Jay Boy: The Early Years of Jay Adams

A photo book showcasing the childhood years of legendary skateboarding pioneer and Z-Boy, Jay Adams.

Skateboarding legend Jay Adams’s sudden and unexpected death at the age of fifty-three shocked the world. Media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and ESPN paid tribute to Jay Adams; the broad coverage he received speaks to the immense influence Adams had on the sport of skateboarding and the subsequent culture he helped grow and shape.

In Jay Boy, Jay’s stepfather and mentor, Kent Sherwood, shares his collection of photographs of the young legend when he was still full of innocence and before the punk rock attitude took hold. All annotated by Jay himself, it’s an endearing insight into not only the birth of a legend but also the life of a Santa Monica surf rat at the cusp of the 1970s.