Thanks to their fancy footwork, line dances and routines done to the sound of old school and disco tunes roaring from a bigger-than-life boombox sound system, Venice Beach became a tourist hotspot. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley even declared that Venice Beach was "the roller skating capital of the world" in 1978. Hollywood producers soon came calling. But, unfortunately most of the original beach area disco skaters did not reap any of the financial benefits generated by the roller skating style which they brought to life and made popular around the world. In the 1990s, a combination of the drug culture and the Gangsta Rap lifestyle took over the Venice Beach area. Many of the original skaters now feel that their dream did not fade away. It was snatched away by the local police who invaded their childhood in South Central during the Watts Riots - and who were determined to shut down their much-loved skating community in Venice Beach years later.
