Tony Alva Video | Skateboard Clips, Skateboarding Competitions and Interviews

Tony Alva (born September 2, 1957) is an American skateboarder most prominently known as one of the original members of Z-Boys skateboarding team. He is considered one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He was born in Santa Monica, California to Mexican-American parents. 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... MORE

Tony Alva (born September 2, 1957) is an American skateboarder most prominently known as one of the original members of Z-Boys skateboarding team. He is considered one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He was born in Santa Monica, California to Mexican-American parents. 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 hit the lip so hard that he caught air, 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. The same year he was voted 'skateboarder of the year' in Skateboarder Magazine's readers' poll and he set the Guinness World Record for barrel jumping. In 1977, at the age of 20, Tony Alva shunned the major skate companies to form his own, Alva Skates. It was the first company ever run and owned by a skateboarder, as well as being one of the first to use layered Canadian maple plywood in skate decks. LESS