Joe Humeres
 |
Joe Humeres | |
|---|---|
 Joe Humeres circa 1997 | |
| Born | 1965 |
| Occupation(s) | Creative Director, skateboarder |
| Years active | 1975 – present |
| Title | 1988 Amateur Freestyle Skateboarding Champion |
Joe Humeres (born 1965 in Santiago, Chile) is a United States National champion freestyle skateboarder. In 1988, he became New York City's first professional skateboarder. Joe appears in the 2009 documentary Deathbowl to Downtown,[1] and the book FULL BLEED[2] both of which are about the history of New York City skateboarding. Joe appears prominently in the 2018 award winning film "VIRGIN BLACKTOP: a New York skate odyssey".
Joe grew up in Nyack, New York and started skateboarding at age 11. In 1977 he and other kids from Nyack and nearby Hudson River towns formed a group of skateboarders called the "Skateboard Wizards" which competed in contests in the Northeast, gave exhibitions at the Nanuet Theatre-Go-Round,[3] and frequented "Skate-Away Skateboard Arena" indoor skatepark in Nanuet, New York.
Amateur
Joe Humeres is the titleholder of the United States National Skateboard Association's (now known as World Cup of Skateboarding)[4] 1988 Amateur Freestyle Skateboarding competition held in Phoenix, Arizona, effectively crowning him the best amateur freestyle skateboarder in the world at that time. He is also the 1987 and 1988 freestyle titleholder of the Eastern Skateboard Championships, the only person to win two consecutive years.
Professional
In 1988 Joe became New York's first professional skateboarder appearing in commercials, TV shows, advertisements, narrating skateboard videos and writing magazine articles for Thrasher magazine. In the June 1989 issue of Transworld Skateboarding[5] Joe was featured as a rising talent in "Check Out". Joe, along with Harold Hunter and other skateboarders, appeared in an October 1989 Thrasher magazine photo essay that helped put New York City on the National skateboarding map. Joe Humeres has four signature skateboard decks (pro models) manufactured by companies Walker and Decomposed.[6] Joe was part owner of "Skate N.Y.C." skateshop next to Tompkins Square Park, New York City.
Mullaly Skate Park
In 1990 Joe and Victor Ortiz, built the ramps for Mullaly Park[7] in the Bronx, New York - the first Parks and recreation in New York City sanctioned skatepark. A New York Times magazine[8] article[9] is credited with inspiring private donations that secured funding to complete the park.
Quote: "As a long time skateboarder myself and also having helped spearhead the very first New York City Department of Parks and Recreation skatepark, I'm definitely proud of what happened, just to be making money for skateboarding is a gift."
References
- ^ "Winter X Games 2015 Aspen - X Games". X Games.
- ^ "Full Bleed". The New Yorker. 31 August 2010.
- ^ "Theater-Go-Round".
- ^ "wcsk8.com".
- ^ "skateboarding.transworld.net". Transworld Skateboarding.
- ^ "decomposedsk8.com".
- ^ "Mullaly Skate Park : New York City Department of Parks & Recreation".
- ^ http://www.viceland.com/fullbleed/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/07_mullaly_2513.jpg
- ^ "Works in Progress; Needed: Grease for the Wheels". 17 June 1990.
