You would never arrive at Tom Ritchey ’s house, deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, unless you were going there to see him or you were lost. Built years ago by Ritchey himself from rough-hewn logs, his place is a long ways from the hyper-packaged cookie-dough construction that has infected much of Southern California’s landscape. Ritchey has created a shelter equal to the storms that pound it each winter—a sturdy, no-nonsense structure reflecting homegrown values and attention to detail.

Outside of the obvious rock and movie stars, there are few people in the world that have influenced pop culture more than skate icon Jay Adams. Unwittingly, Jay and a group of skateboarders took the scraps of urban decay in a recession era LA beach town and built an entire subculture from them. His dynamic surfing and especially his skating lit up the world and awakened it to living life on the edge.

A world champion surfer from Florida is about as likely as a Winter Olympics team composed primarily of Hawaiian athletes. Florida—as most surfers know—rarely has surf of size or quality. And yet there have been four world professional surfing champions from that southern state: Lisa Anderson (four titles), Freida Zamba (four titles), Kelly Slater (eight titles), and C.J. Hobgood (one title).

In 1885 a band of German immigrants established Colony Olivenhain about five miles from the Pacific Ocean. Driving through town you can still see the town hall they built, a sturdy, functional wooden box where family gatherings, barbecues, and 4-H Club fundraisers are held today. Two miles of winding roads and horse trails later is something that the first settlers never imagined: a two-story, two-garage home with pool table, flat screen TV, swimming pool, hot tub and plans for a swimming hole that will never hold water, but people on boards with wheels attached to them.

If contradiction was measured in carats, Rob Dyrdek and Christopher "Big Black" Boykin would be the Hope Diamond. Consider the stats:

TURF: Dyrdek, from Ohio, is true Yankee, northern, corn-fed stock. Boykin is as Southern Mississippi syrupy as can be.

SIZE: Dyrdek stands (on his tiptoes) at 5'7" and might hit 135 pounds after being chucked into a pool. The latest mathematical projections have Boykin somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 pounds and 6'enormous.”

Only a few people in the world can say they were the “fastest man on the planet.” It ’s even more exclusive to earn that distinction twice. Mark Crear, the 1996 and 2000 Olympic silver and bronze medalist, happens to be in this very elite club.

There comes a time in every young skateboarder's life when they realize that the flawless seven minute video part of their favorite skateboarder actually took two years and thousands of takes to film. It's a cold wake-up call for a young idealistic mind looking for a superhero. And much like Barry Bonds's recent home run record (tainted by a steroid scandal), it leaves a bit of doubt in your mind as to the actual greatness of the event you just witnessed.

Snowboarding legend Gretchen Bleiler’s voice is melodic and friendly, made more so because she punctuates many of her words with laughter. The reason for all this apparent happiness—that she is paid to do exactly what she loves most—could make one jealous. Don’t be. She’s earned her right to joy, ridden hard, hurt herself, come back and ridden harder, winning nearly everything she’s put her heart into, including two Vans Triple Crowns, two U.S. Opens, two X Games, two FIS World Cups, and an Olympic silver medal.

Phoenix Suns power forward/center Amare Stoudemire enters the Opus–LA photo studio, and fill the room with his frame. Those on hand to interview, photograph, promote, and befriend him—most of whom are of average height and, presumably, physical ability—are gobbled up by his shadow. This is more than a testament to sheer size; there’s an intensity reflected mostly in the eyes, predatory one-way mirrors that would be scary to face anywhere, especially in his chosen arena, a basketball court.