Diggin’ in the Crates: Maryland:

The Birth of Our Own  Hardcore Surf and Skate Scene

After driving to Assategue and back, we ran into Phil Houck who said the waves were fun in front of the Bull on 2nd Street. Jay Hall and I decided this was a good call.

A lot of it started because of Sunshine House Surf Shop. That and BB Bombers. That is really how the whole Simplex scene began. We had the only ramp in the city at the time because the Ocean Bowl was being rebuilt. So lots of people were interested in being around. Our connections through friends, the surf shops and neighbors made for quite the scene. Never a dull moment is an understatement.

As peoplemoved, hibernated or returned to college during the winter, the family grew and morphed into a road-triping, beer swilling, skateboarding, surf-tripping society. Skeets moved to Rhode Island after our trip to Australia. Some people went to Florida. Some went to California. Some went to the Caribbean. Cara and planes connected the Marylanders and pushed us beyond the Mason-Dixon Line. It seemed like there was some Natty Boh drinking, crab pickin’ Marylander everywhere we went.

But no matter where we went, the real anchor to our growing collective was always Maryland. And all things stemmed from there. We had the Baltimore and D.C. skate rats and their spots like Fisherman’s, Pot Springs, Arbutus Ditch, The Ark, and the Madonna Ramp to name a few. We had the Southern Maryland connection with the St. Mary’s Ramp—home to the punk band Roadside Pets. The surfers we crewed up with in New England were based mostly on original connections made in Ocean City. It seemed that everywhere we went, the connection was already there.

At this point I have lived more than half of my 45 years outside of Maryland. There is a lot of great things to do and see in this world. But no matter where I go I am still a Marylander.