Intro Stuff
Z-Flex Skateboards – OVER THIRTY YEARS OF MAKING LEGENDS
“Generations Strong” are the best words to describe Z Flex. The Company was founded in 1976 as a home for the original Z-Boys. Through unique innovations (the fiberglass board and the first patented truck) and famous teams of riders, Z Flex evolved as the pioneer in the industry. Z Flex first generation riders were known as the original “Z Boyz”. Generation II and III riders were also among the best of their era. The current Generation IV riders are following in those footsteps.
Generation I (1976-77): Z-Flex was one of a handful of skate companies finding its way during the skateboarding industry’s infancy. Several events and products made this time special. The Z Boyz skate team (some better known for surfing than skateboarding) morphed a surf style into what is known today as “Old School” pool skating. One of the reasons Z-Flex’s founder Kent Sherwood started Z-Flex was to make a board that Jay Adams couldn’t break. Sherwood was lucky that his school pal Chris Pasques had time to focus on such a project and had a desire to create a transition from surfing waves to surfing concrete. With that the Jay Adams Uni-directional fiberglass board was born. The board incorporated built-in rails–another Z Flex first and was universally acknowledged as the highest performing board of its time. Not able to find a factory capable of mass producing a quality fiberglass board, Z Flex began its own production with one mold, 45 employees working 24 hours a day and a three month back order demand. The Jay Adams deck is a top selling Old School board to this day. The famous Del Mar contest was a ground breaking event for the skateboarding world. The Z Boyz, with their aggressive yet fluid style, placed high in the contest and left a dominating impression for the skateboard industry to follow and capitalize on. Z Flex was a pioneer in testing new urethane wheel designs in this era. The clay wheels from the roller skating industry did not provide a smooth, fast ride, since they lacked retaining and grip qualities. Pasques developed the abrasion resistant Z Smooth wheel specifically for boardwalk skating. Then came the Z Grooves, a one-of-a-kind, faster, smoother wheel with a formula which most of today’s wheels are based upon. Z-Boyz of this era included Jay Adams, not only one of the best known Z Boy, but one of the best skateboarders ever, due in large part to his carefree aggressive style of attacking pools and streets with his skateboard. Other great Z Flex skaters of this era were Marty Grimes, known for his cruizin’ style and attitude, and Shogo Kubo for his ripping fluid style.
Generation II (1978-80): An economic downturn and outlawing of skateboarding sent the riders underground and the sport’s popularity took a deep drop in this era. Many skateboard companies came and went. Z-Flex was one of the few original companies to ride-out and survive the storm. Z Flex Generation II riders and product innovations continued to think outside the box, maintaining Z Flex as an industry leader. The transition from surfing waves to surfing concrete resulted in the development of the Transbeam, another first for Z Flex which started a revolution within skateboarding. With this built-in ramp, skaters were able to perform tricks which had rarely been attempted. Imitators called this product the “Lapper” or “Birdie”. The Winger board was truly one of the most innovative products ever with its concave design: the first skateboard in history to utilize a concave on the board’s top side. This revolutionized the direction of board design. You will find “concave” on almost every skateboard on the market today. Another great Z Flex concept was the Animal Alley series of boards that started out as a simple idea, but later created a phenomenon in today’s skateboard market. Once again following in Z Flex’ footsteps, nearly all of today’s board companies have a collection of decks that are titled and designed in a series . Generation II Z Boyz held their own. Team riders such as George Wilson, Dennis “Polar Bear”Agnew and Jimmy Plumer were well known for their slashing, break-the-coping-off-the-pool stunts as well as big inverts and backside airs.
Generation III (1985-95): Headlines in skateboard magazines read “The Z Boy Eastern Invasion”. The Z Boyz popularity spread beyond the US border, expanding internationally. The Z Flex team traveled all over the world. During this time, German bearings were known as the best on the market. They were designed and refined by Z Flex and German engineers. Z Flex became one of the largest makers and distributors of skateboard bearings in the world. Because of this, numerous “bearing only” companies were born. The Z Rails concept came directly from the Company’s Z Grabbers. The Z Grabbers were first designed for grabbing the board for airs, but it soon came obvious that you could incorporate not only grabbing the board better for airs, but also use the same hard plastic strips for sliding on coping or rails. Once again, Z Flex had originated a product that became a phenomenon. With the need for speed, Pasques experimented with the design of the trucks so that they rolled with energy instead of grinding metal. The aluminum Z Roller hollow axle kept the weight down, held a straight, true line and didn’t wear out. The Z Roller truck was the first truck to have a patented design and is a good example of Z Flex’ continuing innovation. You could have a super fun time with this truck because you could literally grind anything. Generation III Z Boyz became one of the toughest, baddest and most recognized teams with such pros as Jimmy Acosta, Butch Sterbins, George Watanabe and Aaron Scott.
Generation IV 2004-?: The major motion picture “Lords of Dogtown”, based on the original Z Boyz, made some waves for the resurgence of Old School skateboarding. Generation IV riders are a mixture of new and legendary riders. New star Z Boyz and future legends Craig Whitehead, Wrex Cook and Eric “Tuma” Britton are making waves not only on the concrete, but Craig and Tuma had parts in the movie as well. Tuma was the stunt double for Marty Grimes. And that infamous moment of Jay Adams riding into the sunset off the pier was Z Boy Craig Whitehead, who also did other Jay Adams stunts. Z Boyz legends Shogo Kubo, Jimmy Plumer, George Wilson and Butch Sterbins are back in action. Some are not only riding, but are part of the Company team in operations and sales (locally and internationally). The most famous Z Boy, Jay Adams, is back doing his signature classic pool and cruizer boards. The future is as bright for Z Flex as its past, and the Company is looking forward to making legends and innovative products for the next thirty years.
