Jacuzzi Unlimited | Birthday Party Recap
The five hour drive from Los Angeles to San Jose is a lonely excursion full of soul-searching and wondering why on earth the “garlic capital of the world” is even a real place. A couple plays of Dionne Warwick’s “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” may lighten the mood for a few minutes but other than that, it’s pretty miserable. Luckily, this time I got to take the 45 minute plane ride up to Nor Cal for an overnight soiree to commemorate Jacuzzi Unlimited’s first year as a full-fledged skateboard company.
Readers of Issue 1 may recall Louie Barletta’s interview, detailing his heartbreaking departure from Enjoi, immediately followed by the birth of the sister company that never was: aka Jacuzzi Unlimited. Since then, a fresh crop of amateurs along with a couple familiar faces have kept the essence of “Bag of Suck” and “Oververt” alive the only way they know how: not taking themselves too seriously and seizing any possible moment to film and party.
This night was no exception as a posse of San Jose locals and folks from the Central Coast descended upon the promenade outside Empire 7 Studios. In the dying moments of afternoon sunlight, the team put a hurting on this homemade bump to bar setup, outfitted in Jacuzzi’s signature salmon and green. Rumor has it that Louie shaped the round rails by hand while Caswell Berry supplied the mini Mercedes truck to jam over (in addition to throwing down a snappy tre flip lipslide). Recent LA-transplant, Matt Savidakis, somehow managed to sack the very same rail, but redeemed himself with a sturdy pop shuv 50-50 for good measure. Fellow style-master Dru James also got his licks in with an array of crooked grinds and back 180 nosegrinds. Eventually, the locals swapped the Benz truck for a stack of seven or eight decks and some kid pulled a benihana over them to close out the session. The toy car was ended up smashed to bits, much to the dismay of the residents in the neighboring apartment building.
Inside the venue, the main attraction was centered around the objects-turned board graphics, curated by Brand Manager, Jeff Davis. Personally, I’ve spent too many hours to count staring at John Dilo’s telephone graphic and Michael Pulizzi’s ‘Bobcat’ deck. Still, seeing the artifacts behind these images left me as giddy as the first time I held each deck in person. Silly as these graphics may be, the fact that they now hung in a gallery after a year of being sold all around the world must mean that the Jacuzzi Unlimited team is doing something right.
As the Shindig Cider began to run low, the crowd shifted their focus to a small garden area next to the gallery space where it was starting to get loud. To the excitement of fans who were promised a free hardcore show (thanks to the SJ-based organization Crossthread), a trio of Bay Area bulldozers cranked their amps and got to work. First on the bill were Stand Tall and Doomsday. Both sets were equally moshable and provided an ear-splitting appetizer to the hungry mob. For the main course, folks were greeted with a dose of real bay shit, courtesy of the formidable: Big Boy. Frontman, Brandon Flores, assured the audience “you all are from San Jose” before kicking things off and the swarm repaid him by chanting every word straight back. The only ones in attendance that seemed unamused were the cops, who flashed their lights and paused the show briefly but ultimately allowed the band to finish strong with a hectic performance of “Break.”
After the main event, the party poured into a swanky karaoke lounge down the street. The Trader Vic’s Scorpion Bowls started flowing in no time and more shenanigans ensued. Even though Gus Bus’ drunken rendition of whatever tune flashed on screen paled in comparison to the earlier performance, it was a lively evening to say the least. Until next year, cheers!
Photos: Daniel Fedkenheuer & JT Kaprelian
Originally published in Issue 5 - January 2025