The pioneering vert skater Allen Losi has been struck with CRPS - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - and is in need of your help to further his treatments. Please read below and help in any way you can...
Ollie the channel at Pete Finlan's ramp. Photo: Grant Brittain
When skateboarding had nearly disappeared in the early 1980s, Allen Losi was one of the young pros who stuck with it. He pushed the technical limits, and helped reinvent skateboarding for a new generation, which included many of us who were inspired by him; and the Friends Of Losi have now come together to help Al in his time of need.
It was on a foundation of technical vert skating pioneered by Al, his Variflex teammate Eddie Elguera, Tony Hawk, and others that skateboarding re-emerged and was re-invented in the ’80s. Throughout the decade, Al was at the forefront of the scene, continuing to push skateboarding’s limits and promote it around the world. Al’s on-board exploits were well documented in the pages and on the covers of Thrasher and TransWorld Skateboarding, and in 2018 earned him an induction to the Skateboarding Hall Of Fame.
Layback air at Del Mar. Photo: Grant Brittain.
This pioneer, who was once among the best skaters in the world, has been debilitated by CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System that has him fighting to manage intense chronic pain. While CRPS is usually limited to ones limbs, Al has full body Type-2 CRPS, so every cell in his body is affected.
After being accepted for a new experimental treatment, Al's doctors believe that he is on the verge of a technological and medical breakthrough. A new treatment has shown extreme promise in cases just like Al’s. With this highly specialised therapy, and his complete commitment, he may be able to find a better quality of life. But maintaining his insurance and facing thousands of dollars in costs for these therapies and other uncovered medications have proven too much for Al to do alone.
Since 2012, Al has so far spent over $350,000 on just medical bills, liquidating everything he owned, including his life insurance policy.
Ollie to fakie on Pete Finlan's ramp. Photo: Grant Brittain.
With the specter of gaining control of his condition, he is determined to improve to a degree that allows him to resume regular work and even get back on his skateboard, to relish the sensation of rolling and flowing - perhaps not as he once did, but enough to experience the stoke once again.
The skateboarding we love and enjoy today has its roots in the innovations that Al and his generation contributed. This GoFundMe campaign is an opportunity to show our gratitude for Al’s contributions to skateboarding, and the rich experience it’s been for all of us, and to help him return to a thriving and sustained quality of life.
Grosso's Loveletters: Allen Losi (2012)
Join the Friends Of Losi in supporting Al by doing one or more of the following:
Buy the limited edition Losi Ooze board. Created by Paul Schmitt, only 230 of this special Friends Of Losi edition have been made, and each one is signed by Allen Losi. These will be available at https://socalskateshop.com/ and https://www.oldskullskateboards.com/ and from Allen himself in the next 7-10 days
Contribute to the Friends Of Losi GoFundMe campaign. All proceeds go straight to Al, and this is an opportunity to show our gratitude for his contributions to skateboarding and the rich experience it’s been for all of us. Give and help him return to a thriving and sustained quality of life.
Share the links to both the Limited Edition Losi decks and the Friends Of Losi GoFundMe campaign with your friends and followers, and let them know you bought a deck or contributed to the campaign—or both!
A properly executed Losi grind, Del Mar. Photo: Grant Brittain.
Website: https://helplosi.com/