Legendary Skateboarder Jay Adams Dies At 53

Via Stacy Peralta, and via Boing Boing pal and skating/hiphop/punk photographer Glen E. Friedman, comes sad news today. American skateboarder Jay Adams, one of the original members of the Zephyr (later nicknamed 

Jay Adams, the colorful rebel who helped transform skateboarding from a simple street pastime into one of the world's most spectacular sports with hair-raising stunts and an outsized personality to match, has died at age 53.

With a photo and caption on Instagram last week, Stacy Peralta broke the news of the death of Jay Adams, which was somewhat appropriate given the many iconic images of the blond, tubular Adams that had helped spread the history of skateboarding and 

Adams, known as "The Original Seed" of skateboarding, was 53. "I received a text very early this morning from Alan Sarlo who is in Mexico on a surf trip with Jay and some others," fellow skater Stacy Paralta wrote for Thrasher 

Legendary skater Jay Adams has died at the age of 53 years old, TMZ reports.