KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville skaters, old and young alike, came to pay there their respects to the late Knoxville skate legend, Jay Cabler at the skate park on Friday.
In 1983, Jay gained national fame when he was featured in Thrasher Magazine, a pinnacle sign of success in the skating world.
"[The] Knoxville skate scene owes a lot to him and everything he has done for us and skateboarding in general," Nate Holder, a friend of Jay Cabler, said. "Not only that, but he also ripped! He was a hell of a skateboarder."
Jay was also responsible for raising funds and awareness for Knoxville's first public skate park, which opened in 2008, a place where he wanted to be welcoming to everyone.
"He was always cheering you on and always saying 'Go, go, go!' No matter how young or old you were," Holder said. "I always felt insufficient, but Jay would always make you feel a part of the scene and important no matter your level."
As Jay's lifelong friends remembered him, there is one central thing that kept this friend group together for over 40 years.
"Here we are, all older and still together because of one thing, skateboarding and getting rad and having fun but mainly it was riding skateboards with my friends," Colonel Bucchus, a friend of Jay, said.