Tony Hawk might be one of the most famous “Tony's” in the World, but he might have never even become famous if it weren’t for Tony Alva and the Z-boys of Dogtown, California. Tony Alva was one of the first pioneers that turned skateboarding from a boring speed race on a narrow track to radical shredding in swimming pools… which would later turn into halfpipes, bowls and skateparks. Tony helped bring the vertical aspect to the skateboard world which is why skateboarding is so much fun today.
Tony and his friends were known as the Z-boys (the “Z” stands for Zeffers, a company that sponsored them in skateboard competitions). Before skate parks, half pipes and bowls were invented, Tony and the Z-boys would hop fences to get into neighbourhood swimming pools. Because there were many water droughts in California, all the swimming pools were very low on water. Tony and his pals would drain the pools with garbage cans and then skate in them until the owners came home from work.
Dropping into a swimming pool was a lot like dropping into a wave while surfing, so this style of skateboarding became the new substitute for surfers to do something when there were no waves. This new style of skateboarding gave horizontal skateboarding a new dimension… skateboarding was now vertical using the forces of gravity to generate power and speed and skateboarders everywhere wanted to ride walls of everything.
