In the mid-70s, surfers from Venice-Santa Monica who hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop would skateboard when the surf was quiet. Over the course of a few heady years, riding on polyurethane wheels and copying the surfing moves of Larry Bertleman, the Z-Boys invent and polish their style on a hilly street near the shop, on the asphalt slopes ringing school playgrounds, and then in swimming pools empty during California's drought. The Z-Boys astound upright skateboarders at the 1975 championship in Del Mar. Within a year, the team splinters as some players join better financed pro teams. The film ends with profiles of the stars, Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta, and Tony Alva.