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Frontside invert. Frontside rock ’n’ roll. Fakie ollie. Rock to fakie. Fastplant to fakie. Air to fakie. Pop-a-rocker. Boardslide to fakie. Andrecht flip. And of course, the Elguerial. Creating any one of these key tricks would probably be enough to justify entry into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. In 2016, Eddie Elguera was inducted for all of them. Born on November 12, 1962, Eddie is a two-time world champion, one of the most prolific trick innovators of the late ’70s and early ’80s, and has served as a key mentor to everyone from Tony Hawk to Eric Koston.
Having borrowed a wooden Hobie board with clay wheels from his older brothers at the age of eight in 1970, by 1979 Eddie became the U.S. Amateur Skateboard Association champion for pool skating. By 1980, he had turned pro, won Skateboarder magazine’s “vertical skateboarder of the year” award, won the 1980 Gold Cup Series to notch back-to-back world champion titles, and with the help of his coach, Dale “Sausage Man” Smith, invented the aforementioned Elguerial—which won the “most spectacular new maneuver” award. After battling a substance abuse problem and converting to Christianity in 1983, Eddie would return full force to become a founding member of the influential H-Street brand, and now in his 50s he continues to be a threat at any masters division event.
