Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 7, 1946, Fausto Vitello’s influence on skateboarding could be deemed critical if only for his entrepreneurial role in co-founding Thrasher, Independent, and Deluxe Distribution. Having fled Argentina and the oppression of the Revolución Libertadora political regime with his family at age nine, Vitello was raised on Frederick Street in …
Open from 1977 to 1988, the Pipeline Skatepark in Upland, California, was one of the first and most legendary skateparks ever built. One of the few ’70s skateparks to survive into the late ’80s, it was also home to some of the most influential contests, video parts, and pros (from Steve Alba and Micke Alba …
After women like Laurie Turner, Wendy Bearer, and Patti McGee put cracks into skateboarding’s male dominated facade during the 1960s, a second wave of female skateboarders continued to fight gender stereotypes during the ’70s. Perhaps gaining the most exposure among them was freestyler Ellen Oneal, who, while riding for G&S from 1976 through ’80—appeared not …
Find Steve on Social Media Credited with introducing skateboarding to punk rock at the end of the 1970s, along with being the original tester of the Independent Stage 1 truck (which was released in ’78), and whose iconic Santa Cruz Checkerboard model became the first use of full-board graphics on seven-ply laminated maple, Steve Olson …
Find Jim on Social Media Born in 1958 in Venice, California, Jim Muir (aka Red Dog) first stepped on a skateboard in 1963 and would become a founding member of Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom, and CR Stecyk III’s Santa Monica–based Zephyr skate team, the Z-Boys, that exploded onto the scene at the Del Mar Nationals in …
Find Lance on Social Media Since starring in the first true skateboarding video, The Bones Brigade Video Show in 1984, then rising with the tide of the Powell-Peralta brand as it grew into the biggest company of the massive ’80s boom, launching and running The Firm, before finally landing at Flip and Nike SB, Lance …
Find Natas on Social Media Born in 1969 and raised in south Santa Monica, California, Natas, Kaupas along with Mark Gonzales, repurposed Rodney Mullen’s flatground Ollie and outright invented modern street skating. Ollies, kickflips, wall rides, handrails, and, of course, fire hydrants— all became realities through the critical years of 1984 through ’89 thanks to Natas. Originally …
During skateboarding’s first big boom in the 1960s, the majority of the coverage making its way into the mainstream media depicted a fad heavily slanted toward young men. A major exception to this occurred in May ’65 when ABC’s Wide World Of Sports decided to not only televise the 1965 American National Skateboard Championships in …
An original member of Larry Stevenson’s pioneering Makaha team (which was founded in 1963, and was itself essentially the first real skateboard exhibition team in history), Gregg Carroll joined fellow Skateboarding Hall of Fame members Danny Bearer, Wendy Bearer, Woody Woodward, and Bruce Logan along with John Fries, Scott Archer, Joey Saenz, George Tafton Jr., …
Find Grant on Social Media Skateboarding’s progression and culture have long been documented and, in turn, propelled forward by some of the best photographers on the planet. One of the most prolific and influential of those photographers would easily be J. Grant Brittain, who over three decades of shooting the sport’s biggest legends in some of …