“Generations Strong” are the best words to describe Z Flex. The Company was founded in 1976 as a home for the original Z-Boys. Through unique innovations (the fiberglass board and the first patented truck) and famous teams of riders, Z Flex evolved as the pioneer in the industry. Z Flex first generation riders were known as the original “Z Boyz”. Generation II and III riders were also among the best of their era. The current Generation IV riders are following in those footsteps.
Generation I (1976-77): Z-Flex was one of a handful of skate companies finding its way during the skateboarding industry’s infancy. Several events and products made this time special. The Z Boyz skate team (some better known for surfing than skateboarding) morphed a surf style into what is known today as “Old School” pool skating. One of the reasons Z-Flex’s founder Kent Sherwood started Z-Flex was to make a board that Jay Adams couldn’t break. Sherwood was lucky that his school pal Chris Pasques had time to focus on such a project and had a desire to create a transition from surfing waves to surfing concrete. With that the Jay Adams Uni-directional fiberglass board was born. The board incorporated built-in rails–another Z Flex first and was universally acknowledged as the highest performing board of its time. Not able to find a factory capable of mass producing a quality fiberglass board, Z Flex began its own production with one mold, 45 employees working 24 hours a day and a three month back order demand. The Jay Adams deck is a top selling Old School board to this day. The famous Del Mar contest was a ground breaking event for the skateboarding world. The Z Boyz, with their aggressive yet fluid style, placed high in the contest and left a dominating impression for the skateboard industry to follow and capitalize on. Z Flex was a pioneer in testing new urethane wheel designs in this era. The clay wheels from the roller skating industry did not provide a smooth, fast ride, since they lacked retaining and grip qualities. Pasques developed the abrasion resistant Z Smooth wheel specifically for boardwalk skating. Then came the Z Grooves, a one-of-a-kind, faster, smoother wheel with a formula which most of today’s wheels are based upon. Z-Boyz of this era included Jay Adams, not only one of the best known Z Boy, but one of the best skateboarders ever, due in large part to his carefree aggressive style of attacking pools and streets with his skateboard. Other great Z Flex skaters of this era were Marty Grimes, known for his cruizin’ style and attitude, and Shogo Kubo for his ripping fluid style.
Generation II (1978-80): An economic downturn and outlawing of skateboarding sent the riders underground and the sport’s popularity took a deep drop in this era. Many skateboard companies came and went. Z-Flex was one of the few original companies to ride-out and survive the storm. Z Flex Generation II riders and product innovations continued to think outside the box, maintaining Z Flex as an industry leader. The transition from surfing waves to surfing concrete resulted in the development of the Transbeam, another first for Z Flex which started a revolution within skateboarding. With this built-in ramp, skaters were able to perform tricks which had rarely been attempted. Imitators called this product the “Lapper” or “Birdie”. The Winger board was truly one of the most innovative products ever with its concave design: the first skateboard in history to utilize a concave on the board’s top side. This revolutionized the direction of board design. You will find “concave” on almost every skateboard on the market today. Another great Z Flex concept was the Animal Alley series of boards that started out as a simple idea, but later created a phenomenon in today’s skateboard market. Once again following in Z Flex’ footsteps, nearly all of today’s board companies have a collection of decks that are titled and designed in a series . Generation II Z Boyz held their own. Team riders such as George Wilson, Dennis “Polar Bear”Agnew and Jimmy Plumer were well known for their slashing, break-the-coping-off-the-pool stunts as well as big inverts and backside airs.
Generation III (1985-95): Headlines in skateboard magazines read “The Z Boy Eastern Invasion”. The Z Boyz popularity spread beyond the US border, expanding internationally. The Z Flex team traveled all over the world. During this time, German bearings were known as the best on the market. They were designed and refined by Z Flex and German engineers. Z Flex became one of the largest makers and distributors of skateboard bearings in the world. Because of this, numerous “bearing only” companies were born. The Z Rails concept came directly from the Company’s Z Grabbers. The Z Grabbers were first designed for grabbing the board for airs, but it soon came obvious that you could incorporate not only grabbing the board better for airs, but also use the same hard plastic strips for sliding on coping or rails. Once again, Z Flex had originated a product that became a phenomenon. With the need for speed, Pasques experimented with the design of the trucks so that they rolled with energy instead of grinding metal. The aluminum Z Roller hollow axle kept the weight down, held a straight, true line and didn’t wear out. The Z Roller truck was the first truck to have a patented design and is a good example of Z Flex’ continuing innovation. You could have a super fun time with this truck because you could literally grind anything. Generation III Z Boyz became one of the toughest, baddest and most recognized teams with such pros as Jimmy Acosta, Butch Sterbins, George Watanabe and Aaron Scott.
Generation IV 2004-?: The major motion picture “Lords of Dogtown”, based on the original Z Boyz, made some waves for the resurgence of Old School skateboarding. Generation IV riders are a mixture of new and legendary riders. New star Z Boyz and future legends Craig Whitehead, Wrex Cook and Eric “Tuma” Britton are making waves not only on the concrete, but Craig and Tuma had parts in the movie as well. Tuma was the stunt double for Marty Grimes. And that infamous moment of Jay Adams riding into the sunset off the pier was Z Boy Craig Whitehead, who also did other Jay Adams stunts. Z Boyz legends Shogo Kubo, Jimmy Plumer, George Wilson and Butch Sterbins are back in action. Some are not only riding, but are part of the Company team in operations and sales (locally and internationally). The most famous Z Boy, Jay Adams, is back doing his signature classic pool and cruizer boards. The future is as bright for Z Flex as its past, and the Company is looking forward to making legends and innovative products for the next thirty years.
