Powell & Peralta OG Vato Rat Patch red
2.5" small.
About Powell & Peralta:
Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team of the era's top competitors. Peralta left the company in 1991 and Powell continued to produce skateboard equipment as Powell, Bones Bearings and RollerBones. The two company founders reunited to produce the company's now classic inventory under the name Powell Classic.
Background
George Powell studied engineering at Stanford University and started making homemade skateboards in 1957. In 1974, Powell's son came and asked for a skateboard. When Powell pulled an old one out of the garage, his son complained it did not ride smoothly. Powell became interested in skateboarding again, as he realized urethane wheels improved a skateboard's ride. With this prompting, Powell started making his own skateboards and wheels. He bought urethane and baked his own wheels. He also used some new materials like aluminum and fiberglass to fabricate his own composite boards. One of the test riders of one of his flexible slalom boards was Stacy Peralta.
When Powell was laid off from his job in the aerospace industry, he moved from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to start his own skateboard manufacturing business. In 1976, George built the Quiksilver ProSlalom deck which he marketed through Sims. This was followed by the Quicktail. He developed wheels named "Bones" because of the color of the first urethane bones wheels. While Powell was making them in his kitchen, someone mentioned they had a color like a human bone. Skateboarding changed and George Powell moved into wood laminates.
Foundation of Powell Peralta
In 1978, George teamed up with Stacy Peralta forming Powell Peralta.Peralta was a big name in skateboarding and took over team management and advertising. In 1979 they created a skateboarding team called the Bones Brigade, which included many of the best skateboarders of the era. Powell Peralta developed a signature art style, designed by Vernon Courtlandt Johnson, with a skeleton motif. These designs stood out in the market and helped propel Powell Peralta to become arguably the most popular skateboarding company of the 1980s. They produced the now famous Tony Hawk Iron Cross deck "€ as well as the McGill Skull and Snake, the Caballero Dragon, the Lance Mountain Future Primitive graphics, the Ray Underhill cross graphic, and the Ollie Tank "€ while continuing to produce Bones wheels.
Filmography
Powell Peralta went on to produce the Bones Brigade videos which became some of the most influential skateboarding videos of the era. Powell Peralta started to produce videos in 1982. These videos are:
- Skateboarding In The Eighties (1982)
- The Bones Brigade Video Show (1984)
- Future Primitive (1985)
- The Search for Animal Chin (1987)
- Public Domain (1988)
- Axe Rated (1988)
- Ban This (1989)
- Propaganda (1990)
- Eight (1991)
- Celebrity Tropical Fish (1991)