Dogtown and Z-Boys

In the '70s, Dogtown was the beachfront area between Santa Monica and Venice, where kids learned to surf aggressively around an abandoned pier. They took those surfing techniques to skateboarding, first on cement playhgrounds, then -- when the '70s drought hit -- in empty swimming pools, where they swooped up the sides, grasping the pool's lip with just one wheel.

A gang of those kids, many from broken homes, would hang around a local surf shop, using it like a clubhouse. Those kids became the Zephyr Skating Team -- hence, the Z-boys. In 1975, at the Del Mar Nationals, the Z-boys blew away the old-guard '60s skaters who were still doing wheelies on their boards.

The Z-boys were instant stars. Their feats were immortalized in SkateBoarder Magazine with stories and photos by Craig Stecyk, one of the owners of the local surf shop, who also co-wrote Dogtown and Z-Boys with Stacy Peralta.

Narrated by Sean Penn.