Stacy Peralta was born in 1957 and began skating at the age of five. He has been associated with skateboarding ever since, as a leading competitor, entrepreneur, and video director. Considered one of the founding fathers of modern skateboarding, he was the first Z-Boy to systematically capitalize on his reputation with lucrative sponsorship and advertising deals, and eventually co-founding his own company, Powell-Peralta.
As a teenager, Peralta appeared in several feature films set in the skateboarding world, including starring in “Freewheelin’” in 1976. Behind the scenes he served as a second unit director on several films, including: “Police Academy 4,” “Gleaming the Cube” and “Thrashin’” in 1986.
At nineteen, Peralta walked away from his career as a skateboarder and joined manufacturer George Powell to form the innovative manufacturing company Powell Peralta. Five years later, Powell Peralta became an industry leader, as the trend-setting graphics of artists Craig Stecyk and Vernon Courtland Johnson fueled the company. Peralta discovered Tony Hawk and sponsored him for eleven years as the founder and coach of Powell Peralta’s Bones Brigade skateboard team.
Fed up with conventional advertising methods, Peralta and creative partner Craig Stecyk produced their first skateboard film, “The Bones Brigade Video Show” in 1984, launching a skate-video revolution that shifted the balance of power in the field away from the traditional magazines and the corporate organizers of competitive events. Many young skaters now routinely bypass competition altogether, choosing video instead.
As a result of the style he developed in his skateboard videos, Peralta began to get directing offers in Hollywood. He worked on Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” (1990) as a scene choreographer and skateboard consultant. In 1991, he left Powell Peralta to begin directing and producing television specials, pilots and series until 1999.
Agi Orsi Productions
