Ron Allen (skateboarder)

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Ron Allen
Personal information
Full nameRon Allen
Born1962 (age 62–63)
Visalia, California, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
Sport Skateboarding

Ron Allen (born December 31, 1962) is a goofy-footed American skateboarder from Visalia, California. [1] Allen, living and working in Oakland, California, is a well-known California street and vert skater who had parts in H-Street videos, Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus. [2] [3]

Skateboarding career

Allen is one of the nation’s first black professional skateboarders and one of the first to obtain a major corporate sponsorship. [4] The first company to sponsor Allen was Gullwing Trucks. [2] After placing third in an amateur contest in Santa Barbara, Vision Street Wear started to sponsor Allen. [5] In 1989, Allen left Vision for the newly founded H-Street, alongside John Schultes, Colby Carter, Art Godoy, Tony Magnusson, Danny Way, Chris Livingston, Aaron Vincent, John Sonner, David Nelsen, Matt Hensley, Sal Barbier, and others. [3] [6]

After H-Street, Allen started his own company with Mike Ternasky called Life, a name based on the De La Soul song called Living In a Fulltime Era. [5] Soon after starting Life, Sean Sheffey joined the team. Two years later, Ternasky left Life for Plan B Skateboards. [5] Life ended because Allen and the other members of the company weren’t happy being associated with H-Street, so they moved to Deluxe & called it Fun Skateboards. [1] [7] The team consisted of Jesse Niehaus, John Reeves, Keith Hufnagel and others. [1] After Fun, Allen founded American Dream Inc with the artist Alyasha Moore, who Allen met in 1996. Moore designed a deck for Allen with Dexter Woods of the San Francisco chapter of the Black Panthers on it. In 1999, Allen founded and released a bamboo board on his new company Energy, standing for: Enough Nonsense Every Rider Get Yours. [8]

In 2007, H-Street reissued Allen's Ben Outlook board with art by Jeff Klindt. [5] In 2008, Allen joined Creation skateboards at the age of 44. [9] Additionally, Allen worked as team manager at High Grade Distribution, the company that distributes Creation; however, as a stint as team manager, Allen went back to being strictly a Pro. [10]

Allen had a part in the 2016 documentary “The Blackboard”. The film, by Marquis Bradshaw, a Minot, North Dakota attorney and filmmaker, which explored the issue of racial identity among African Americans through the lens of skateboarding. [4]

In 2024, Allen was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. [11]

Allen is recognized for his unique variation on the Ollie North. [12] Allen is known for his unique style where he often leans back on his rear leg. [13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ron Allen". www.48blocks.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  2. 1 2 "chrome ball interview #31: ron allen". the chrome ball incident. 21 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Ron Allen Profile < Skately Library". skately.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  4. 1 2 "Attorney skates into film fame with new documentary | News, Sports, Jobs – Minot Daily News" . Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Ron Allen : "I learned a lot about my own culture from doing American Dream Inc."". Memory Screened. 24 March 2009.
  6. ↑ Ackbar, Dadmiral (2017-02-09). "The Parking Block Diaries: 53 'Til Infinity: Ron Allen Part One". The Parking Block Diaries. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  7. ↑ Vibe. Vibe Media Group. 1993.
  8. ↑ "Into the Grime: A Milwaukee Skateboarding Legend". Media Milwaukee. 31 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Ron Allen". www.creationskateboards.com.
  10. ↑ "High Grade Distribution < Skately Library". skately.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  11. ↑ "SHoF 2024 Archives". Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Museum.
  12. ↑ Badillo, Steve (2010-03-01). Skateboarding: Legendary Tricks 2. Tracks Publishing. ISBN   9781884654794.
  13. ↑ Colberg, Tait (2013-06-21). The Skateboarding Art. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN   9781300097099.
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