The Powell Quicksilver skateboard has as a hard rock maple core, laminated with aluminum. The aluminum Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma and the yellow polyurethane wheels were a Powell design. George Powell designed and manufactured this board, which was used by Stacy Peralta, a pro skateboarder in 1977. The Quicksilver was the first deck Powell made and was a successful design, but the rapid changing market made it "out of style" less than a year after it was introduced. According to Powell, "the quicksilver utilizes very high strength 7000 series aluminum alloy skins very low elongation, epoxied to hard maple cores to achieve the best strength to weight ratio. The result was a deck that turned quicker than a fiber flex and was a little stronger and less resistant to breaking."
This honeycomb pool board was a revolutionary design by George Powell and was used by Stacy Peralta, one of the founding members of the Bones Brigade. It has a formed aluminum core with an aluminum honeycomb epoxy bonded with a filled, polyester close out. The polyurethane wheels, or Bones wheels, were also made by George Powell and the Tracker trucks were designed by Larry Balma. According to Powell, "the decks were changing monthly during this era and we had to accommodate the rapidly evolving style of skating, which quickly went from streets to ditches, to pools and skate parks. The aluminum skins were problematic because the skaters would drag the tails to slow down and that would grind them off to a razor-sharp high strength aluminum edge that was very dangerous if it hit someone. This led me to develop the Tail Bones and Nose Bones I made to protect the tips, and to experiment with lighter, better performing prototypes, of which the "Powell" you have is a prime example. It utilizes aluminum skins, aluminum honeycomb core, and epoxy to close out the edges. The wheel wells are post lamination formed by crushing the honeycomb in those areas, as this was a first, and we wanted to learn if we could get away with this shortcut to making them instead of much more expensive and time-consuming alternatives."
The National Skateboard Review was the first nationwide grass roots publication for local skaters. The Review included race results, interviews, skateboarding tips, safety lessons, skateboard related advertisements and black and white photographs of tricks, contests and skaters. This publication was written and published by Di Dootson, a slalom racer who began keeping times for the local races and decided a publication about the local competitions and skateboarding in general was needed. In 1975, Dootson skated at LaCosta with many influential people in the skate world including Frank Nasworthy, the designer of the urethane wheel; Dominy and Balma, the inventors of the wide truck; the Bahne Brothers, Caster, Gordon & Smith and Bobby Turner, all manufacturers of skateboard decks; Warren Bolster, the editor of Skateboarder Magazine; and O’Malley and Graham, the builders of Carlsbad Skate Park. They all did their R&D testing at LaCosta and their pros used Black Hill to improve their skills and test new products. The National Skateboard Review was created by Dootson and Peggy Turner, the wife of SummerSki designer Bobby Turner to update racers on their stats and provide information to other racers and skaters across the country. As publisher and editor of the National Skateboard Review, Dootson invited skaters to send in contest results, park news, skater news, legislation news, pro gossip and skateparks provided local information. The first advertisers were: G&S, Tracker Trucks, and Logan Earth Ski. Advertisers would get 100 copies of the newspaper to mail out with shipments to retailers across the country. NSR, as it was referred, was published monthly for the next three years. As Dootson explains, “By early 1979, the insurance industry had effectively closed many skateparks across the country. With the loss of skatepark retail shops to provide sales opportunities, manufacturers had to cut expenses. Ads to the NSR eventually dwindled. By summer, 1979, it was painfully clear the NSR days were numbered. I printed a farewell in the April/May, 1979 issue.”
This board was used by the donor, Mark Lake at the Surf Expo, 80s competition in Orlando, Florida in 2011. Lake began his pro skateboarding career at 19 with his first pro model deck by Flite Skateboards. In 1985 he began skating for Walker skateboards where he designed his unique 'Nightmare' board and in 1987 left to create his own company, Lake Skateboards. He has been competing throughout the country for the past 35 years.
