opened parks soon faltered under liability issues and financial distress, and the young demographic of riders once fueling the boom grew up and moved on. By the time Grosso discovered the sport at the end of the ‘70s, only a small community of self-willed skaters remained.
“Skateboarders were very rare at that time,” said Grosso’s childhood friend Eric Nash, the only other kid at their Camino Grove Elementary School who matched Grosso’s passion for the sport. “Jeff enjoyed that rebel spirit. I think that’s who he was.”
Grosso and Nash spent almost every weekend at one of the few Southland skate parks that were left. Grosso was a perfectionist — at home he was constantly rearranging the furniture in his bedroom — and practiced for hours to perfect a trick. Skate City in Whittier became their home base, though sometimes they snuck away to more secluded spots — a cement ditch behind a church in Glendale, an empty washway nicknamed the “V bowl” in Irwindale.
One of their friends, future pro skater Lance Mountain, had a ramp in the backyard of his Alhambra home where the group would spend hours together honing their technique and embracing a recalcitrant culture few others could comprehend.
“We were a bunch of nerds, we were weirdos, we were social outcasts,” Grosso said in a 2015 episode of his “Loveletters” series. “We were the people that nobody wanted to be, doing things that nobody wanted to, and that nobody understood. … We were the freaks. That’s how you rolled. That’s how it was. That’s what drew us to skateboarding.”
“The little wooden toy is a kiss and a curse. It’s everything. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me and the worst thing that ever happened to me, all rolled up into one.” — Jeff Grosso, to Juice Magazine in 2006.
Like any good parent, Williams tried to get her son to think about his future as he went through grade school. Skateboarding, she told him, “is fun and can be a pastime, but you can’t make a career out of it.”
Reliving the memory during an interview, Williams stopped herself and laughed.
“Boy, were we wrong.”
Instead, as Grosso went through his teenage years in the mid-1980s, the sport became cool again.
Vertical skateboarding benefitted from the formation of the popular National Skateboarding Assn. contest circuit. Skateboarding scenes in hit films such as “Back to the Future,” “Police Academy 4” and “Thrashin’” reintroduced the sport to a broader audience.
Now top skateboarders had the opportunity to make six-figure incomes through sponsorships and competitive earnings. The timing was perfect for Grosso, who blossomed into a top amateur before dropping out of high school to turn pro in 1986. He was 17.
“Jeff and I had a similar trajectory, in that we both fell in love with skating when it was absolutely at its least popular cycle,” said Hawk, one of the defining skateboarders of the late 1980s. “We loved it because we loved the crew, the misfit aspect, the rebellious aspect. Our whole thing was, we don’t want to fit in, we want to do our own thing. Then suddenly, we found ourselves with some success and fame.”
Competitively, Grosso didn’t match the likes of Hawk, Christian Hosoi and other preeminent skaters of that era. But culturally, his stature was nearly unmatched.
He had many of the bestselling board designs and starred in some of the period’s most prominent skateboarding videos that played an outsized role in promoting skateboarders and their sponsors to fans nationwide.
Grosso’s relatable skating style made him popular, mastering fundamental tricks any amateur skater could mimic on their own.
It was his playfully devious personality, though, that gave him a cult following. In one particularly memorable video, Grosso shaved off his eyebrows before describing the life of a professional skateboarder: “Lounge around all day, do absolutely nothing, until it’s time to ride your wooden toy.”
Later in life, Grosso admitted there were signs of trouble brewing behind that facade. The kid who used to get “tripped out” by seeing older skaters smoke Marlboro Reds was now “smoking pot and drinking and living the rock star lifestyle that I’d come to covet,” he later said. “I started down that path.”
To the skateboarding public, however, his persona was well-received.
“Grosso was the guy you could actually aspire to be like,” said Coan “Buddy” Nichols, a childhood fan of Grosso’s who was later a producer of the “Loveletters” series. “He was loud and crazy, because he was partying, having a good time. That’s a classic thing in skating, to mix the athleticism with real life.”
