Jay Adams was an original member of the Z-Boys (Zephyr skate team) and is widely regarded as skateboarding's greatest natural talent. While his skating (and surfing) made him a legend, his drug-addiction pulled him off his board and into a prison cell. Jay's due out this summer. In the meantime, here's a brief interview with one of skateboarding's prodigal sons.
Name: JAY ADAMS
Date of birth: February 3, 1961.
Hometown: Venice, California.
Current residence: Federal Correctional Institution, Sheridan, Oregon
What is your current state of mind?
Pretty mellow considering where I’m at right now.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Knowing that I’m standing right before God. Not having to worry about what happens after I die makes my whole world a happier place.
Which person, living or dead, do you most admire?
Jesus Christ. He chose to do what he did, never complained, and loved everyone of us even though we didn’t deserve it.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d like to just figure out what talent God has for me and not waste anymore time doing stupid things like I’ve done in the past.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Feeling all alone. I used drugs to ease the pain of grief I was dealing with. Drugs made me depressed and not feel loved. My whole family was gone and instead of turning to friends for help I chose a needle and a spoon.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I really hate my sinful nature. I like doing things that I don’t want to do. Sometimes I feel like I’m the biggest hypocrite in the world.
What do you most value in your friends?
All the crazy things I’ve gone through, the punk rock days, the psycho drug-addict days. I’m pretty sure most of my friends will be able to tell you that friendship means a lot to me and I can’t think of many bridges being burned that I’ve crossed in the past.
What is your most treasured possession?
My good health, my well-being, and the fact that I have a loving family to go home to.
What is your greatest regret?
Wasted time, all the mistakes I’ve made in the past, and not living my life for Christ when I was younger.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
All the hate I have in my heart.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Oh, Lord, please forgive me for . . .” Man, I use that one over and over night and day.
On what occasion do you lie?
Oh, I never lie. (Yeah, right.) Well, how about things like telling your daughter about Santa Claus? I don’t think there are any good lies but maybe there are times when you don’t exactly have to tell the truth. I really don’t like the answer I just gave you.
What is your greatest fear?
Not being right with God.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
We are the spiritual leaders of our family.
What is the quality you most like in woman?
The ability to love. Women love their husbands and nobody loves their children like a mother does. Sometimes I wonder if I can ever love anyone or anything as much as my mother loved me.
Who are your heroes?
Jesus Christ. Wayne Lynch and Jeff Hackman, then Ben Ipia and Barry K. Later on it was Larry Bertleman. I thought Torger Johnson was a great skateboarder but that was a little later on in life. Duke K was a hero. Johnny Cash, George Foreman, Ali, Sugar Ray, Christian Hosoi, Steve Cab, Lance Mountain, Duane Peters, my dad Kent Sherwood, my mom, Tony Alva, Steve Alba, Grant F., Mark Vercelli. Any dad who’s a good father to his kids.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being alive today. Believe me, my nine lives ran out a long time ago. I’ve done absolutely nothing great in this life so far. God blessed me to live in a time when skateboarding was new, fresh, and unexplored. We had lots of fun paving the road guys are riding down today, but skating was easy back then, not like the crazy stuff kids are doing today. My greatest achievement has yet to come.
What is it that you most dislike?
I really don’t like getting caught up dwelling on the negatives too much.
How would you like to die?
That’s one of the best things about being a Christian: Dying is really just the beginning. I don’t really care how I die, either a glorious death, like a surfing accident, or maybe even cheating death by being taken away in the rapture.
What is your motto?
“Put God first in your life and everything else will fall into place.”
-PoolSnob
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