HOW TONY ALVA CREATED MODERN SKATEBOARDING

In the mid to late 70's, Tony Alva, influenced by the new, aggressive Hawaiian and Australian surfing style, brought a radically new and powerful surf style to skateboarding, and when he started busting frontside airs in backyard pools, created the blueprint for modern skateboarding.
Today, Alva still resides in Los Angeles, California. The O.G. skateboarder, surfer, entrepreneur, musician, and artist is the pioneer of vertical skateboarding and one of the original members of the Dogtown and Z-Boyz, and considering his contributions and impact to the sport/art/discipline and his longevity, makes him perhaps the Most Influential Skateboarder Of All Time.
T.A. was born September 2, 1957, in Santa Monica, California, to Dutch and Mexican-American parents. He first began surfing and skateboarding around 1967 at the age of 10.
His skill, style and charisma has set him apart for decades, to this day.
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Music:
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#realskatestories #tonyalva #skatehistory

[@corporalclegg914]

this channel is just plain BadAss. there’s no spam, over-reaching erroneous BS or clickbaity content…it’s all about Skateboarding’s bio-history & nothing else. to us old skool dudes, it’s badass to see our childhood inspiratory heroes doing things we never got to see on TV. we had to read about it with still pic sequences to reference. skating was its own subculture that found us, not a fad that we found. these video clips weren’t available across the country or globe, as they are now. so, much of what we see here was mostly lore to us outside of Cali. thank you for spending the time to tell this story through these uploads. it seems like this is the best time to be alive as a skater. skateparks are everywhere, pro equipment is available to anyone & skating is recognized for the amazing interest (not sport or game) that it always has been to us that became afflicted. thanks again.

[@luisreynoso4773]

Im huge fan ! Tony is and was my inspiration over the years , I’m 62 , from Mexico City and I was profesional skater in my town , the way he streak was the future! I’m pretty proud of his legacy and like him , I’m trying to pass the knowledge to the kids ! Skate is a wey of life! And whit style is much better! Congrats my dear Tony !

[@PaulMorales-y8k]

So Rad, lovin' this video, NorCal boy here .. same era!

[@MelissaMintz]

Fantastic Video!! Thank you for this!!

[@zachb1494]

Nice work on video. The progression from this period into the 1980s is insane. To now!

[@evrgreen_69]

💯% Pure Alva 4L...Thank you Tony Alva💯

[@bricemenaugh4828]

Style is everything!!! I could watch Alva all day. Can't say the same thing about the modern scene.

[@xxxthetruthxxx4765]

there are still guys out there - or have been out there recently - who have great style and are just fun to watch. heath kirchart (retired), dylan rieder (rip), chris wimer, tom karangelov, tom knox, austyn gillette, kevin spanky long, jim greco (yes, especially "old" greco), bobby de keyzer, louie lopez... there are certainly even more, but these are the ones that popped into my head. just don´t go by what thrasher keeps pumping out on a daily basis.

[@handywithshovels]

I believe he is also in recovery, too. Anyway, really great vid. It’s remarkable that footage exists from those early days. 👍

[@nocturnalron69]

The Alva team were the first pros I ever saw at the WLA Courthouse in 87'. Alva also lived 1 block away from the courthouse at the time, and we bought boards from him for 20$. It still shock's me I was in Tony Alvas house at age 12 buying skateboards while petting his 5 cats. Wild

[@namesurname8423]

I was crying and smiling for 12 minutes

[@ryanrowe1975]

Good video

[@michaelpanagiotis7109]

Tony wiLL aLways give it everything He's Got . . .

[@user-sx6wt6dp3z]

🐐. Witnessed T.A. at the skatepark one time and he was charging it harder than people half his age. It was incredible to see. He's the ultimate, untouchable style master and rides for the love and not for the show. Tough. 🔥🏄‍♂🛹

[@Niyahalę]

This channel is necessary

[@gloriahancock8358]

Mad dog!!!!!!

[@henrythomas2547]

TxAx 4 LIFE ! 🤘😎🤘❗

[@leehenderson8132]

Let me tell you I was around skating then in all the places they skated.Jay,Tony,Tony H. It took all of us.NOT ONE GUY.THE BEST HAS PAST ON.RIP JAYBOY.

[@RealSkateStories]

So many great skaters before during and after but the game was changed when ONE GUY started landing fat airs in backyard pools.

[@doisp1]

The band/song from 2:45 to 3:45 ?

[@kashimayuki]

Soviet Jazz-Funk (Modo & Mikhail Vayner 1976 live)

[@doisp1]

Thanks

[@OliverBarganier]

You people are late to the fight, Dog town skate created this skate shit. Getting what we called vert was all about Tony Alva aka mad dog, ya feel me. Tony hawk wasn't even born, well maybe but these boys from Santa Monica was the first air borne vertical pipe and pool riders. Man am talking real back yard pools at abandoned houses. You had to have game to enter a backyard skate party where mad dog skated at dude. Let's be real Tony Alva aka mad dog was all over skate board magazine. They started the pool riding and getting vertical, over head hand plants. Let's give more credit to these Southern California dudes. It started not in the Gold Medal Olympics but in the backyards of abandoned houses. Man Tony Alva was straight street aka The Mad Dog dude, straight high times and skateboarder magazine. Check it and see, they were before his time and others got the glory!!! Tony Alva dude straight up, mad dog skates

[@RealSkateStories]

Late to the party? LOL. This video clearly states everything you say.

[@OliverBarganier]

@@RealSkateStories well I meant it for today's skater's I was thinking in my mind and ya right, from people but I was voicing my anger and went to KZbin and not thinking about where I should have voiced it. Lol, my bad

[@RealSkateStories]

@@OliverBarganier I feel ya

[@the_laybacks]

If this style of skating is not your thing, or if you are a techy skater, that is fine. But to not know and appreciate this history is extremely disrespectful.