But like a flickering candle at the end of its wick, those golden days began to fade.
Even though Grosso’s generation revived skateboarding’s popularity, skate parks and vert ramps were still rare in most parts of the country. The new skaters they’d inspired gravitated toward a different style, riding off urban obstacles such as staircases, park benches and handrails.
The new discipline became known as street skating, and by the early 1990s it began to consume the sport. Suddenly, it was no longer cool to be a vert star such as Grosso or Hawk. Contests that once drew thousands began to fold and the sport’s media attention was redirected toward its newest trend.
Worse than that, many skaters felt as though their whole lifestyle had been discarded. Scenes in skating videos featuring their old aerial tricks were skipped over so often that fast-forwarding became known as the “vert button” on the remote. Half-pipes and vertical ramps became so rare that the entire discipline was in danger of extinction.
“We were almost akin to boyband fame,” Hawk said. “And it was all washed away within a year.”
“I didn’t think it was ever going to end. I had no concept of what was really going on. I wasn’t making plans for the future. I’m a high school dropout. It was like, ‘I’m a pro skateboarder, and the party is never going to end. I’m indestructible’ … I was wrong.” — Jeff Grosso, to Juice Magazine in 2006.
Grosso woke up one morning in the mid ‘90s and walked to a mirror. He saw that he was still alive. Part of him wished that he wasn’t.
Staring into the reflection, he no longer recognized himself. Only a few years removed from the height of his pro career, his life was spiraling into an abyss.
Even after vert skating’s demise, Grosso had tried to stay relevant in the sport. He sold boards for an upstart skating company called Black Label run by John Lucero, another childhood friend and former pro. He traveled to the few slimmed-down competitions that remained. He clung to whatever notoriety he had left.
But as the ‘90s progressed, and the ever-more fragmented skateboarding community floundered during an economic recession, he struggled to reckon with his new reality. He tried to find ways to escape it.
He had a heavy drinking problem, then began using methamphetamine and heroin. His income couldn’t always fully fund his habit, so he sometimes stole VCRs and TVs from friends to sell at pawn shops.
He tried rationalizing his choices, convincing himself that as long as he could keep skateboarding — even if it no longer served as his primary occupation — he was fine.
“I just sort of floated around,” he said. “When you’re hanging around with the kind of people I was, it’s pretty easy. … In one town you’re on speed, and then the next town it’s booze, and the next one it’s heroin. You just keep shuffling the problems around.”
His addictions, however, eventually wore him down.
One night, as he later told Thrasher magazine in 2007, he intentionally tried to overdose at a friend’s house, only to wake up the next day and look into that mirror, realizing it hadn’t worked.
Three other times, he was rushed to the hospital with no vital signs after overdosing, later telling Transworld Skateboarding magazine that one of the incidents had been another intentional attempt.
“When you’re lost in heroin, and you haven’t reached any sort of bottom, you just can’t see out of it,” Grosso said in 2003. “You have to get an extreme amount of pain before you can accept anybody else’s help … It’s a real rough road, man. Trying to get your life back from being a real scumf--- is a really hard thing to do.”
His short-lived pro career wasn’t the only cause for his struggles — “It’s not any one thing, it’s the addiction that’s the problem” his mother said — but it robbed him of the most central element to his identity. His story wasn’t unique at a time when many notable skaters from his era went to jail or battled substance abuse.
“These guys, they were celebrated while they’re still developing as teenagers, everyone telling them they’re God’s gift to skateboarding,” said Mackenzie Eisenhour, a longtime writer for Transworld Skateboarding. “And then the industry completely shifted. All of a sudden, you’re disposable.”
It would be like the basketball world renouncing Michael Jordan, deciding to no longer buy his shoes, and declaring dunking a thing of the past. The painful irony: Vert skating’s demise was caused by the very same rebellious, subversive dynamics that drew Grosso and his peers to the sport in the first place.
“Skateboarding is an anti-hero culture,” Eisenhour said. “So once the culture deems you the hero, it’s just waiting to rebel against you.”