The August 1999 edition of Skateboarding Magazine features a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarding Magazine or Transworld Skateboarding as it is known today has been a leader in the industry for over 30 years, created in response to Thrasher Magazine’s “skate and destroy” approach to skate culture. Larry Balma, founder of Tracker Trucks and co-creator of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine along with Peggy Cozen discussed these early beginnings in a 2003 Union-Tribune interview: "They were pretty harsh, sex and drugs and using four-letter words and all that and in the early '80s, the sport started growing and [Thrasher] wasn't the best magazine for young kids." This philosophy led to Cozen’s “skate and create” motto using professional photographers to document skating as both a sport and a lifestyle and using professional skaters to bring credibility to the mix. In 1997, Transworld was sold to Time Warner and a corporate mentality began to creep into the magazine’s pages which didn’t sit right with many of the original editors so they left and created their own publication, Skateboarder Mag. In March of 2013 Transworld became the largest selling skateboarding magazine in the world and was sold to GrindMedia in May of 2013. Former Skateboarder Magazine editor-in-chief, Jamie Owens joined the Transworld team and stated in an interview in an October 2013 Transworld that, "TWS‘ hallmark has always been amazing photography of the biggest names in skateboarding. Growing up with TransWorld meant I was always seeing the best skateboarding being done by the best skaters shot by the best photographers. That documentation of skateboarding is unsurpassed."
The Shaggo skateboard shown here was made by Strand skateboards and is made of wood laminate with layers of blue, gray and blond colored wood but it is the top surface of the Shaggo that makes it unique. The top of the board is covered with black, pink, white and silver shag carpet. The donor, Jeff Atkinson, is the maker of the board and found that carpet lessens vibration and makes for a smoother ride. This is marketed to younger riders that have a more recreational use in mind as the added weight and texture would weigh down the more serious competitive skater.
National Skateboard Review, Vol. 2, No. 11,(should be 12) March 1978
The National Skateboard Review was the first nationwide grass roots publication for local skaters. The Review included race results, interviews, skateboarding tips, safety lessons, skateboard related advertisements and black and white photographs of tricks, contests and skaters. This publication was written and published by Di Dootson, a slalom racer who began keeping times for the local races and decided a publication about the local competitions and skateboarding in general was needed. In 1975, Dootson skated at LaCosta with many influential people in the skate world including Frank Nasworthy, the designer of the urethane wheel; Dominy and Balma, the inventors of the wide truck; the Bahne Brothers, Caster, Gordon & Smith and Bobby Turner, all manufacturers of skateboard decks; Warren Bolster, the editor of Skateboarder Magazine; and O’Malley and Graham, the builders of Carlsbad Skate Park. They all did their R&D testing at LaCosta and their pros used Black Hill to improve their skills and test new products. The National Skateboard Review was created by Dootson and Peggy Turner, the wife of SummerSki designer Bobby Turner to update racers on their stats and provide information to other racers and skaters across the country. As publisher and editor of the National Skateboard Review, Dootson invited skaters to send in contest results, park news, skater news, legislation news, pro gossip and skateparks provided local information. The first advertisers were: G&S, Tracker Trucks, and Logan Earth Ski. Advertisers would get 100 copies of the newspaper to mail out with shipments to retailers across the country. NSR, as it was referred, was published monthly for the next three years. As Dootson explains, “By early 1979, the insurance industry had effectively closed many skateparks across the country. With the loss of skatepark retail shops to provide sales opportunities, manufacturers had to cut expenses. Ads to the NSR eventually dwindled. By summer, 1979, it was painfully clear the NSR days were numbered. I printed a farewell in the April/May, 1979 issue.”
These racing leathers were worn by George Orton during his street luge and downhill racing career. Orton began skateboarding in the early 1970s and is credited with assisting Tony Alva in creating the front side air, the first vertical aerial move in pool skating which paved the way for new tricks to develop above the coping ledge of the pool. Orton had a successful career as a pool and half pipe skater but retired from skateboarding in the early 1980s. He returned in the late 1990s to begin his career as a street luge and downhill skater. Since his entrance into luge and downhill he has made a name for himself as the wearer of colorful helmets with his “eyeball” downhill helmet and his “shark” street luge helmet. He competed in the 1997 X-Games in San Diego as well as winning medals at the 2000 Gravity Games, the 1999 St. George Grand Prix and the 2000 Grand Prix X-Mass Luge.
