Dave Duncan:

My first rides were in 1969 when I was 7 years old on my brother’s steel wheeled board that sat in our garage. It was a challenge to see who could ride it the from the highest part of the sidewalk down the steep hill where we lived. It was considered a toy like the yo-yo and the hula-hoop. Later we saw our older friends who were surfers, sidewalk surfin’ on the clay wheels and we knew there was more to it.

During the early 70's my friends and I would ride our loose ball bearing, clay wheeled, Black Knight boards to school everyday. We were jumping off of the steps and the picnic benches at school, and were breaking boards all the time. We eventually started shaping our own decks. In 1974 when I was 12 years old the urethane wheels were invented, which made skating more terrain possible. It was like a dream, a magic carpet ride so much smoother. My friends and I would skate the banks in my schoolyard and began searching for underground spots, such as drainage ditches, more schoolyards and sneakin’ into backyard pools. My parents saw me skating non-stop and bought me a subscription to Skateboarder magazine for Christmas in 1976. Jay Adams was on the cover doing a flyout, catching air out of the big bowl at Carlsbad skatepark, one of our weekened spots. It was a glimpse into the bigger world of Skateboarding. Tony Alva had a centerfold in Hawaii with a bunch of shots at Wallos. The Dogtails were in every issue. Thus the dream was created to continue on an adrenalin feuled road that few dared to travel. My life was exciting and everyday was a new adventure. In one of the next issues Jay Adams had a Who’s Hot with photos of him ripping in the Soul Bowl, one of our local pools at SDSU, also exposing us to his fun-filled personality. We were always hungry for new spots to ride, so we built our first ramp The Wooden Wonder in my friends driveway.

In 1977 TA went on to win the World Championships in Carlsbad skatepark solidifying his spot as #1 in the world, which happened to be broadcasted on Wide World of Sports. The fad they called Skateboarding looked as if it was here to stay. Not only did we get inspired by people like Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and all of the aggressive pros of the day, we wanted to live just like them. Surfin’, Skatin’ and Ragin’ around, teenagers runnin’ wild in search of adventure and good times. This was the beginning of the DAGGER attitude that we still carry proudly to this day.
Dave Duncan
DAGGERS FOR LIFE---DAGGERS TIL DEATH