He didn’t live in Pacific Beach at the time, but years back, he did his residency at the San Diego Naval Hospital during the Vietnam War. John Kitchin (his real name) saw his health deteriorating, he realized he had an opportunity to start over and pursue what he truly wanted in life.

On the surface this sounds like a pretty good life, but when Dr. Along the way, he acquired a lot of toys including a mansion, Ferrari and a collection of exotic animals. Most people will find it hard to believe that Slomo is a former neurologist, and a very successful one at that.įor 25 years, he worked away at his job, while his personal fulfillment queue slowly dwindled down to nothing. “It transformed the introverted man into a celebrity,” chuckles Slomo.

His biggest claim to fame, as far as we know, is giving Slomo his famous name. He’d been shot in the head, which left him almost crippled, and he passed his time drowning at the bottom of a bottle. At that time, there were mostly “drunks and crazies,” and “The Creator” falls into both those categories. He tells me that when he started skating, he spent a lot of time on The Boardwalk at night. “ ‘The Creator’ gave me my name,” says Slomo. Every day for the past 20 years, he skates up and down the PB Boardwalk while listening to music that maestros a euphoric symphony of motions from his body, moving at the speed of slow motion. The man behind Slomo deserves an introduction like a comic book character. He claims he was made like Batman, “desolate in the streets,” and we know him by his famous name: Slomo. The man in his early-70s is as jubilant as a kid in a candystore flying down The Boardwalk on rollerblades with arms outstretched like wings, and one foot in the air like a tail. He’s a loner in our midst, carrying out his mission right before our eyes seemingly without a worry in the world, and a smile the size of a piano keyboard. He glides down the PB Boardwalk capturing the imagination of children, the hearts of adults and odd glares from those who don’t know of him.

Pacific Beachers, please take a minute to meet your neighbor, Slomo. Some you may know and some you will discover. Pacific Beach has its share of characters.

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