“You know what I really regret? I don’t regret partying. I don’t regret becoming an addict and s---ing my life away. I regret taking my skateboard for granted. I wasted years and years running around doing bulls--- when I could’ve been riding.” — Jeff Grosso, to King Skateboard Magazine in 2016.
For more than two decades, Nichols and Rick Charnoski, his partner at Six Stair Studio, have traveled the world documenting skateboarding and producing films about its culture.
One thing they’ve learned: “Skateboarding has these two directions,” Nichols said. “The sport that some people want it to be — mostly to make money off of it, honestly — and then the lifestyle, everything else around it.”
Can the sport be commercially successful and culturally authentic? Can it enter the mainstream without being co-opted? Can it keep an edge without excluding everything and everyone that came before it?
There’s a reason that different styles have competed for its direction, its customs, its icons. It was no surprise that when skateboarding was added in 2015 to the Tokyo Games — one of several action sports the Olympics has introduced in hopes of attracting younger audiences — there was a rebellion against it. Skateboarders started an online petition, which drew 7,500 signatures, asking the International Olympic Committee to reverse its decision and remove the sport from its lineup.
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Second half of the text:
“Skating is sort of a martial art,” Nichols said, “in the sense that style matters almost as much as anything else.”
Admittedly, Nichols and Charnoski weren’t trying to unravel such profound dilemmas when they first teamed up with Grosso for the “Loveletters” show in 2011.
Grosso was just reemerging as a visible figure in the skateboarding community after announcing he’d finally achieved sobriety six years earlier.
It wasn’t an easy process. He said it began in 1997 after he was arrested — once of his several run-ins with the law during the depths of his addiction — and threatened with a prison sentence if he didn’t go to rehab. He tried, staying clean for periods of time before relapsing and starting over again.
“I like to do things the hard way,” Grosso said in 2016 of his recovery. “It’s one of the reasons I was attracted to skateboarding in the first place.”
But little by little, he put his life back together. He found steady work laying hardwood floors. He got married in October 2005 in a beachside wedding in Laguna. (He and his wife divorced after having a son but remained friendly as parents, Williams said.) And he began to talk openly about his struggles in a way that resonated with skaters battling the same issues he had.
“Most people that know me know this bulls--- about me anyways,” he said. “So it’s like, well, why not try and at least make it count for something?”
The more Grosso shared about his personal life, the more he opined on the state of skateboarding too. Vans, which had sponsored Grosso since he was an amateur in 1982, saw an opportunity and connected him with Nichols and Charnoski to create the show for its digital platform.
At first, the three self-described skating nerds focused their episodes — which were formatted like mini-documentaries meant to serve as literal on-camera love letters to specific skating subjects — on niche topics they thought “nobody almost would care about,” Nichols said.
A few examples: Who should get credit for inventing the backside grind (a Florida-based skater Monty Nolder); the lost art of the proper handplant (“one of two tricks I [still] know how to do,” Grosso joked); the history of “Thrasher” skating magazine (the “bible” of skateboarding culture).
The same defiance that endeared Grosso to skating fans decades ago was still there, but now there was a level of wisdom and wistfulness in his words as well — a maturation that was materializing across the entire sport.
“Skateboarding now, it’s old enough; it’s been through all those things,” Charnoski said. “If you want to compare it to the timeline of a person’s life, it’s matured. It’s gotten through its rebellion and it’s growing up.”
The founding of X Games in 1995 helped revive skateboarding’s mainstream popularity, especially after Tony Hawk landed a famous 900-degree-spin in 1999 that reignited interest in vert tricks. A new style known as “park” began to gain prominence — a hybrid discipline mixing vert and street elements performed in specialized concrete bowls. And a sport that once banished its past seemed ready to embrace it at last.
With Grosso starring in the “Loveletters” series, the show quickly became an unexpected cult hit that garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
“You find out,” Nichols said, “that a ton of people care.”
