In “Paul Rodriguez & Chris Roberts I Used To Skate,” we take a stroll through other-worldly Venice Beach, CA in search of skaters…and used-to-skaters. And neither were hard to find.
Our hosts, Paul Rodriguez and Chris Roberts of the famed “The Nine Club,” take us on a stroll down the Venice storefront sidewalk path for some kickflips, some heel flips, some bigspins, some slams and a lot of Chris’.
But first, they break down why we are shooting this episode.
The answer? To celebrate not only GSD, “International Go Skateboarding Day 2026,” but also “Paul Rodriguez Day” in Los Angeles. Yes, Prod has his own day, which ironically—or not—falls the day before our “I Used To Skate Day.”
Last year, Paul was honored by the city with his own day for all of his historic contributions to skateboarding. Not only did they cement his name onto the calendar from this day on, but they are also giving him a budget to host an event this June 21, 2026, at Venice to premiere the plans for a brand-new Venice Beach Skatepark.
The new park intends to “resurrect” the infamous Venice Beach Pits by recreating the ledges, tables and walls near the original location. All of this is why we chose Venice Beach for our video’s location.
Before the two hosts hit the streets, Chris and Paul take us on a tour of the old Venice Beach Pits, which are now completely covered in sand.
That’s right, the infamous pits are literally fully intact below the sand’s surface, never to be brought back to life.
Underneath the sand lies a ton of history, where famous skate videos such as Girl Skateboard’s “Mouse,” Shorty’s “Guilty,” Plan B’s “Virtual Reality,” “Rodney Mullen VS Daewon Song” and other classics were shot, including Guy Mariano’s iconic ender in “Mouse,” the pop shuv switch crook.
The movie “Thrashin’” even features a scene there.
In more recent years, Andy Anderson dug up one of the tables and filmed a freestyle skateboarding trick for his “Crazy Wisdom” part. The Venice Beach Pits also became one of the most recognizable levels in THPS, “Tony Hawk Pro Skater.”
All in all, there is a TON of history at this place.
After the tour of the skateboarding relics, Chris and Prod meet plenty of folks worthy of winning free “I Used To Skate” merch.
Chris just has one rule: if somebody is proving that they used to skate by performing a trick, the trick has to be done higher than a pee…or a ball bearing.
Shout out to our new friend, “Stick.”