Omar Salazar outer space ship display at PLA Folsom (Image by: David Alvarez)

An outer space experience took place in Folsom as PLA Skateboarding hosted Omar Salazar’s newest shoe release. The Friday night event brought over 150 fans to celebrate the release of the new Omar Salazar Pro model shoe.

Omar Salazar (Image by: David Alvarez)

The free event hosted by PLA, located at 330 E. Bidwell Street, also included a photo show with photography by Greg Hunt, Joe Brook and Jeff Landi.

PLA (Image by: David Alvarez)

Visitors to the event were treated to free pizza from Pizzeria Classico of Folsom. Several of their delicious specialty pizzas were brought to PLA and the delivery driver made another trip to the pizzeria to bring back more food.

Pizzeria Classico specialties (Image by: David Alvarez)

Ben Lutes and his crew at PLA did a great job showcasing Salazar’s Nike SB shoes and the photo exhibit as well as materials from other sponsors including Alien Workshop, Independent and Spitfire.

Ben Lutes, owner of PLA, on the right with a couple of friends (Image by: David Alvarez)

PLA has been providing professional skateboarding wear and other items for several years and their specialized gear brings many customers from Sacramento. Their knowledgeable staff is always helpful and courteous.

The event was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., but Salazar and PLA fans came early to socialize and talk skateboarding. PLA’s newest location hosted fans inside and outside.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and almost seemed more like a family reunion. Guests talked to friends and introduced themselves to others. Many of the younger guests arrived on skateboards, while others parked in front of the store.

Omar Salazar's Nike SB shoe release at PLA Folsom (Image by: David Alvarez)

Mehrad Saidi was on hand to introduce me to Pablo Salazar, Omar’s older brother, who provided some background on the Salazar family.

Mehrad Saidi talking with skateboarding fans at Salazar's Nike SB shoe release (Image by: David Alvarez)

Omar Salazar calls Sacramento his home and has lived here for more than half his life. Salazar will turn 28 in just over a week and has already traveled to many parts of the world. His parents are from Chile  Peru and Omar has two other brothers and a sister. With a brother and sister at hand, the event really began to look like a family reunion.

Omar with sister, friend and brother Pablo (Image by: David Alvarez)

Nike Skateboarding released Salazar’s Nike SB last year and the new Nike Omar Salazar LR shoe incorporates even more of Salazar’s input. The new shoe is scheduled to be available worldwide next week at SB dealers and will, I’m sure, be a great birthday gift for Salazar.

Salazar has an easygoing personality and was readily available to fans and guests, posing for pictures and signing autographs. His fans greatly appreciated his demeanor. When asked what brought them to the event, one young fan by the name of Jacob was enthusiastic.

Jacob (left) with buddies (Image by: David Alvarez)

“Omar is the sickest skateboarder out there. He’s super nice and does some amazing stuff!”

The young fan said he frequently shops at PLA.

“I’m cool with Ben (Lutes) and I respect him… I’ve bought all my boards from them.”

Another fan identified himself as Robbie.

“I think he’s pretty sick,” said Robbie, referring to Salazar, “The owner of PLA said Omar was going to be here. I heard that and here I am.”

Jacob with Robbie (white t-shirt) Omar and other guests (Image by: David Alvarez)

Jacob, Robbie and their other friends have been faithful PLA shoppers and were now being rewarded by PLA and Salazar. They were able to get signatures and pose for some photos with one of their heroes.

I caught up with Salazar later in the evening and asked him about the photo exhibition. Some of the photos were of a very young Sanchez and others were taken recently. Some of the photos were taken in Sacramento while others were taken in Mallorca, Spain and other sites.

PLA's back wall with Omar Salazar photo exhibit showing skating places in Sacramento and Spain (Image by: David Alvarez)

“Spain is made for skating,” said Salazar.

One of the photos shows Salazar skating off a sculpture that I’m sure was not made for skating. The artwork illustrated Salazar’s need to skate places others dare not to. Another photo on the same wall showed Salazar doing a hippy jump in Sacramento.

I found out more about the idol as I continued through the photo exhibit. A silhouette photo showed Salazar and a street lamp.

“My nickname is outer space,” said Salazar. “I like space stuff and the photo shows a light and as I stood in front of it the shadow looked like a space helmet.”

Shots of outer space (photo and gear) (Image by: David Alvarez)

Some shots were taken at an old waterpark somewhere in middle America that has since been torn down.

Another photo was of Salazar’s first trip to Australia when he became involved with Alien Workshop. His stunt resulted in him breaking bones in both hands. This happened on his first trip and first week with the company while filming a video.

A Thrasher magazine cover shot shows Salazar doing a jump on the corner of Vulcan and D Streets that took him three or four tries.

Salazar under the Vulcan and D Streets photo shot (Image by: David Alvarez)

Salazar’s skating prowess has taken him to international locations including Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, China and Australia. Salazar says he’s now been to almost every continent.

The festivities continued through the evening and people came and went in waves. Several of the younger guests were picked up by their parents. Businesses in the area that were still open enjoyed some brisk sales activity surrounding the event.

Festivities continue at the back room of PLA (Image by: David Alvarez)

Before leaving the event, I was able to talk to Salazar for a few more minutes and took the opportunity to ask him where he might want to go that he has not gone before.

“Let me think about that,” said Salazar, “I think I would love to go to Africa. The last Maloof contest was in South Africa.”

Salazar noted that the contest had a $200,000 first prize award.

“I always wanted to go there just because I feel it’s kind of like the last frontier of the safari or the real true wilderness. It’s a sort of the true wild, wild world. We’re lucky it’s still there.”

Salazar and young fans (Image by: David Alvarez)

When asked what was next on his schedule Salazar said he had a few upcoming projects.

“... I have some interviews; one of them is with Thrasher Magazine, one of the most respected magazines out of San Francisco. I’m working with a TransWorld video part with Alien Workshop and then my next big film that will be a full blown project will be the Nike Skateboard film. I think I’m going to be in the third film of three.”

Since there were many kids that came to the event, I asked him what advice he would give them should they want to pursue skating as a profession of lifestyle.

Selection of Salazar (and other) Nike SB shoes (Image by: David Alvarez)

“One of the most important things that I’ve learned through my struggles is that every failure that’s happened to me really isn’t a failure; it’s just a learning experience. So whenever you encounter failure or a setback, don’t let it get to you. It’s just like a test… The rewards are limitless and you can always get what you want, you just have to have faith in yourself and don’t give up.”

Salazar is a young man with a bright future. The support he gets from his family is tremendous and he is always surrounding himself with good friends who are helping him achieve his dreams.

Window display (Image by: David Alvarez)

Fans are a big part of his success and he shows his appreciation by attending events such as these to show how much he values their support.

Sacramento makes an impact on many young professionals like Salazar, and they in turn are proud to call Sacramento their home. It’s always great to see Sacramento fans show their support, and Friday night they were at PLA to enjoy the company of one of their shining stars.