Skip Engblom (born January 4, 1948) is an American entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of the

Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions was a surfboard manufacturing facility and surf shop located in Santa Monica, California, that opened in 1971 and closed in 1976. The building was designated as a City Landmark in 2007. History In 197 ...

Surf Shop in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. He also helped to create the Zephyr Surf Team and the Zephyr Competition Team, a.k.a.

Z-Boys 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 Zeph ...

. Engblom was never a remarkable skateboarder himself but was a big influence to the Zephyr team. Engblom sponsored the Z-Boys including Jay Adams,

Tony Alva Tony Alva (born September 2, 1957) is an American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and musician. He was a pioneer of vertical skateboarding and one of the original members of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team, also known as the Z-Boys. The ...

and

Stacy Peralta Stacy Douglas Peralta (born October 15, 1957) is an American film director and entrepreneur. He was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the Zephyr Competition Team, also known as the Z-Boys, from Venice, California. Early li ...

. Engblom and the Z-Boys frequented a locals only surf spot named "The Cove", which was located at

Pacific Ocean Park Pacific Ocean Park was a nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926-1956). After it closed ...

, in

, which later burned to the ground. Engblom also played a cameo part in 2005's ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...

'' as a race starter. In the same film, character Skip Engblom was played by

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

External links

*
''Where The Z-Boys Began''
Video interview with Skip Engblom

Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards website

References

Living people 1948 births {{Skateboarding-bio-stub