Alan "Ollie" Gelfand (born January 1, 1963) is an influential American skateboarder, racing driver, and entrepreneur credited with inventing the ollie, the foundational skateboarding trick.
Early life
Alan Gelfand was born in New York City, and is Jewish. Gelfand moved to Hollywood, Florida with his family in 1972. He started skateboarding in 1974 after his father bought him his first skateboard.
Skateboarding career
Invention of the ollie
Named by Thrasher Magazine as "The Founding Father of A Generation", Alan Gelfand's invention of the ollie changed the face of skateboarding. His initial performance of the trick in 1976 at Skateboard USA in Hollywood, Florida, was serendipitous, stemming from the imperfect construction of the skatepark itself. Gelfand explained that the park's poorly constructed features inadvertently led to his groundbreaking discovery. "It was all by accident. The park was built so poorly that many of the features were over vertical and uneven. There was a part of the pool run where, when you skated it, you went out, caught air, and because it was over vertical, the board would pitch back towards your legs. You'd bend your knees back in and the board would come back to you. It was all by accident, really," Gelfand recalled. He began applying this technique to various elements, further refining his approach. By 1979, during a visit to Winchester Skate Park in San Jose, he was perfecting the ollie, leading to it becoming a fundamental move in skateboarding.
This unintentional innovation, dubbed the "trick of the century" by Stacy Peralta, fundamentally changed skateboarding, transforming it from simple maneuvers to complex aerial dynamics. Gelfand was credited in the Oxford Dictionary of English, the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Webster's Dictionary as being the inventor of the trick after it had previously been listed as unknown.
The trick involves a skateboarder snapping the tail of the board down while jumping to lift the board into the air without the use of hands. The Bones Brigade was an elite team of skateboarders sponsored by Powell-Peralta, which included other legendary skateboarders like Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen, and was instrumental in the evolution and popularization of skateboarding. Their collective innovation and media exposure played a significant role in skateboarding's transition from a niche hobby to a global phenomenon.
Gelfand's competitive spirit was evident as he participated in and won numerous skateboarding contests globally. His tour and competition schedule in the late 1970s included events across Europe and South America, where he showcased the ollie and other complex maneuvers, further popularizing skateboarding as a sport.
Competitions entered, touring and cultural impact
Throughout his career, Gelfand participated in numerous notable skateboarding competitions.
Racing career
After retiring from professional skateboarding, Gelfand transitioned into car racing, particularly focusing on Volkswagens. His racing career spanned from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, where he participated in various endurance races and showcased his driving skills.
Grand-Am Cup Series
Gelfand competed in the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series in 2001, participating in multiple races across different circuits:
Daytona International Speedway: Third and eighth positions in two different races.
Phoenix International Raceway: Fifth and twenty-first positions.
Homestead-Miami Speedway: Seventh position.
Watkins Glen International: Tenth position.
Other competitions
Gelfand also competed in various other endurance races:
1993 IMSA Firestone Firehawk race: Fourteenth position.
1993 3 Hour Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship at Laguna Seca: Twenty-eighth position.
2001 Daytona Motorola Cup: Ninth position.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Race !! Class Position !! Team !! Car Make/Model !! Class !! Source
|-
| 1990 || Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars || 1 || BSI Racing || 1981 VW Rabbit || 1 IT-B || Racing History Project
|-
| 1991 || Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars || 1 || BSI Racing || 1981 VW Rabbit || 1 IT-B || Racing History Project
|-
| 1992 || Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars || 1 || BSI Racing || 1981 VW Rabbit || 1 IT-B || Racing History Project
|-
| 1993 || Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars || 1 || BSI Racing || 1981 VW Rabbit || 1 IT-B || Racing History Project
|-
| 2001 || Daytona International Speedway || 3 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || The Third Turn
|-
| 2001 || Phoenix International Raceway || 5 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || The Third Turn
|-
| 2001 || Homestead-Miami Speedway || 7 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || The Third Turn
|-
| 1992 || Ace Auto Parts 250 Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championships Sebring International Raceway-Sebring, FL || 8 || N/A || N/A || N/A ||
|-
| 2001 || Daytona International Speedway || 8 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || The Third Turn
|-
| 2001 || Daytona Motorola Cup || 9 || N/A || N/A || N/A || Zoom Pics
|-
| 2001 || Watkins Glen International || 10 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || The Third Turn
|-
| 1993 || IMSA Firestone Firehawk race || 14 || Team Schlesinger-Gelfand || Volkswagen Corrado || N/A || Ultimate Racing History
|-
| 2001 || Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series at Phoenix International Raceway || 21 || Speedsource || Porsche Boxster || ST || Motorsport
|-
| 1993 || 3 Hour Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship for Grand Sports, Sports, and Touring entry list || 28 || Rally's Hamburgers || Volkswagen Corrado || Touring || Prog Covers
|}
Progression into automotive industry
Frequently working as a mechanic on the cars he raced, and those of his teammates, post-racing, Gelfand continued his involvement with automobiles by founding the German Car Depot in Hollywood, Florida. The business specializes in the repair and maintenance of German automobiles, reflecting his connection with automotive engineering and mechanics.
Automotive Business - German Car Depot
Gelfand opened the German Car Depot, an auto repair shop specializing in German automobiles, located in Hollywood, Florida. The shop, established after a rebranding from VW Depot due to a trademark dispute, now operates with eight bays and serves hundreds of cars monthly, generating multimillion-dollar revenues. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary still lists the origin of the word as unknown, despite all other editions crediting Gelfand.
Filmography
Gelfand's significant contributions to skateboarding have also been recognized in several documentary films, which explore the cultural and historical aspects of the sport. His participation in these films helps preserve the legacy of skateboarding's evolution and his pivotal role within it.
Skateboard Madness (1980)
Gelfand appeared as a skateboarder in Skateboard Madness, a documentary that captures the vibrant skateboarding scene of the late 1970s. The film provides insight into the dynamics of skateboarding culture during a period of significant growth and innovation.