RIP Bubblegum Tate

[justpassingthrough]

I knew Lester, not very well but growing up on the SF bay peninsula area I'd have to say he was 1 of the few people who never had anything negative to say ever about anyone.

[Jim and Dan]

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Here to pay my respect.

I vote Shoes and Gear become Tate’s Corner.

RIP to SLAP’s 2nd greatest poster.

[close]

+1 on this

[close]

Yeah, that's gotta happen. RIP to the reason that I started coming to this site. Dude was so genuinely nice and helpful.

I'll vote for this as well, he was always on top of all the new shit coming out.

[potpie]

As a shoes and gear regular, RIP Tate, you will be missed

[cky enthusiast]

RIP. fuck cars.

[Toadfish Rebecchi]

One of my fave posters for sure! Shoe thread god! RIP TATE xo

[roba]

RIP pal

I vote Shoes and Gear become Tate’s Corner.

[rawbertson.]

Rest in Peace brother. Will miss you <3 forever immortalized in SLAP RAPS vol. 1
more kicks than bubble gum tate! Shoe lord final boss.

[rocklobster]

damn, this is sad. dude was an integral part of the main reason a lot of us come on this site, the shoes & gear section. i was always jealous when he'd post all the free gear he got hooked up with, but i think the amount of free shoes he got was proof of how cool he was. RIP TATE.
also FUCK CARS, i hope the driver gets punished, severely.

Yeah I would have stuck on YT and Insta for my skate content if it wasn't for Slap in 2019, haven't left since. You can bet I spent way too long in the Shoes & Gear thread soaking in the madness.

Goddamit I can't make it through all the posts in this thread.

RIP BGT
We love you
We miss you

[RichardBarkley]

Jesus

RIP BGT

[yourbreakfsat]

RIP

[art hellman]

RIP.  Sorry for the loss to all who knew him. 

He'll always be an immortal part of the Shoes & Gear thread.  Feels goofy typing somethng like that, but it's true.

[Baby on Board]

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Here to pay my respect.

I vote Shoes and Gear become Tate’s Corner.

RIP to SLAP’s 2nd greatest poster.

[close]

+1 on this

[close]

Yeah, that's gotta happen. RIP to the reason that I started coming to this site. Dude was so genuinely nice and helpful.

[close]

I'll vote for this as well, he was always on top of all the new shit coming out.

Rest in peace to an absolute legend.

Tate was the whole reason I ever tried a pair of 440’s cause he just made them sound so fucking good in the nb# containment thread. I think one of my first replies on this site might’ve been to him on that topic.

Hope he’s posting on the great Slap forum in the sky, and the 1010 colorway’s are beautiful and endless 

[Madam, I'm Adam]

He'll always be an immortal part of the Shoes & Gear thread.  Feels goofy typing somethng like that, but it's true.

No, it is true. No matter what, Slap's a community. People engage with each other. As a result, we develop bonds. And Lester/Tate was one of the first reasons why I wanted to join the site; his inside knowledge and sharing of information, really made Slap more appealing and exciting to me when I decided to take a further look into what it was over ten years ago. His impact, whether online or in person as discussed, was nothing but supportive - and that positivity can compound and benefit others for a long time to come.

It's a huge tragedy and loss. Rest in peace.

[DaleSr]

RIP Tate

We've been losing way too many pals recently  :'(

[Nancy Chin The Manicurist]

I met Lester when I was about 15. He was the first one of my friends to get a drivers license / car.

Which, as you all probably know, is a complete game changer in a lot of young skaters lives.

All of a sudden the world becomes that much more much bigger and infinite. Places that seemed so far at first, weren’t anymore. I spent a lot of road miles with the dude. And saw a lot of amazing things


Seeing him on here as Bubblegum Tate was always a trip for me, because our conversations were never ever about shoes or gear or the like. Like, I always knew he was a big gear guy (his car trunk was never not full of stuff he’d sell to people on the low, or straight up just give out for free to kids), but seeing him confidently talk about all that stuff with such sheer authority in all his posts always impressed me. He really truly loved that stuff.

One thing I don’t think a lot of people knew about him on here is just how big of a skate nerd he was. Like….the dude knew his shit. Like, really really knew. Like, intensely knew his shit. I guess all the gear talk maybe monopolized his time on here,  but dude could literally talk your ear off about the most obscure skate stuff, especially when it came to San Francisco Bay Area skating.


And I welcomed it every time.  It was an honor for me to have my ear talked off my him.





Hope all you guys are well.

I’m not on the message boards too much anymore these days, but I just knew I had to write something for a very very old friend of mine who essentially helped create  the love for skateboarding I still hold to this day.


