Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Ron Allen |
Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Visalia, California, U.S. |
Sport | |
Country | United 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]
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]