Nov 18, 2008
Brian Paz RIP

Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of Brian Paz who recently passed.

"Bryan was indeed one of the greatest people and most gifted skateboarders that I had come in contact with. The first time I met Bryan was back in 1990. I met him while skating at a local college in Cerritos, CA. He was riding an old Santa Cruz ?Everslick? board covered with Indy, Speed Wheels, and Zimbabwe stickers. I remember him being able to do Ollie impossible?s & pressure flips while skating with a broken arm. I was amazed. I asked him if he was sponsored by Santa Cruz and he replied "No, but Jason Rothmeyer did give me this board?." Wow, I thought to myself. He must be good if sponsored skater was willing to give him a board. That's my first memory that I have of Bryan. We've been friends ever since. From then all the way until now, his willing to befriend anyone, that would always make him a stand out in a crowd. He always made an effort to meet and get to know the people that surrounded him. No matter if it was skateboarding, partying, watching football games, etc. Which is still rare in most scenarios.

Bryan was one of the first people out of our crew to get sponsored. What was great was that he was put on the team that he would always ride their boards anyways which was Planet Earth skateboards. During this time his skateboarding skills really started to shine through. While we sat trying to wire the hottest and newest flip tricks, he was working on doing them switch. One of our on going things that we used make fun of him for/give him props was always appearing in the switch stance articles in the early 411vm's. Even up until they stopped having that article, he would still have clips up in there.

In the end he still remained friends with all that have known him through out the years. Which again points out what kind of individual he really was. No matter where he went, or how long it has been, you could talk to him and it?s like you never skipped a beat. I?m glad to have had the opportunity to have a friend like this in my life. He has taught me to always be happy regardless of where I am and whom I am with. I am sad to say farewell, but I know it's not good-bye. I look forward to seeing my friend again in another life. I'm positive that I will too. People like Bryan aren't just people, their inspirations. And inspirations never go away."

Sincerely, Ron Resurreccion