Over 11 seasons, Grosso and the producers didn’t stop exploring obscure subjects, yet they peeled back deeper layers of skateboarding as well. In recent years, they did episodes on the “underlying philosophy” of the sport; the rise of female stars; skateboarding’s international growth; and, in a collection of videos that aired after Grosso’s death, a love letter to the sport’s LGBTQ+ community.
Said Steve Van Doren, Vans’ vice president of events and promotions: “He’s the person that came into it as a teenager, went through the hard knocks, learned and skated with some of the best who are legends today — including himself — and then keeps it going, keeps pushing it forward.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a toy. It’s a toy for children, and kids are always the equalizing factor. … It can’t be corrupted. You can’t f--- with that. You can f--- with everything else, but you can’t f--- with the kids just having a good time in the corner.” — Jeff Grosso, in a 2018 “Loveletters to Skateboarding” episode.
Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” bellowed in the background as Grosso and his son, Oliver, entered the frame. In the Instagram video posted to Grosso’s account on March 30 of last year, the father and his then 8-year-old son danced to the slow, raspy tunes — Oliver swinging his arms and shaking his hips, Grosso laughing as he twisted to the rhythm behind him.
One skateboard hung from the living room wall. Another leaned against a kitchen refrigerator covered in photos. It was a snapshot of Grosso’s two occupations, skateboarding and fatherhood — a window in the life he’d built.
Less than 12 hours later, Grosso was rushed to Hoag Hospital near his Costa Mesa home in cardiac arrest.
Doctors tried to save his life, putting a breathing tube in his mouth, a fluid line in his shin and defibrillation paddles to his chest. But at 10:15 a.m. on March 31, Grosso was pronounced dead at the age of 51.
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office later determined his cause of death as acute polydrug intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl and phenobarbital. An autopsy listed severe cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart) with dilatation, a clinical history of hypertension and anxiety, and obesity as other conditions. His death was ruled an accident.
It remains unclear how the phenobarbital, a barbiturate often used to treat seizures and anxiety, or fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent, got in Grosso’s system. Fentanyl, which is often present in counterfeit pills, has become one of the leading culprits in drug-caused deaths over the last five years in the Los Angeles area and other parts of the country. Williams declined to comment on the findings of her son’s autopsy.
But those around him are adamant: Despite the manner of his death, they don’t believe Grosso had reverted back to the destructive habits that once derailed his life.
He was in the midst of making a new “Loveletters” season with Nichols and Charnoski. He was helping Vans make half-pipes and vertical skate ramps more accessible to young skaters. He was traveling the world to different competitions, his infectious personality present everywhere he went.
And he cherished his responsibilities as a dad. He never missed a soccer game. He took Oliver trick-or-treating one Halloween even though he had a 2 a.m. flight for China early the next morning. He talked nonstop about his son every time he caught up with old friends.
“He found the thing in life at the end that really drove him,” said Vans’ global digital marketing manager Chris Nieratko, who accompanied Grosso to many events in recent years. “He didn’t shut up about skateboarding. But man, when it came to Oliver, you could not get him to stop talking about that boy.”
“We’re old, and it’s not our world anymore. It’s not my world. It’s your world. Don’t let these f---ing people take it from you. Don’t let these people dictate how your world is going to be. Rise up and say, ‘No, I don’t want to be that way.’” — Jeff Grosso, in a 2015 “Loveletters to Skateboarding” episode.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the biggest public remembrance of Grosso occurred in a video call that was organized by Vans between some of the sport’s leading voices on Grosso’s birthday last April.
“I just really look forward to doing it in person with our friends,” said Nieratko, who moderated the virtual call. “We just need to hug it out and cry it out.”
The pain was so sharp because skateboarding’s need for Grosso remained so large. He had become the sport’s cool uncle, wiser from his mistakes and unapologetic in his beliefs. He was the protector of its history and traditions. He reminded so many skaters of why they took up the sport.
