The Zephyr Competition Team (or Z-Boys) were a group of American skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Santa Monica and Venice, California. Originally consisting of 12 members, the Z-boys were originally sponsored by the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions surf and skate shop. Their innovative surfing-based style and aerial moves formed the foundations of contemporary vert and transition skateboarding. The story of the Z-Boys and the Zephyr shop have been popularized in feature films such as Lords of Dogtown and Dogtown and Z-Boys.

History

Initial beginnings

The Z-boys began as a surf team for the Zephyr surfboard shop at Santa Monica. Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom, and Craig Stecyk opened the shop, titled Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Production Team, in 1973, and they soon began recruiting young locals to represent them in surfing competitions. 14-year-old Nathan Pratt was the first member of the team; he originally had worked in the shop as an apprentice surfboard shaper under Ho, Engblom, and Stecyk.</blockquote>In 1974, Allen Sarlo, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Chris Cahill, and Stacey Peralta joined the Zephyr team; these local youths exhibited street style and aggressive mannerisms both on and off the surfboard. The majority of the team lived in the "Dogtown" area of Santa Monica; their primary surfing spot was the Cove at Pacific Ocean Park. However, thanks to the invention of urethane wheels, the Z-boys began to transition their surfing style to skateboarding.

The Del Mar Nationals

The Z-Boys' first appearance at a skateboard competition occurred at the 1975 Del Mar Nationals; the contest was the first major skateboarding competition since the mid 1960s. Craig Stecyk's photographs of the Z-Boys' aerial maneuvers appeared in Skateboarder, under a series titled "Dogtown Articles"; Stecyk's collections aided in the spike of skateboarding popularity in the late 20th century.

  • Jay Adams
  • Tony Alva
  • Bob Biniak
  • Chris Cahill
  • Paul Constantineau
  • Shogo Kubo
  • Jim Muir
  • Peggy Oki
  • Stacy Peralta
  • Nathan Pratt
  • Wentzle Ruml
  • Allen Sarlo

Later members

Source:

  • Paul Cullen
  • Ho Yun
  • Cris Dawson
  • Jose Galan
  • Dennis Harney
  • Paul Hoffman
  • Donnie Olham
  • Tommy Waller

Skateboarding Hall of Fame

In 2009, Tony Alva was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

Stacy Peralta was inducted into the same in 2010.

Representation in media

  • Lords of Dogtown
  • Dogtown and Z-Boys

References<!-- Some of the references and external links included in this article are no longer applicable to the presented information. This issue is discussed on the talk page of the article. -->

  • Ruibal, Sal "Far out! Cutting-edge sports have roots in '70s"

Further reading

  • N-Men: The Untold Story, a film about 1970s skateboarders from Sacramento, California.
  • Zephyr Team on KCET Departures Venice Interviews of Jeff Ho, Allen Sarlo & Matt Smith
  • Dogtown Skateboards Official Website and Online Store
  • Juice (skateboarding magazine) DOGTOWN CHRONICLES