Gerard Ravel’s ‘Duel at Diablo’ joins Smithsonian video collection
by Elka Worner Long before skateboarding videos clogged YouTube or action sports clips racked up millions of views on Instagram, Hermosa Beach resident Gerard Ravel was hustling VHS tapes out of his cramped garage, shipping his skate videos to video rental stores across the country. Now, those same tapes, once tucked onto the shelves of mom-and-pop video stores, are headed for a much bigger stage, the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian’s sports history department has requested Ravel’s collection of iconic skateboard videos — titles including “Duel at Diablo,” “Streetstyle in Tempe,” “Ohio Skateout” — to be preserved in the museum’s archives, cementing their place not just in skateboarding history, but in the broader story of American sports and culture. The VHS cover for “Duel at Diablo,” featuring legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk. The video has been accepted by the Smithsonian sports history archives. Image courtesy of Gerard Ravel For Ravel, it’s both humbling and surreal. “I’ve gotten into more trouble, ran from more cops, and hopped more fences when I was shooting skate videos than I did when I traveled the world in my VW van in the ’60s,” he said. “Now they want them in…
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