Skateboarding is much different now than it was during Grosso’s career. It’s more organized, more competitive, more lucrative. The civil wars that once raged within its walls — over the coolest styles, the right customs, the direction it should go — have been replaced by a fierce defense of its culture as it expands into a commercialized world.
“The Olympics are coming,” Nieratko said. “A lot of people are going to try to sink their claws into skateboarding. He would always teach the kids, ‘Know your worth, make sure you do right by skateboarding. But also make sure you do right by yourself.’”
Lizzie Armanto, one of the leading female skateboarders in the world, was one of those young athletes Grosso took under his wing. At first, she was intimidated by his booming voice and larger-than-life presence, but over the years, he became one of her closest mentors.
“Skateboarding is kind of like dance,” she said. “You have to feel it. It’s not just about going through the motions. When someone is dancing and they really have mastered it, everyone else who sees it is moved. And Jeff understood that. … When he talked to you he believed in you. He could say whatever, and you know he meant it.”
In an Instagram post after Grosso died, Hawk took Grosso’s impact one step further: “I believe Jeff is a big reason that anyone truly cares.”
Williams found solace in every heartfelt message, every little reminder of how much skateboarding had given her son — and how much he had given right back.
“I didn’t know how loved he was and respected,” she said, sitting in the front yard of her Costa Mesa home one recent afternoon. “And I think unfortunately, I don’t know that Jeff knew how loved and respected he was either.”
Then Williams’ teary eyes rolled up and looked toward the sky.
“I hope you know now.”
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time to cry
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Thank you for posting this <3
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time to cry
Those last two quotes from his mom...
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Thank you for copy and pasting the whole article! Tear jerker at end,fuck!
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Thank you for posting this <3
time to cry
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Thank you for copy and pasting the whole article! Tear jerker at end,fuck!
For real.
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Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
Could you copy/paste that? I'm struggling to get around the paywall.
Its long. Here's the 1st half of the text.
Jeff Grosso: The life and death of skateboarding’s soul
By Jack Harris
Los Angeles Times Exclusive
March 4, 2021 4 AM PT
Jeff Grosso’s first skateboard wasn’t much.
It was a hand-me-down miniature-sized banana board he got from his mom’s boss when he was 8 years old. Even for 1977, it was antiquated, with rickety old clay wheels and worn-out bearings. Grosso barely knew how to stand on the thing, struggling to keep his balance without toppling to the ground.
But for a curious boy whose childhood home was next to a steep hill, there was an instant connection. He would sit on his back or lie flat on his stomach and let gravity take over. Every time he bombed down the street, he fell more in love with the feeling.
“Initially, it was the rush of going down a hill, and the wind in your hair,” Grosso once said. “Poetic nonsense.”
The skateboarding world looks much different now than it did then. Its ever-increasing popularity is pulling the fundamentally subversive sport into the mainstream. Formerly relegated to back alleys and sparse concrete parks, it is now set to debut on the Olympic stage during this summer’s Tokyo Games.
But somewhere at its core, the lust for that poetic nonsense remains.
No one understood it quite like Grosso.
“He was the gatekeeper to why skateboarding was cool,” said skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.
Grosso looked an unlikely figure for such a role. He didn’t have a long pro career, flaming out at the end of the 1980s, hardly spanning the decade. He battled drug addiction and suicidal depression. By his late 20s, it seemed like his life had bottomed out.
But then he rebounded, embodying the resiliency that has defined the entire history of his sport.
Advertisement
Grosso became an ambassador, speaking for skateboarding’s soul through his beloved “Loveletters to Skateboarding” YouTube show. He was a guardian and a helping hand to skateboarding’s newest generation.
In many ways, he was like a north star, his effervescent personality and endearing pertinacity emitting a guiding light through the sport’s most transitional times.
And when he died unexpectedly last March of an accidental drug overdose, it left a void the skateboarding world is still trying to fill.
To best understand skateboarding — its counter-culture roots, its rise to the Olympics, its helter-skelter tale of competing styles, clashing customs and self-sabotaging plot twists — it’s best to understand someone like Jeff Grosso.
