H-Street

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H-Street Skateboards is a California-based skateboard company created by Tony Magnusson (T-Mag), Mike Ternasky and Dave Andrecht in 1987. [1] H-Street garnered popularity through their groundbreaking skate videos and innovative team. [2]

Contents

History

In late 1986, T-Mag and Ternasky met with industry leader George Abuhamad to pitch the idea for H-Street Skateboards. [1] Abuhamad supported the idea and funded the venture while overseeing production. The company name H-Street was envisioned as a relatable, Anytown USA concept and specifically named after a Chula Vista, California street and infamous "H-Street House" where several of the original team riders resided.

Magnusson introduced many early board design concepts including Hell Concave, a significant increase in overall tip-to-tail concave for total board control. Early H-Street logos, artwork and graphic design were created by legendary artists Francesco "Jekill" Albertini, Jeff Klindt, Scott Obradovich and Art Godoy. In the early 90's T-Mag also explored the bourgeoning skate-influenced snowboard scene, producing a prototype halfpipe model for teamrider Noah Salasnek and later a limited snowboard lineup.

From the inception of H-Street, both T-Mag and Ternasky shared a common vision to democratize the future of skate videos by utilizing budget home VHS cameras, freeform VCR editing and local underground music with innovative local skaters. The 1988 creation of Shackle Me Not marked a pivotal moment in the production of DIY skateboard videos as it presented relatable homegrown skaters in a raw, unfiltered environment while upending the formal big-budget film standard set by Powell Peralta and others. Later in 1989, the groundbreaking Hokus Pokus was released and further revolutionized the skateboard scene with an revered soundtrack while showcasing future legends Matt Hensley, Danny Way, Sal Barbier, Ron Allen, Colby Carter, Alphonzo Rawls and many others. Both videos quickly rose to become two of the most viewed and sought-after VHS skate films ever.

In late 1990, T-Mag and Ternasky diverged team talent to create subsidiary company Life Skateboards showcasing Sean Sheffey, Ron Allen, Kit Erickson, John Reeves, Kien Lieu, Noah Salasnek and Brennand Schoeffel.

In 1991, Ternasky abruptly left H-Street to create Plan B Skateboards with World Industries, recruiting several top H-Street riders. [3] Magnusson was blindsided by this exodus and with the untimely death of Ternasky in a car accident in 1993, T-Mag formally shuttered H-Street to create Evol Skate/Snowboards and later Osiris Shoes. [4]

After years of fan prompting and internal discussion, Magnusson, partner/wife Monica and Abuhamad resurrected the H-Street brand in 2008. [5]

Riders

Past and Present: Ron Allen, Matt Hensley, Danny Way, John Sonner, John Schultes, Dave Nielson, Eddie Elguera, Sal Barbier, Steve Ortega, Eric Koston, Mike Carroll, Art & Steve Godoy, Jason Rogers, Colby Carter, Alphonzo Rawls, Ray Simmonds, John Deago, Kien "Donger" Lieu, Ryan Monihan, Chris Livingston, Chad Vogt, Brian Lotti, Ben Job, Brennand Schoeffel, Darin “Cookiehead” Jenkins, John "The Man" Reeves, Noah Salasnek, Aaron Vincent, Jeff Pettit, Chris Borst, Kit Erikson, Dave Sornson, Jeff Klindt, Brian Tucci, Josh Swindell, Sean Sheffey, Mario Rubalcaba, Tim Gavin, Trent Gaines, Dan Peterka, Ocean Howell, Damian Carabajal, Chad Minton, Jeff Partain, Darrin Kimura, Carl Hyndman, Richard Ezekiel, Dave Crabb and Tony Magnusson.

References

  1. 1 2 Skate, Lets Go (2015-10-05). "H-Street and Tony Magnusson". CalStreets BoarderLabs. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  2. ↑ Snyder, Gregory J. (2017-12-05). Skateboarding LA: Inside Professional Street Skateboarding. NYU Press. ISBN   978-0-8147-6986-7.
  3. ↑ Lipsky, Laura van Dernoot; Burk, Connie (2009-05-08). Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. ISBN   978-1-60509-538-7.
  4. ↑ "H-Street". The Dark Slide.
  5. ↑ "Vert.nu: Interview with Tony Magnusson". Vert.nu. 2011-01-02. Archived from the original on 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2011-01-14.


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