September 1999 Skateboarding Magazine memorial tribute issue to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarding Magazine or Transworld Skateboarding as it is known today has been a leader in the industry for over 30 years, created in response to Thrasher Magazine’s “skate and destroy” approach to skate culture. Larry Balma, founder of Tracker Trucks and co-creator of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine along with Peggy Cozen discussed these early beginnings in a 2003 Union-Tribune interview: "They were pretty harsh, sex and drugs and using four-letter words and all that and in the early '80s, the sport started growing and [Thrasher] wasn't the best magazine for young kids." This philosophy led to Cozen’s “skate and create” motto using professional photographers to document skating as both a sport and a lifestyle and using professional skaters to bring credibility to the mix. In 1997, Transworld was sold to Time Warner and a corporate mentality began to creep into the magazine’s pages which didn’t sit right with many of the original editors so they left and created their own publication, Skateboarder Mag. In March of 2013 Transworld became the largest selling skateboarding magazine in the world and was sold to GrindMedia in May of 2013. Former Skateboarder Magazine editor-in-chief, Jamie Owens joined the Transworld team and stated in an interview in an October 2013 Transworld that, "TWS‘ hallmark has always been amazing photography of the biggest names in skateboarding. Growing up with TransWorld meant I was always seeing the best skateboarding being done by the best skaters shot by the best photographers. That documentation of skateboarding is unsurpassed."
Custom painted, fiberglass downhill skateboard helmet painted to resemble an eyeball was worn by George Orton during his downhill career. To show his sense of humor, Orton affixed a "Die Trying" sticker to the back of the helmet next to a drawing of a Band-Aid and "Just Send Me the Bill" handwritten underneath the Band-Aid. Orton began skateboarding in the early 1970s and is credited with assisting Tony Alva in creating the front side air, the first vertical aerial move in pool skating which paved the way for new tricks to develop above the coping ledge of the pool. Orton had a successful career as a pool and half pipe skater but retired from skateboarding in the early 1980s. He returned in the late 1990s to begin his career as a street luge and downhill skater. Since his entrance into luge and downhill he has made a name for himself as the wearer of colorful helmets with his “eyeball” downhill helmet and his “shark” street luge helmet. He competed in the 1997 X-Games in San Diego as well as winning medals at the 2000 Gravity Games, the 1999 St. George Grand Prix and the 2000 Grand Prix X-Mass Luge.
The 1990s style skateboard shown here was made by Paul Schmitt for, and ridden during, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson's Center Innoskate event in June of 2013. The deck is laminated wood with a wide deck, double kick tail and grip tape on the entire top surface of the board with indentations on the bottom of the board by each wheel for carving. The board is black with a white skull design with "90s" printed in black on the bottom of the skateboard. The colors and design were indicative to boards designed and used during the 1990s. The Independent trucks and Chris Haslam wheels are modern day. This is one of four boards designed by Paul Schmitt to show the evolution of the skateboard deck through the 1960 to the 1990s. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
Innoskate was a public festival presented by The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation during June of 2013. “Innoskate highlighted the contributions skate innovators made to society through demonstrations, hands-on education activities, public programs with inventors and innovators, and donations of objects to the national collections.”
The original Schmitt Stix Yard Stix, 36 Inch skateboard, shown here, was designed, made and used by Paul Schmitt. It is a laminated wood deck with black grip tape strips at the front and back, a kick tail and a rounded nose. The bottom surface resembles a yard stick with two black Schmitt Stix attached to each side and a rounded yellow Schmitt Stix attached to the nose of the board. Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
This September 1999 edition of Skateboarder Magazine featured a memorial tribute to skateboarder Tim Brauch who died suddenly from a childhood heart condition. Skateboarder Magazine was first published as The Quarterly Skateboarder in 1964 but was changed to Skateboarder Magazine in 1965. It was only published for another year before the first wave of skateboarding ended but began publishing again in 1977 with Warren Bolster as the editor. Bolster was a photographer who specialized in skateboard photography and made Skateboarder Magazine the ‘standard’ during the second wave of skateboarding in the mid-1970s. The publication went ‘on hiatus’ during the 1980s as skateboarding’s second wave came to an end but was relaunched in 1997 with guest editor Tony Hawk. This helped establish the magazine on a bi-monthly basis once again and it continued to be published until 2013 when Grind Media closed the magazine down permanently.
