Tony Alva

Tony Alva (born September 2, 1957) is one of the original Z-Boys and is considered to be one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He is Professional Skateboarding's first World Champion in history. He won this title in 1977. He was born in Santa Monica, California and comes from a Mexican-American family. The level of aggression with which Alva skated was in stark contrast to the traditional style of the era which was still based ar... more

Tony Alva (born September 2, 1957) is one of the original Z-Boys and is considered to be one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He is Professional Skateboarding's first World Champion in history. He won this title in 1977. He was born in Santa Monica, California and comes from a Mexican-American family. The level of aggression with which Alva skated was in stark contrast to the traditional style of the era which was still based around tricks formulated in the 1960s. Alva and the other Z-Boys were among the first to bring skating empty pools into the mainstream. In these early days, it was noted that Alva was hitting the lip so hard that he was actually taking off, hence Alva is often credited for the first recorded aerials, a frontside air, although Alva himself claimed that George Orton was the first to perform aerials (Skateboarder magazine, July, 1978). In 1977, at age nineteen, Alva shunned the major skate companies to form his own skateboard company, Alva Skates.... less