Complicated. Flawed. But an authentic source of joy to the end.
“It’s a total rush. It’s the feeling that when you go out there with your board, it’s a no-hero type of thing. And you either accomplish something or you don’t.” — Jeff Grosso, to the St. Louis Dispatch in 1986.
The rarest sight in skateboarding might be a frown.
Even after a failed trick or nasty wipeout, most skaters are wired to smile, laugh, shake off the dust, and climb back on their boards.
That carefree disposition is what initially captured Grosso’s interest. A stubborn and expressive freckle-faced kid born in Glendale in 1968, he felt like an outcast from a young age. He liked to draw, read “Lord of the Rings” and listen to punk rock. He picked contrarian arguments during conversations simply to spark a debate. And he moved around a lot as a kid: from the hillside house in Eagle Rock, to Las Vegas for a year with his mom, and then to Arcadia for the start of fifth grade.
Though he was naturally athletic, he found the structured pressure of team sports arbitrary and suffocating.
Only when he was on a skateboard did Grosso truly feel free.
“You have this culture of kids that need that,” said his mother, Rae Williams. “They need to go and do this and be creative and come up with new tricks and try different things.”
Like Grosso, skateboarding’s subversive identity was almost baked in from the start.
Originally popularized in the early 1960s by Southern California surfing companies innovating dryland alternatives, the sport was quickly tagged with a dangerous reputation. In 1965, the California Medical Assn. called it “a new medical menace.” Cities across the country banned the activity on public sidewalks and streets. It has teetered on the fringes of mainstream society ever since.
Its popularity spiked in the early ‘70s. Improvements to the board and wheels gave birth to more ambitious vertical skating, a style defined by gravity-defying aerial tricks off half-pipes and vertical ramps. A string of Southern California droughts turned empty swimming pools into skating bowls. Rapid construction of skate parks nationwide soon followed, bringing millions of kids to the sport.
It wouldn’t last.
The newly opened parks soon faltered under liability issues and financial distress, and the young demographic of riders once fueling the boom grew up and moved on. By the time Grosso discovered the sport at the end of the ‘70s, only a small community of self-willed skaters remained.
“Skateboarders were very rare at that time,” said Grosso’s childhood friend Eric Nash, the only other kid at their Camino Grove Elementary School who matched Grosso’s passion for the sport. “Jeff enjoyed that rebel spirit. I think that’s who he was.”
Grosso and Nash spent almost every weekend at one of the few Southland skate parks that were left. Grosso was a perfectionist — at home he was constantly rearranging the furniture in his bedroom — and practiced for hours to perfect a trick. Skate City in Whittier became their home base, though sometimes they snuck away to more secluded spots — a cement ditch behind a church in Glendale, an empty washway nicknamed the “V bowl” in Irwindale.
One of their friends, future pro skater Lance Mountain, had a ramp in the backyard of his Alhambra home where the group would spend hours together honing their technique and embracing a recalcitrant culture few others could comprehend.
“We were a bunch of nerds, we were weirdos, we were social outcasts,” Grosso said in a 2015 episode of his “Loveletters” series. “We were the people that nobody wanted to be, doing things that nobody wanted to, and that nobody understood. … We were the freaks. That’s how you rolled. That’s how it was. That’s what drew us to skateboarding.”
“The little wooden toy is a kiss and a curse. It’s everything. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me and the worst thing that ever happened to me, all rolled up into one.” — Jeff Grosso, to Juice Magazine in 2006.
Like any good parent, Williams tried to get her son to think about his future as he went through grade school. Skateboarding, she told him, “is fun and can be a pastime, but you can’t make a career out of it.”
Reliving the memory during an interview, Williams stopped herself and laughed.
“Boy, were we wrong.”
Instead, as Grosso went through his teenage years in the mid-1980s, the sport became cool again.
Vertical skateboarding benefitted from the formation of the popular National Skateboarding Assn. contest circuit. Skateboarding scenes in hit films such as “Back to the Future,” “Police Academy 4” and “Thrashin’” reintroduced the sport to a broader audience.
