Jay Adams, Skateboarding Icon, Dead In Mexico At 53

Jay Adams, world renown skateboarder, is a dead at the age of 53. The Hollywood Gossip is reporting that 1970s and 1980s skateboard sensation Jay Adams died of a heart attack in Mexico on Thursday, August 14, 2014. Adams had been vacationing in the beautiful country of Mexico for the last three months at the time of his death. He was in Mexico with his wife.

According to TMZ, it was the first time in 20 years that Adams had been allowed to travel out of the country, due to his past legal run-ins with the law. Skateboarder Jay Adams and the Z-Boys came on the scene in the 1970s and totally changed the way skateboarders skated in California. The Venice native watched and learned the style and techniques of Hawaiian surfers and copied the moves. Those moves helped shape the way young skateboarders glided which was different than the prior long boarding style to which the group had become accustomed.

Jay Adams shared that his love for skateboarding started as early as the age of 4 and stayed with him until his family moved to Dogtown, a section of Venice, California, where the kids street skated in alleyways and up and down Ocean Park Hills and Venice Beach, perfecting their unique style.

Jay Adams’ life story was told in the 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys which was narrated by Sean Penn. The true-story movie Lords of Dogtown was released in 2005, starring Heath Ledger, Victor Rasuk, and Emile Hirsch as the celebrated Jay Adams. The movie was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta.

Though skateboarding itself is an exhilarating and overall positive experience, Jay Adams’ life has not been without problems. Jay Adams spent years addicted to drugs and even did a stint in prison for a drug conviction.

Family members say that Jay Adams had no prior history of heart problems in his medical background. According to the book The Truth about Methamphetamine and Crystal Meth by Lara Norquist and Frank Spalding, long term drug use can cause sudden heart attacks, strokes, and failure of the respiratory system even years after a person has become clean. Meth, in particular, can cause irreversible damage on the heart, leading to heart failure, as stated by the Inquisitr.

Jay Adams’ fans are saddened by the passing of the skating icon. Here are some of their expressions.

“RIP Jay Adams, you were the spark and will forever live on in the hearts of shredders.

“Few inspired more. Thank you Jay Adams.

“Jay Adams RIP A founding father of skateboarding and true legend.”

Jay Adams leaves behind his wife and two loving children.