Z-Flex

1975 saw the Zephyr skater team from Santa Monica (better known as the Dogtown specific area), California, competing in the Del Mar national skateboarding competition. The "Zephyr surfboard production" surf shop was an integral part of the local surf culture and branched out into skateboard manufacturing, coinciding with the invention of urethane wheels. Kent Sherwood (Jay Adam's stepfather), a fiberglass shop owner, was approached by Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom and Craig Stecyk of the Zephyr Surf Shop to create a Zephyr branded skateboard. Skating low, fast and hard, the Zephyr team made the existing version of vertical-based gymnastic skateboarding, fueled it with the aggressiveness of the streets and things would never be the same again. Initially an alternative to surfing when the waves were flat, skateboarding soon took priority for a group of skate / surfers eager to challenge themselves. By hitting local schools in an effort to mimic their idols' big wave surfing styles, the Zephyr team, or Z-Boyz as they came to be known, quickly morphed into a phenomenon in its own right. The phenomenon continued as California found itself in the grip of record drought, forcing many residents to empty their pools. The Z-Boyz saw the opportunity and dove straight into these newly discovered playgrounds, sneaking into people's backyards, skating for as long as possible and then running to avoid the inevitable police presence. The embodiment of an opportunist and anti-establishment sentiment that remains evident in skateboarding to this day. The best example of this is Jay Adams, not just a first-generation Z-Boy, but considered one of the best skateboarders ever, largely thanks to his carefree and aggressive style of attacking pools and roads. The nature of skateboarding eventually took a toll on some members of the Zephyr team and in 1976 Kent Sherwood, Jay Adams' stepfather, broke away from Zephyr and founded EZ-RYDER with half of the original Zephyr skaters including Jay Adams and Tony Alva. . 6 months later EZ-RYDER changed its name to Z-Flex.