George Powell

An aerospace engineer trained in mechanical engineering, George Powell began experimenting with skateboard wheels in his garage in the mid-1970s and founded Powell Corporation in Santa Barbara in 1974. In 1978 he partnered with skater and team manager Stacy Peralta to form Powell Peralta, which became the defining skateboard company of the 1980s through the Bones Brigade team of Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain and Rodney Mullen, the Vato Rats and Mike Vallely graphics by V.C. Johnson, and the Bones Brigade Video Show. Powell also founded Bones Wheels, the in-house urethane wheel program that grew into an industry standard for street and vert riders alike.