"Schmitt Stix - Chris Miller Model" skateboard deck created by Paul Schmitt. Chris Miller turned pro for G&S Skateboards in 1985 but began riding Schmitt boards in 1988. As Chris explains in an interview with Ride Channel, “My Schmitt board was famous for being the first board with an upturned nose that was long. It started that trend towards modern boards. I can't take credit for it. It was going to happen whether Schmitt did it or someone else. But the other side is that Schmitt did do it first. He came to me and said, “I have an idea for your new shape,” and it was about the mold and all that. At first, I didn’t like it aesthetically, but I was the first person to do backside lipslides on vert and I went from a G&S board with basically no nose—think about coming in from a backside lipslide, where you need a little nose to bring yourself in—to the Schmitt shape, and it was a game-changer for me. I loved that board, and we're only talking four or five inches of nose. If you look at it now, it's a tiny little nose, but then it was crazy-looking.” Miller went on to found Adio Footwear and Planet Earth Clothing, two companies that had a huge impact on the skate industry. Miller still rides and has consistently won the Dew Tour Legends Bowl Jam for the last few years.
Paul Schmitt, President of PS Stix, Inc., CreateASkate.org and The New Deal Skateboard Products, Inc. owns and operates one of the largest and most successful skateboard manufacturing companies in the United States and is known in the industry as 'Professor Schmitt’. For almost 30 years Schmitt’s companies have been considered an innovative leader in the design and the manufacture of high quality skateboards. Schmitt has been involved with many different brands throughout the skate world including Schmitt Stix, the New Deal and Element. His CreateASkate.org program started in 2004 and teaches kids from 5th to 12th grade how to build a skateboard while learning about math, science, physics and chemistry. The kids don’t even realize they are learning, they just know they walk away with a cool skateboard that they designed. Schmitt, a skater himself works with skaters and industry leaders to constantly transform the sport and is one of the most respected innovators in the skate industry.
The Power Edge Structure Chart is a two page document which breaks down skateboarding tricks into different categories. This is "Power Edge" magazine's maneuver chart which was published two years after Michael Hays developed his. It is slightly different and more accurate to actual connectivity between maneuvers but is interesting to compare to his original. The original was a ten page, handwritten document has descriptions of many different skateboarding tricks and the directions on how to execute them. These definitions were written by Michael Hays in preparation for the shooting of the "Street Survival" video. As Michael Hays explains, "One of the most complex issues to confront when teaching skateboarding is the highly unusual names for maneuvers. They are glossy and represent interesting cultural suggestive ideas, as opposed to giving the maneuvers actual scientific names, based on chronological roots." For instance a McTwist, created by Mike McGill is actually an aerial 540 degree flip but is easier remembered by the McTwist nickname which also ties it to its creator.
Red, white and blue fiberglass helmet worn by downhill skateboarder Guy 'Grundy' Spagnoli in 1975. Spagnoli wore this helmet during the first downhill skateboard contest hosted by the United States Skateboard Association on Signal Hill in which he set the first recorded Guinness Book Land Speed Record on a skateboard at 50.2 mph. Hill Street in Signal Hill, California was known for its 30 degree, stomach dropping incline and in 1975, became the perfect place to promote the first downhill skateboard race in the United States. Guy Grundy, a local surfer, was asked by race organizer, Jim O’Mahoney if he wanted to participate in this first race which was to be televised by the ABC television show, “The Guinness Book of World Records”. As a pro surfer Grundy knew this could be a dangerous event so he prepared accordingly, buying race leathers and a helmet. The other racers had shown up in shorts and T-shirts but once they saw the steep hill backed out of the race for fear of injury. The only other contestant fell and dislocated his shoulder leaving Spagnoli to complete his run and enter the history books and the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest man on a skateboard. Signal Hill would also break ground by allowing women to compete in the downhill competitions and witnessed the advent of the ‘skate-car’. These were gravity defying machines that proved more dangerous than the stand-up downhill boards due to their construction which made them difficult to stop at the speeds that they generated down the steep incline of Signal Hill. The Signal Hill Speed Runs would reign supreme for the next four years before countless wrecks, gruesome injuries and a couple of near death accidents would shut the races down.
