Skip Engblom: Surf and Skate Legend and Entrepreneur

The late Heath Ledger played surf and skate icon Skip Engblom in Lords Of Dogtown, the Hollywood adaptation of Stacy Peralta's documentary Dogtown And Z Boys, which chronicled the rise of modern skateboarding in 1970s Venice. Engblom, along with partners Jeff Ho and Craig Stecyk, mentored and led the Zephyr skateboard team, a crew of Westside kids, to becoming international superstars. Adapting borrowed moves from surf outcasts who rode waves at the abandoned and dangerous Pacific Ocean Park (POP), Engblom and his team brought a sense of currency and relevance to a sport that was beginning to seem dated. By incorporating the vernacular and lifestyle of Venice into the language of skating, Engblom and his team created a movement for which the ripple effects are still felt today. A man whose hands tell a thousand stories, Engblom's stories are legend.

The Template of Venice
"You would try to gravitate towards places that were kind of off limits and integrate yourself into those groups in some way... so that you could actually get uncrowded surf."