Skateboarding history is usually written in concrete, but for Jeremy Wray, it was written 40 feet in the air on weathered steel. It was 1997. If you were a skater then, you remember the November cover of Thrasher. It didn’t look real. It looked like a photoshop job before people really knew what Photoshop was.
Two massive blue water towers in Rowland Heights, California. One guy in a white tee, caught mid-air, floating between them. No safety nets. No harnesses. Just a 16-foot gap of empty space and a very long drop to the pavement below.
Honestly, the Jeremy Wray water tower jump is probably the most terrifying thing ever committed to film on a skateboard. It wasn’t a contest trick. It wasn’t for a gold medal. It was just a guy who saw a gap and couldn't stop thinking about it.
The Day Everything Almost Went Wrong
You’ve got to understand the headspace Jeremy was in. This wasn't a planned "mega-stunt." In fact, he was actually filming for the Transworld "Starting Point" video that day. He was doing basic flatground tricks. But the towers had been haunting him. He'd drive past them all the time.
He eventually called up legendary photographer Daniel Harold Sturt. Most photographers would have said "no way," but Sturt was different. He was the kind of guy who’d help you document your own demise if the lighting was right.
The logistics were sketchy at best.
To even get up there, they had to scale a fire escape. Jeremy had to do a Jackie Chan-style wall run just to grab the bottom rung of the ladder. They hauled the gear up. Ty Evans was there to film it for 411 Video Magazine.
Sturt didn't just bring a camera. He brought a cell phone and had 911 pre-dialed. He told Jeremy that if he fell, he was just going to hit "send" and then start taking pictures. Talk about pressure.
16 Feet Of Pure Terror
When you stand on top of a water tower, your eyes play tricks on you. Jeremy has described it as an optical illusion. Because you’re looking down at such a sharp angle, the distance feels even further than it is.
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The gap was about 16 feet flat-to-flat.
To put that in perspective, Jeremy had already ollied 19.5 feet on flat ground in the Color video. So, he knew he had the distance. But on flat ground, if you mess up, you just get a scraped knee. Here, if you miss, you’re done.
There was no room for a "test" run.
Every time he wanted to try it, he had to toss his board across the gap first. He’d watch it tumble through the air, hoping it landed wheels-up so it wouldn't roll off the other side. Then he had to run and jump across the gap without the board. Jeremy actually said that jumping across the gap on his feet was scarier than the ollie itself.
The Broken Board
On the fourth attempt, he actually made it over but leaned too far back. The board shot out from under him.
The deck went sailing off the side of the tower.
It hit the ground 40 feet below and sustained a massive chip in the tail. Most people would have taken that as a sign from the universe to go home. Jeremy didn't. He retrieved the board, stomped on the tail to flatten out the wood as much as he could, and decided to go "as fast as humanly possible."
On the fifth try, he landed it. Clean.
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He hopped over the little safety railing on the second tower, looked down, and saw a cop car waiting at the red light right next to the towers. They packed up and dipped immediately.
Why Nobody Has Touched It Since
It’s been nearly 30 years. In that time, skateboarding has evolved into an Olympic sport. Kids are doing 1080s and backflipping over mega-ramps. Yet, the water tower gap remains untouched.
Why? Because there’s no "upside" to it.
It’s a "death or glory" spot. If you make it, you’re just the second person to do it. If you miss, you’re a headline.
Jeremy himself wanted to go back. He genuinely thought he could back-side 180 it or even kickflip it. He felt that if the ollie was possible, the flip was just a matter of timing. But that window eventually closed. The towers are still there in Rowland Heights, but the access has changed, and the legendary status of the spot makes it a heavy burden for anyone else to take on.
The Lasting Impact Of The Water Tower Ollie
This single trick changed how people viewed street skating. It took it out of the "parking lot" and into the realm of extreme architectural conquest.
- The Gear: He did this on 40mm wheels. Think about that. Those are tiny, hard wheels that catch on every pebble.
- The Speed: To clear 16 feet on flat-to-flat, you need terrifying speed. On a roof that isn't exactly a skatepark.
- The Media: The 411 footage and the Thrasher cover created a mythos that survived the transition from VHS to YouTube.
Most people don't realize that after he landed it, he just went back to filming flatground. He didn't go to a bar. He didn't celebrate. He just treated it like another day at the office. That’s the most "Jeremy Wray" part of the whole story.
Actionable Insights For The Brave
If you're a skater looking at gaps that scare you, there's a lot to learn from the Jeremy Wray water tower session:
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Check the surface. Jeremy’s biggest fear wasn't the height; it was hitting a pebble right before the pop. Always sweep your runway.
Mind the "optical illusion." When you're up high, gaps look bigger. Trust your measurements, not your eyes. If you can ollie a 10-foot grass gap, you can ollie a 10-foot roof gap. The physics don't change just because the height does.
Know when to commit. After his board broke, he knew he only had one more real shot before his nerves or the equipment gave out. If you’re getting tired and the "vibe" feels sketchy, walk away. Jeremy only stayed because he was 100% sure he had the speed.
Measure your "flatground max." Before you ever take a trick to a high-stakes spot, you should know exactly how far you can jump on flat. Jeremy knew he had a 19-foot ollie in his pocket, so a 16-foot gap was technically "easy" for him. Never try a "death gap" that is at the absolute limit of your physical ability. Leave yourself a buffer.
The water towers stand today as a monument to a specific era of skating—one where the only thing that mattered was the photo and the feeling of not falling.
Go watch the original 411 footage again. Pay attention to the sound of the wind. It reminds you just how lonely it is at the top of those tanks.
To dive deeper into 90s skate lore, look up Daniel Harold Sturt’s photography archives. His work with Jeremy Wray and Matt Hensley defined the visual language of modern skateboarding. If you want to see the towers yourself, they are located near Fullerton Road in Rowland Heights, but don't expect to find an open gate. They’ve been locked down tight for years, partly because of the legend Jeremy created.