An original pioneering member of both the Makaha and Hobie teams, Brandon “Woody” Woodward was described by Danny Bearer in 2008 as “the youngest member of the Makaha and Hobie Skateboard Clubs. [He] was the most radical. His head was completely shaved. He was born to be wild and lawless. He was incredible to watch …
Follow Laura on Instagram Recruited to Logan Earth Ski by Danny Bearer at age 13 after winning first place in slalom and freestyle at a Steve’s South Bay contest in 1975, Laura Thornhill went on to become the second female skater ever to get her own signature model skateboard. After being taken under the wing …
As a lifelong skateboarder, snowboarder, and surfer, Tom Sims contributed a host of innovations, from building and marketing the first longboards for skateboarding in 1975 to designing the first laminated multiple-ply maple decks in ’77, built by a water-ski manufacturer. Tom is often referred to as the inventor of snowboarding based on having designed what …
Find NHS on Social Media Founded in 1973 by Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman, NHS, Inc. has grown into a veritable empire in skateboarding, consisting of a wide variety of brands, including Independent, Flip, Krux, Ricta, Mob Grip, Nor Cal Clothing, OJ Wheels, Creature, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Santa Cruz Surfboards, Santa Cruz Snowboards, …
Fittingly inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame the same year as his former Powell-Peralta teammate and fellow Floridian, Alan Gelfand, Rodney would be more than worthy of this honor for his adaptation of Gelfand’s vertical ollie to flatground alone. When Rodney innovated the freestyle ollie pop on flat ground in 1982, it became the …
Find Christian on Social Media After honing his skills with constant access to Marina del Rey Skatepark, which his father, Ivan, managed from the late 1970s to the early ’80s, Christian Hosoi got his first photo in Skateboarder magazine at age 11, and by age 14 turned pro for Sims. He then rose with the …
Find Alan on Social Media It is impossible to overstate the importance of the gift Alan Gelfand bestowed upon skateboarding when he cracked the world’s first Ollie in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1977. Much like a fluke mutation in the evolutionary process, Gelfand has consistently described the first occurrences of the “no-hands air” as an …
Find Devo on Social Media As skateboarding’s second wave kicked into gear during the late 1970s, key bands fueled the new direction of the counterculture. Chiefly among them, DEVO’s fast and jerky new sound fit perfectly, embodying the faster and looser style unchained by urethane, the Z-Boys low-to-the-ground style, and the aggressive edge they brought …
Find Wendy on Social Media The younger sister of Skateboarding Hall of Fame 2012 inductee Danny Bearer, Wendy Bearer Bull was the only female member of Larry Stevenson’s original Makaha Skateboard Team during the 1960s boom of “sidewalk surfing.” Later, Wendy was also a member of the original Hobie Skateboards and Surf team. Founded in …
A founding father of skateboarding photojournalism, Warren Bolster will always be remembered as the man who revived Skateboarder magazine in 1975. The only skateboard magazine printed nationally at the time, Skateboarder played a crucial role in spreading the message of the sport following its near death in the ’60s. Having grown up traveling the world …