Now top skateboarders had the opportunity to make six-figure incomes through sponsorships and competitive earnings. The timing was perfect for Grosso, who blossomed into a top amateur before dropping out of high school to turn pro in 1986. He was 17.
“Jeff and I had a similar trajectory, in that we both fell in love with skating when it was absolutely at its least popular cycle,” said Hawk, one of the defining skateboarders of the late 1980s. “We loved it because we loved the crew, the misfit aspect, the rebellious aspect. Our whole thing was, we don’t want to fit in, we want to do our own thing. Then suddenly, we found ourselves with some success and fame.”
Competitively, Grosso didn’t match the likes of Hawk, Christian Hosoi and other preeminent skaters of that era. But culturally, his stature was nearly unmatched.
He had many of the bestselling board designs and starred in some of the period’s most prominent skateboarding videos that played an outsized role in promoting skateboarders and their sponsors to fans nationwide.
Grosso’s relatable skating style made him popular, mastering fundamental tricks any amateur skater could mimic on their own.
It was his playfully devious personality, though, that gave him a cult following. In one particularly memorable video, Grosso shaved off his eyebrows before describing the life of a professional skateboarder: “Lounge around all day, do absolutely nothing, until it’s time to ride your wooden toy.”
Later in life, Grosso admitted there were signs of trouble brewing behind that facade. The kid who used to get “tripped out” by seeing older skaters smoke Marlboro Reds was now “smoking pot and drinking and living the rock star lifestyle that I’d come to covet,” he later said. “I started down that path.”
To the skateboarding public, however, his persona was well-received.
“Grosso was the guy you could actually aspire to be like,” said Coan “Buddy” Nichols, a childhood fan of Grosso’s who was later a producer of the “Loveletters” series. “He was loud and crazy, because he was partying, having a good time. That’s a classic thing in skating, to mix the athleticism with real life.”
But like a flickering candle at the end of its wick, those golden days began to fade.
Even though Grosso’s generation revived skateboarding’s popularity, skate parks and vert ramps were still rare in most parts of the country. The new skaters they’d inspired gravitated toward a different style, riding off urban obstacles such as staircases, park benches and handrails.
The new discipline became known as street skating, and by the early 1990s it began to consume the sport. Suddenly, it was no longer cool to be a vert star such as Grosso or Hawk. Contests that once drew thousands began to fold and the sport’s media attention was redirected toward its newest trend.
Worse than that, many skaters felt as though their whole lifestyle had been discarded. Scenes in skating videos featuring their old aerial tricks were skipped over so often that fast-forwarding became known as the “vert button” on the remote. Half-pipes and vertical ramps became so rare that the entire discipline was in danger of extinction.
“We were almost akin to boyband fame,” Hawk said. “And it was all washed away within a year.”
“I didn’t think it was ever going to end. I had no concept of what was really going on. I wasn’t making plans for the future. I’m a high school dropout. It was like, ‘I’m a pro skateboarder, and the party is never going to end. I’m indestructible’ … I was wrong.” — Jeff Grosso, to Juice Magazine in 2006.
Grosso woke up one morning in the mid ‘90s and walked to a mirror. He saw that he was still alive. Part of him wished that he wasn’t.
Staring into the reflection, he no longer recognized himself. Only a few years removed from the height of his pro career, his life was spiraling into an abyss.
Even after vert skating’s demise, Grosso had tried to stay relevant in the sport. He sold boards for an upstart skating company called Black Label run by John Lucero, another childhood friend and former pro. He traveled to the few slimmed-down competitions that remained. He clung to whatever notoriety he had left.
But as the ‘90s progressed, and the ever-more fragmented skateboarding community floundered during an economic recession, he struggled to reckon with his new reality. He tried to find ways to escape it.
He had a heavy drinking problem, then began using methamphetamine and heroin. His income couldn’t always fully fund his habit, so he sometimes stole VCRs and TVs from friends to sell at pawn shops.