[@bricemenaugh4828]

This is the pure essence of skating. To me the tech stuff is cool, but it's not the essence of skating. You can be a great tech skater but not a great skater in the purest since. Trust me, I see it a lot.

[@the_laybacks]

@@bricemenaugh4828 I know what you mean. It’s like, yeah you can do techy tricks and skate a total of 15ft. But can you actually maneuver yourself on a skateboard around a bowl, big ramps, the streets, or whatever the case may be.

[@NoBody-tz4fb]

Yea for sure, but us street tech skaters are what made it an Olympic sport. This solidified skating forever.

@@NoBody-tz4fbexactly you made it a sport. Congrats.

[@Kenny-t6j]

​Being in the Olympics didn't solidify shit to the real soul skater. It was solidified here and the 80s

[@keithreynolds6359]

Loved the video. Click bait title sucks. Dude didn't say "I" or "me" once. Only "we" & "us". Kids these days will never understand. They have the parks & equipment on demand. They're technical af but not many have style. TA style for days

[@RealSurfStories]

Click bait? Dude invented airs. Skatebaording is way more tech than ever but still some really good steez out there ✌

[@agomodern]

Why does no one ride pools with that style anymore? They were carving the pool with such style and it's been lost for decades now. Maybe people should go back to these boards and revive what's been lost.

[@RealSkateStories]

We still ride 'em like this!!

[@agomodern]

@@RealSkateStories Not sure why you are screaming, but anyway, I should have put the timestamp of what I was referring to. Maybe they were just glamorized shots, but yes, the style of the board makes a huge difference.

[@RealSkateStories]

@@agomodern Screaming? Timestamp? 🤣Carving lines in pools started in the 70's and we still do that on all sizes of boards!

[@bricemenaugh4828]

I still ride boards like this... I have 1977 Alva deck and some other Alva decks. I love my Penny 27" as well. Just some style skating is what I'm about.

[@agomodern]

@@bricemenaugh4828 At least someone understands what I'm talking about. Style of board influences the style of skating. Seems kind of obvious to me.

[@SlickWilly79]

Pure tech is lame- to draw a musical comparison, BB King has more passion and soul in one note than Steve Vai going widdly widdly all day

[@RealSkateStories]

That seems like a difficult comparison. The skating of Steve Olson is equally as fascinating as Jeff Dechesare...opposite ends of the spectrum and impossible to compare. All styles of skateboarding are delightful.

[@pjb4653]

Pretty sure he had some help

[@RealSkateStories]

Definitely, but landing the first airs he did by himself. The rest is history!

[@Matt-zx6zn]

Skating is fracturing again. Flip tricks VS real skating.

[@RealSkateStories]

I love the way a lot of the best current crop combine it all. So rad!

[@fernandodean-yj9jv]

Is actually merging imo, watch guys like Pedro Barros, stylish dogtown slashes, 540s and heelflip indies in the same runs.

[@skater_scott]

T.A? D.P? or Gonz?

[@RealSkateStories]

Who of these three invented airs?

[@skater_scott]

@RealSkateStories and the answer, of course, is T.A. These are my favorite skaters and I'm just seeing what people might say.

[@CIWise]

@@RealSkateStories The question is flawed. First of all, who says I should pick only one?! Though even if there was a reason to pick one, you're comparing apples and oranges. Muhammad Ali said as much when asked how he would do against past greats like Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Dempsey, and so on. He said the eras are completely different: you can't compare. And I agree. Sure, I'd pick Gonz, because I'm from the mid to late 80s. But Gonz first rode for Alva, so what's that say? And, to anyone who got a problem with what I said: "Beat it, ya val jerk!" 😉

[@RealSurfStories]

@@CIWise No need to pick. It was all captured on film. 🤙

[@eaglebauer944]

Gunnar Haugo.

[@HellomuSic1296]

He was street surfing. Not once have i seen him 360 flip or krooked grind. So thats a no for me on alva making modern skating.

[@RealSkateStories]

He was street surfing until he did frontside airs out of a pool and modern skateboarding was born.

[@HellomuSic1296]

@@RealSkateStories yeah can't forget about those stinkbugs.

[@RealSkateStories]

@@HellomuSic1296 Definitely a major bonus that the first airs ever were ultra stylish tuck knees 💯

[@diabolical1976]

While I can appreciate the old guy nostalgia Tony contributed, but everyone knows it was Gonz that propelled what you see in "modern skateboarding". Even Hawk was ripping harder than Alva when he was 13🤷‍♂️

[@RealSurfStories]

Alva invented airs.

[@eaglebauer944]

@@diabolical1976 Modern skateboarding didn't start with Gonz or Hawk. If it weren't for Alva, Gonz wouldn't even skate. He stated several times that TA sparked the fire in him.

[@Kenny-t6j]

Without Alva there's no Hawk and Gonz. Danny Way was ripping harder than Hawk at 12. 🤷‍♂️ Progression is a cycle and it has to start somewhere

[@fernandodean-yj9jv]

Gonz is quoted that he started to skateboard because his female cousin said Alva was 'hot', so even if Gonz started to do modern tricks on street, it all draws back to Alva, respect to the OG's my guy

[@eksit101]

Staci killed the sport. Wasn't ever supposed to be what it became.

[@fernandodean-yj9jv]

He wanted it to be like little baseball league while ALVA crew was like a motorcycle gang on skateboards.

[@akatgif]

Link bait video title is nonsense

[@RealSkateStories]

Link bait? Dude invented airs. Watch and learn 📚

[@the_laybacks]

Did TA not create modern skateboarding?