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 …
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 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 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, …
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 …
Today’s street skateboarding is a far cry from the pool-influenced riding of the 1970s from which it was spawned, and the Gonz had a lot to do with that. Mark Gonzales, the pioneering and consequently obliterating ripper of all oncoming terrain, subject to the variables in which he chose to place before his path, naturally, didn’t set out to …
Find Eric on Social Media As one traces the evolution of modern street skating from its earliest foundation to the unbelievable heights to which it has risen, Eric Koston has served as a constant innovator each step of the way. Since turning pro in 1992, Eric Koston has remained unfadeable in a cut-throat contest capacity …
Find Steve on Social Media Hailing from San Jose, California, Steve Caballero joined the Bones Brigade in 1979, after being discovered by Stacy Peralta. (In fact, Cab is still with Powell-Peralta today). No one else in the industry has remained with their original sponsor for nearly as long.) In 1980, Steve turned pro and was …
Find Danny on Social Media Danny Way started skateboarding at age six at the Del Mar Skateboard Ranch. By 11, he won the first contest he ever entered. Since then, Danny has been pushing boundaries, shattering records, and progressing the sport like very few others in the game. Growing up in Vista, California with his …
Find Tony on Social Media Tony Hawk was nine years old when his brother changed all of our lives by giving him a blue fiberglass Bahne banana board. Before skateboarding, Hawk was a self-described nightmare. “Instead of the terrible twos, I was the terrible youth,” he said. “I was a hyper, rail thin geek on …