The National Skateboard Review was the first nationwide grass roots publication for local skaters. The Review included race results, interviews, skateboarding tips, safety lessons, skateboard related advertisements and black and white photographs of tricks, contests and skaters. This publication was written and published by Di Dootson, a slalom racer who began keeping times for the local races and decided a publication about the local competitions and skateboarding in general was needed. In 1975, Dootson skated at LaCosta with many influential people in the skate world including Frank Nasworthy, the designer of the urethane wheel; Dominy and Balma, the inventors of the wide truck; the Bahne Brothers, Caster, Gordon & Smith and Bobby Turner, all manufacturers of skateboard decks; Warren Bolster, the editor of Skateboarder Magazine; and O’Malley and Graham, the builders of Carlsbad Skate Park. They all did their R&D testing at LaCosta and their pros used Black Hill to improve their skills and test new products. The National Skateboard Review was created by Dootson and Peggy Turner, the wife of SummerSki designer Bobby Turner to update racers on their stats and provide information to other racers and skaters across the country. As publisher and editor of the National Skateboard Review, Dootson invited skaters to send in contest results, park news, skater news, legislation news, pro gossip and skateparks provided local information. The first advertisers were: G&S, Tracker Trucks, and Logan Earth Ski. Advertisers would get 100 copies of the newspaper to mail out with shipments to retailers across the country. NSR, as it was referred, was published monthly for the next three years. As Dootson explains, “By early 1979, the insurance industry had effectively closed many skateparks across the country. With the loss of skatepark retail shops to provide sales opportunities, manufacturers had to cut expenses. Ads to the NSR eventually dwindled. By summer, 1979, it was painfully clear the NSR days were numbered. I printed a farewell in the April/May, 1979 issue.”
This is an original 1970s release of the Logan Earth Ski, Bruce Logan World Pro Champion model. A member of the first family of skate, Bruce Logan began skating in 1959 at the age of 8 with his older brother Brian. Together, they created the South Bay Skateboard Club with a few other skaters and while they had t-shirts and jackets printed, they had no sponsors. In 1964, when skateboarding was becoming more popular, the Logan boys got an official sponsor through the Bing Surfboard shop located down the street from their house. Now the Bing Skateboard Team, they competed with a few other skate teams on the local tv show Surf's Up with Stan Richards. Normally a surfing show, Richards featured skateboarding during one episode which is one of the first times skateboarding appeared on television. The Bing team earned second place behind the Hobie team.
A founding member of the Makaha Skate team as well, Bruce went on to compete from 1965 to 1975 winning most every freestyle competition that he entered along with many slalom events. In 1975, the Logans, with an assist from their mother Barbara, went on to start the family business of Logan Earth Ski (LES). Entering the skate business just at the time the urethane wheel made its debut, LES made their boards out of solid oak, laminated and exotic woods, with and without kicktails. Using their family members and some of the top skaters of the era to populate their skate team, LES became one of the most popular and sought-after boards of the mid-1970s. Bruce and Robin Logan, Jay Adams, Laura Thornhill, Tony Alva and Torger Johnson were only a few of the skaters that put LES on the map. The company thrived under the leadership of Barbara and Brian until 1980 when the company folded due to slow sales during the second skateboarding bust. Robin Logan has recently began selling Logan Earth Ski boards again and has created another LES skate team competing since 2022.
This black ink drawing on white Bristol board was drawn by Cindy Whitehead while designing her "Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word" skateboard. The drawings were an important part of the creative process and demonstrate Whitehead’s creative ability as well as her distinctive style. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” brand which includes Cindy’s original art work. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a centerfold in a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, a job title she also created. Whitehead is especially supportive of young female skaters through her “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” skate team and her products which are geared towards women and girls. Whitehead’s signature phrase printed in gold on many of the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” products personifies her independent spirit, "Live life balls to the wall. Do epic shit. Take every dare that comes your way. You can sleep when you’re dead."
This water color painting on white Bristol board was drawn by Cindy Whitehead while designing her "Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word" skateboard. The drawings were an important part of the creative process and demonstrate Whitehead’s creative ability as well as her distinctive style. Whitehead used her skate background to create the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” brand which includes Cindy’s original art work. Whitehead began skateboarding at age 15 and had turned pro by the time she was 17, something girls were not doing in the mid-1970s. She became one of the only girls skating both pool and half pipe and is the only girl ever to be featured in a two page article with a centerfold in a skateboarding magazine. Whitehead retired from skateboarding at 22 but still skates and has remained in the sports arena as a sport stylist, a job title she also created. Whitehead is especially supportive of young female skaters through her “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” skate team and her products which are geared towards women and girls. Whitehead’s signature phrase printed in gold on many of the “Girl Is Not A 4 Letter Word” products personifies her independent spirit, "Live life balls to the wall. Do epic shit. Take every dare that comes your way. You can sleep when you’re dead."