He tried rationalizing his choices, convincing himself that as long as he could keep skateboarding — even if it no longer served as his primary occupation — he was fine.
“I just sort of floated around,” he said. “When you’re hanging around with the kind of people I was, it’s pretty easy. … In one town you’re on speed, and then the next town it’s booze, and the next one it’s heroin. You just keep shuffling the problems around.”
His addictions, however, eventually wore him down.
One night, as he later told Thrasher magazine in 2007, he intentionally tried to overdose at a friend’s house, only to wake up the next day and look into that mirror, realizing it hadn’t worked.
Three other times, he was rushed to the hospital with no vital signs after overdosing, later telling Transworld Skateboarding magazine that one of the incidents had been another intentional attempt.
“When you’re lost in heroin, and you haven’t reached any sort of bottom, you just can’t see out of it,” Grosso said in 2003. “You have to get an extreme amount of pain before you can accept anybody else’s help … It’s a real rough road, man. Trying to get your life back from being a real scumf--- is a really hard thing to do.”
His short-lived pro career wasn’t the only cause for his struggles — “It’s not any one thing, it’s the addiction that’s the problem” his mother said — but it robbed him of the most central element to his identity. His story wasn’t unique at a time when many notable skaters from his era went to jail or battled substance abuse.
“These guys, they were celebrated while they’re still developing as teenagers, everyone telling them they’re God’s gift to skateboarding,” said Mackenzie Eisenhour, a longtime writer for Transworld Skateboarding. “And then the industry completely shifted. All of a sudden, you’re disposable.”
It would be like the basketball world renouncing Michael Jordan, deciding to no longer buy his shoes, and declaring dunking a thing of the past. The painful irony: Vert skating’s demise was caused by the very same rebellious, subversive dynamics that drew Grosso and his peers to the sport in the first place.
“Skateboarding is an anti-hero culture,” Eisenhour said. “So once the culture deems you the hero, it’s just waiting to rebel against you.”
“You know what I really regret? I don’t regret partying. I don’t regret becoming an addict and s---ing my life away. I regret taking my skateboard for granted. I wasted years and years running around doing bulls--- when I could’ve been riding.” — Jeff Grosso, to King Skateboard Magazine in 2016.
For more than two decades, Nichols and Rick Charnoski, his partner at Six Stair Studio, have traveled the world documenting skateboarding and producing films about its culture.
One thing they’ve learned: “Skateboarding has these two directions,” Nichols said. “The sport that some people want it to be — mostly to make money off of it, honestly — and then the lifestyle, everything else around it.”
Can the sport be commercially successful and culturally authentic? Can it enter the mainstream without being co-opted? Can it keep an edge without excluding everything and everyone that came before it?
There’s a reason that different styles have competed for its direction, its customs, its icons. It was no surprise that when skateboarding was added in 2015 to the Tokyo Games — one of several action sports the Olympics has introduced in hopes of attracting younger audiences — there was a rebellion against it. Skateboarders started an online petition, which drew 7,500 signatures, asking the International Olympic Committee to reverse its decision and remove the sport from its lineup.
Thanks for posting.
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time to cry
I got you, homey; come get some shoulder.
https://youtu.be/Y52bs0aX6v8
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Little LA Times read up
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
Thanks for sharing. This one still hurts.
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The article is free now with a good and long video
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-04/jeff-grosso-california-skateboarding-life-death
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Really glad to see Anti Hero doing this, to help his son.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CL84nIcFfvR/?igshid=ztqsbxzqvnme
Got one coming to chill with the ‘Grosso reclining’ oil painting graphic deck
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RIP Still a shocker
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Thanks for posting that. Man that ending
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I'm not crying you're all crying :'( :'(
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Bump for Mothra. What a void.. ugh, this one still hurts.— Go skate while you still can people. Smell your stinky pads and be glad you are alive. Rock and roll slides forever.
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I'm not crying you're all crying :'( :'(