It's been a long journey for Zander "Z-Man" Gabriel from his earliest days at Ojai's rickety wooden skate park to his astonishing professional success, about to launch his own brand with skateboards, gear, merchandise and more. He's one of the top pros in this exciting sport, though he still spends most days on urban adventures, looking for fun new places to skate.

It was one of these urban adventures that gave him his street cred, when after 10 brutal attempts, he stuck the landing on the notorious El Toro 20-step staircase in Lake Forest, with a "never been done" backsmith trick. As with many skaters, he is more proud of scars than medals.

Skating culture has come a long way since the first pairing of a surfboard with skates in the 1950s. It came into its own during the late 1970s when Stacy Peralta and friends, "Lords of Dogtown," practically invented a culture. By the time Tony "Birdman" Hawk came along in the 1980s and 1990s and built a video-game empire, and Spike Jonze went from taking photo for skater 'zines to directing box-office blockbusters, skating was well on its way to being an established part of culture.

Now, Gabriel represents the next generation, making his move into the entrepreneurial side of the skate world. He has filmed advertisements and sponsorships, including the famous VW Jetta commercial, in which Gabriel skates his way through a busy Los Angeles wearing a blue suit.

The once-renegade sport has come a long way, all the way to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. While Gabriel won’t be competing, he will be on hand to cheer on many of closest friends who are.

In this episode, Gabriel gives credit to Ojai for his success; especially his mother, Judy, "the quintessential skate mom," he said. She helped lobby and raise funds for the permanent skate park. He plans on an event at this summer, to perform some stunts, give away some board, have a barbecue and celebrate his success in the place where it started.

Zander will be featured on the cover of the Summer issue of Ojai's magazine, the OQ, which will come out Memorial Day weekend.

We did not talk about the Inuit communities of northern Canada, spearfishing or James Clerk Maxwell.