Rest In Peace, Lester.
Rest In Peace, Bubblegum Tate

[layzieyez]

RIP Bubblegum Tate/Lester. Thank you for being you unapologetic to the benefit of us all on this board and to those who lucked into your sphere. Too young and too tragic an end to a great pal.

[IpathCats]

damn....

RIP BGT

Pioneer of my favorite part of SLAP (shoes and gear)

Someone should leave some dope kicks on his grave as and homage to his influence here on SLAP.

[Mr. Pickles]

Some footage and nice words in this one. I didn't know him but I feel like I did. Many of us take up bikes when we get older; this is my biggest fear.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/lester-legarda-bicyclist-killed-san-mateo/3203304/

[Fongstarr.]

Saw this on IG. They brought skate deck and bread to the site. (Whaddup Lurkskatesf......hope you don't mind me posting this)

[Murge]

RIP BGT. Super sad. He honestly was nice and pleasant on a board where it’s easy to do the opposite. RIP to a real one.

Condolences to his family and friends.

[apport]

made some slap themed things in honor of tate/lester

[Watson]

I met Lester when I was about 15. He was the first one of my friends to get a drivers license / car.

Which, as you all probably know, is a complete game changer in a lot of young skaters lives.

All of a sudden the world becomes that much more much bigger and infinite. Places that seemed so far at first, weren’t anymore. I spent a lot of road miles with the dude. And saw a lot of amazing things


Seeing him on here as Bubblegum Tate was always a trip for me, because our conversations were never ever about shoes or gear or the like. Like, I always knew he was a big gear guy (his car trunk was never not full of stuff he’d sell to people on the low, or straight up just give out for free to kids), but seeing him confidently talk about all that stuff with such sheer authority in all his posts always impressed me. He really truly loved that stuff.

One thing I don’t think a lot of people knew about him on here is just how big of a skate nerd he was. Like….the dude knew his shit. Like, really really knew. Like, intensely knew his shit. I guess all the gear talk maybe monopolized his time on here,  but dude could literally talk your ear off about the most obscure skate stuff, especially when it came to San Francisco Bay Area skating.


And I welcomed it every time.  It was an honor for me to have my ear talked off my him.





Hope all you guys are well.

I’m not on the message boards too much anymore these days, but I just knew I had to write something for a very very old friend of mine who essentially helped create  the love for skateboarding I still hold to this day.


Rest In Peace, Lester.
Rest In Peace, Bubblegum Tate

Thank you for sharing these memories Nancy.

I am here to put respect on Tate's name.

[Murge]

made some slap themed things in honor of tate/lester

Sticker packs and maybe donate to family for funeral services?

[Fongstarr.]

Some footage and nice words in this one. I didn't know him but I feel like I did. Many of us take up bikes when we get older; this is my biggest fear.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/lester-legarda-bicyclist-killed-san-mateo/3203304/

The guy in the video questioned it right. How does a car that is supposed to be going 15 mph in daylight hit a cyclist going in the same direction as you on an open street like that. That bike was in pieces and there was glass and what not all over the ground. I am sure the driver was speeding but perhaps he veered off the road. I am not going to make accusations but I am sure as more details get released, it will make more sense.

[dr.prestige]

made some slap themed things in honor of tate/lester

These are great, thank you

[Hastings]

Well this truly sucks, I've been lurking on here for a minute and Bubblegum Tate is a name I instantly connect with Salp and always read his posts.

Rest easy Lester, my condolences to his friends and family.

made some slap themed things in honor of tate/lester

Excellent work, Send me ten.

[Firebert]

I'll miss you, Tate. You were always one of the few on here that always kept a positive attitude, and we all knew we could count on your advice. RIP

[CossRooper]

made some slap themed things in honor of tate/lester

i would pay out the ass for stickers of these, esp the upcoming/recent shoe releases one, given the profits were donated to Lester's family.

Anyone seen anything bout a gofundme or anything?

[apport]

Sticker packs and maybe donate to family for funeral services?

i would pay out the ass for stickers of these, esp the upcoming/recent shoe releases one, given the profits were donated to Lester's family.

Anyone seen anything bout a gofundme or anything?

i was thinking stickers with proceeds going to the family too. if anyone wants to go in on getting stickers printed hit me up.

[one-off]

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Sticker packs and maybe donate to family for funeral services?

[close]

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i would pay out the ass for stickers of these, esp the upcoming/recent shoe releases one, given the profits were donated to Lester's family.

Anyone seen anything bout a gofundme or anything?

[close]

i was thinking stickers with proceeds going to the family too. if anyone wants to go in on getting stickers printed hit me up.

would love to support this

RIPP Tate (Rest in Posts, and Peace)