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Stacy Peralta

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Stacy Peralta
Peralta holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in 2005
Born (1957-10-15) October 15, 1957 (age 67)
Venice, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Professional skateboarder, film director, entrepreneur
Known forCo-founder of Powell Peralta
Spouse(s)
Joni Caldwell
​
​
(m. 1989; div. 1990)​

Gemma Vizor
​
(m. 1989)​
ChildrenAustin Peralta (deceased), Willow Peralta

Stacy 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.[1]

Early life

Peralta circa 1976

Peralta was born in Venice, California, of Mexican and Irish descent.[2][3] At age 15, he began competing with the Z-Boys, a group sponsored by the surf shop Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions. His second sponsor was Gordon and Smith. Peralta graduated from Venice High School in 1975.

Innovation and success

At the age of nineteen, Peralta became the highest-ranked professional skateboarder.[citation needed] Soon after, he joined forces with manufacturer George Powell to form Powell-Peralta, which would grow to be one of the most successful skateboard brands of the 1980s. With the financial backing of Powell-Peralta, Peralta formed the seminal Bones Brigade, a team composed of some of the best skaters at the time, many of whom revolutionized modern skateboarding.[4][5] In 1984, Peralta also directed and produced the first-ever skate video, the Bones Brigade Video Show.

Peralta is also credited in the 1985 movie Real Genius, playing the commander of a fictional space vehicle delivering a deadly laser blast to an unsuspecting criminal during the film's opening scene.[citation needed]

Behind the camera

In 1992, Peralta left Powell-Peralta to direct and produce for television full-time. His love of skateboarding manifested itself in Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary film co-written with CR Stecyk III, regarding the legendary skateboard team known as the Z-Boys. The film, produced by Agi Orsi, reinforces the conviction that in the 1970s, much of the attention of the skateboarding media centered on Dogtown. Dogtown won Director's and Audience Awards for documentary at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Peralta also directed Riding Giants, a 2004 documentary of the history of modern big wave surfing and tow-in surfing. Following that, Peralta wrote the screenplay for the dramatic re-telling of the Dogtown days with Lords of Dogtown (2005). His 2008 documentary, Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008),[6] focuses on gang violence in south-central Los Angeles. This film provides insights into the origins of the infamous Crips and Bloods street gangs, and also offers a look at the social injustice in Los Angeles in the 1950s and '60s. In 2012, Peralta produced Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, which chronicles the Powell-Peralta skateboarding team of the same name. It includes interviews with Rodney Mullen, Craig Stecyk, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, and Peralta himself, among others.

In 2008, Peralta directed a series of television commercials for Burger King in which the Inuit people of Greenland, Transylvanians of Romania and Hmong of Thailand, known as "Whopper virgins" in the ads, were offered their first taste of a fast food hamburger and asked to compare the Burger King Whopper to the McDonald's Big Mac. Peralta subsequently came under attack for what some deemed exploitation of native peoples.[7][8]

Peralta's experience as an entrepreneur and skate video filmmaker was adapted for the video game Tony Hawk's Underground. In 2003, Peralta also did cameo work for the game in which he played himself.

Divorced in the 1990s, Peralta had one son, pianist Austin Peralta who died on November 21, 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1987 The Search for Animal Chin Director, Producer Action Film
1989 Ban This Director, Producer Feature Documentary
1996 When Disasters Strike Director TV Movie
1998 America's Teenagers Growing Up on Television Director TV Movie
1999 Influences: From Yesterday to Today Director TV Movie
2000 The 70s: The Decade That Changed Television Director, Producer TV Documentary
2001 Dogtown and Z-Boys Director, Writer Feature Documentary
2003 Tony Hawk's Underground Himself Video Game
2004 Riding Giants Director, Producer Feature Documentary
2005 Lords of Dogtown Writer Feature Film
2006 Pipeline Masters Narrator, Producer Feature Documentary
2008 Crips and Bloods: Made in America Director, Writer, Producer Feature Documentary
2012 Bones Brigade: An Autobiography Director, Producer Feature Documentary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Nickelodeon Wildside Show Director Nature Show
1995 Mr. Show with Bob and David Title designer/Director Ep. 103 Sketch comedy show

References

  1. ^ Cynthia Fuchs (2001–2012). ""You Go Blindfolded": An Interview with Stacy Peralta, Dogtown and Z-Boys". morphizm. morphizm.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  2. ^ Manzano, Gilberto (23 July 2015). "12 Latinos that Made History with Skateboards". wearemitu.com. Mitú. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Skateboarders Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta paved the way for Latinos to thrive in action sports - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  4. ^ Blair Alley (20 December 2011). "THE 30 MOST INFLUENTIAL SKATERS OF ALL TIME: 3. Mullen". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  5. ^ Blair Alley (20 December 2011). "THE 30 MOST INFLUENTIAL SKATERS OF ALL TIME: 2. Hawk". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  6. ^ Crips and Bloods: Made in America at IMDb
  7. ^ "Whopper Virgins". Cpbgroup.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  8. ^ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (2008-12-04). "Burger King's 'Whopper Virgins' ads: just bad taste? | Media | guardian.co.uk". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  • Hayes, Andrea. "Dogtown And Z-Boys: Teaching The Documentary." Screen Education 40 (2005): 84-87. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 May 2013.
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