Russ Howell
Russ Howell began skateboarding in 1958. He competed and won many contests, including the main event at the 1975 Del Mar Contest that was featured in the Dogtown movies. He also won city, state, national, and two international skateboarding titles. Russ is considered the first 'freestyle' champion.
Russ set a Guinness World record for longest handstand on a skateboard (2 minutes) [1] and another for the most 360s (163).[2] Russ is the first professional skateboarder and opened up the sport to professionalism. He served on many organizational boards in an effort to elevate the sport. He is a member of the Thrasher Hall of Fame. He currently skates for Decomposed Skateboards.