Skip Engblom

Skip Engblom (born January 4, 1948 in Hollywood , California ) is an American entrepreneur and founder of the legendary Zephyr team .

biography

Engblom was already on the surfboard at a very young age and thus developed a strong affinity for the sport, which at that time was viewed more as an underdog or hippie sport . In a part of Santa Monica , the shabby neighborhood called Dogtown (the name was invented by Skip and Craig ), he founded Jeff Ho and Zephyr Surf Board Productions with Craig Stecyk and Jeff Ho in 1972 . The main reason for this was the joint surf sessions in the Pacific Ocean Park Pier, which was originally a large amusement park that had to close at the end of the 1960s due to a lack of visitor numbers. The aim of the business was to produce surfboards that reflected the surfer's attitude and perception of the area.

At the age of 24, Engblom was the head of the Zephyr Surf Shop , which had its branch in the middle of Dogtown. Jeff Ho designed the boards and Craig Stecyk painted them with designs that were shaped by the life and subcultures of the city. The business, soon known for its fancy boards, was the figurehead of the underground movements in surfing and formed a counterpoint to the conventional surfing cultures of the time.

Soon afterwards, Engblom and other surfers formed the Zephy Surf Team , which mainly consisted of young surfers who also lived in Dogtown . In order to be accepted into the team, the aspirants had to keep the Pacific Ocean Park Pier free from foreign surfers, as the area was exclusively occupied by the Zephyr team . Those young surfers had to make sure that this was also guaranteed in the long term. Skip Engblom took care of the new generation, which mostly came from broken family backgrounds, and with the Zephyr Shop, among other things, offered the children a meeting point to free themselves from their broken foundations.

At the same time, Frank Naceworthy discovered polyurethane for use in wheels (wheels) and revived the sport of skateboarding with Cadillac Wheels . Skip Engblom saw the potential in this invention and the new generation wanted to give a job, so he formed in 1975, the Zephyr skate team and provided the young people with boards and clothing to the announced state championships in Del Mar participate.

The appearance of the Zephyr Skate Team in Del Mar initially gave Skip small successes in the sale of his products, but he could not offer the increasingly popular young skaters the same as large companies such as Bahne Skateboards or G&S , which contracted more and more of their drivers. Those aspiring skaters included Stacy Peralta , Tony Alva , Shogo Kubo , Jay Adams and Wentzle Ruml , among others .

In 1976, Skip Engblom had to close the Zephyr Surf Shop due to falling sales. Two years later, together with two partners, he founded Santa Monica Airlines , which today, alongside Alva Skateboards and Dogtown Skateboards , is one of the first companies in this area to still manufacture skateboards and related accessories.

Skip Engblom talks about his time with the Zephyr team in the 2001 documentary Dogtown & Z-Boys and also has a small guest appearance in the Hollywood version of Lords Of Dogtown .

To this day he is still building and / or repairing skateboards and surfboards in Santa Monica.

Web links

• Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards - Official Website
• Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards - Official Website (German)