Words: Ozzie Ausband
Photos: Ozzie Ausband/Deville Nunes
Video: Peter King

It was a Saturday morning. Cam Dowse was coming out to ride pools with Brandon, KB and I. He asked about bringing this young guy along who had just moved here from Colorado. Cam had moved to southern California from Colorado himself and rode with this guy coming up… his name was Al Brunelle. We drove out into the windy desert. The wind turbines near Palm Springs spun lazily in the afternoon breeze. They looked like strange giants… whirling and purposeful. We laughed and talked about pools. We educated our young ‘Padowan Learner’. Al is a tall dude! He’s over six feet tall and he reminded me of a young Neil Blender. We cleaned out our first pool and quickly got into her. Al startled me. He pushed in and did a stand up 5-0 on the facewall right off the mark. After that, ollies, disasters, and other tricks flowed out of him with apparent ease and style.

I was stoked. It is unusual to see someone –virtually unknown–with such raw natural talent and Al definitely has it! A few weeks later, I took Al along with me to a few pool sessions and introduced him around. He is always nice, humble and a stand-out out in every session. I recently had him come along to a Powell Peralta team photo session so that he could meet the guys and ride with some fantastic skaters. Al didn’t disappoint. He lit it up and the energy and vibe of the session was enhanced. At the Vans Am contest, Al brought home a well-deserved 2nd Place finish and we are all stoked for him. He is now on Powell Peralta Flow Team and has been riding heavily with some of skateboardings best. Congratulations Al. We are glad that you are here! Thanks to Cam Dowse and Glen Charnoski for schooling the kid! Thanks to Deville Nunes for the image and Peter King for the video. Skate- Ozzie