Tony Alva

Tony Alva is an American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and musician who helped pioneer vertical skateboarding and was an original member of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team, known as the Z-boys. Born in Santa Monica, California, he began surfing and skateboarding around 1967 and joined the Zephyr team in 1974 alongside Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. He brought a free-form surf style to skateboarding and is credited as the first to land a Frontside Air. He started working with Vans in 1974, helped design the off-the-wall skateboard shoe, and in 1977 founded Alva Skates, the first company owned and run by a skateboarder. He played bass in Skoundrelz, was later in an early Junkyard lineup, and formed G.F.P. in 2007. His screen appearances include Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) and Thrashin' (1986). He was the 1975 USSA World Invitational Skateboard Champion, was voted Skateboarder of the Year in a Skateboarder Magazine readers poll, and set a Guinness World Record for barrel jumping.