Ricky Oyola is a regular-footed professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, PA.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

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Oyola was born in Pemberton, NJ. and grew up in Medford, NJ.[6] He received his first skateboard in 1985 as a birthday gift, a Town & Country Zoner.[1] Before he moved to Philadelphia, Oyola would drive into West Philadelphia, park at Roger Browne's house and spend the days skating with him.[1]

Skateboarding

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Oyola is credited with popularizing the skate scene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alongside Browne, Matt Reason, and Sergei Trudnowski.[7][1] Oyola is recognized for his distinctive east-coast street skate style. He was known in his early days to sport an afro and other hairstyles involving long hair.[3] His part in Dan Wolfe's 1996 skate video Eastern Exposure 3, showcased Oyola's creativity, versatility, and speed, exposing his skating to a larger audience.[3]

Skate video parts

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Skate Videos Year
Devastation – Z Products[3] 1991
Spitfire[8][9] 1993
Real Life – Sub Zero 1994
#10 – 411VM[10] 1995
Eastern Exposure #3[2][11] 1996
7 Year Glitch – New Deal[12] 2002
Static II[13] 2004
Via – Traffic Skateboards[14] 2006
Black and Blue – Vox Footwear[15] 2007
Tokyo Transfer – Traffic Skateboards[16] 2009

Sponsors

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Oyola's first official sponsor was Z-Products who noticed Oyola's skating while he was on a two month trip to California.[1] Oyola has held numerous sponsors over his career including companies he founded or helped influence (Illuminati and Silverstar) and long-established companies: Kastel, Zoo York, New Deal, Nicotine, Spitfire, Airwalk, Duffs, Memphis, Vox, Krux trucks, Division Wheel Company, as well as; Vision Street Wear and Converse.[6][17]

Traffic Skateboards

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After leaving New Deal skateboards in 2003, Oyola founded his own company Traffic Skateboards.[5] Staying true to its name, the initial Traffic team was composed of East Coast street skaters including Shaun Williams, Rich Adler, Jack Sabback, Bobby Puleo, and others.[3] Oyola currently skates for Traffic skateboards and Autobahn Wheels.[1][3] He has a pro model shoe on Vox footwear named after him, however since he left the team the shoe has been renamed the Vox Philly.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "RICKY OYOLA | 2008 – 48 BLOCKS MEDIA". Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  2. ^ a b "Monday Classic: Ricky Oyola Eastern Exposure 3. « a brief glance skateboard mag". Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Epicly Later'd: Ricky Oyola (Part 1/5), archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2020-02-10
  4. ^ "ARTICLES | Message Box – Ricky Oyola|SKATEBOARDING PLUS". スケートボード・スケボー情報サイト|SKATEBOARDING PLUS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  5. ^ a b "Ricky Oyola Talks The Future of Traffic Skateboards". X Games. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  6. ^ a b Man, Pusher (2015-10-23). "SULTANS OF SHRED: Mayor: The Ricky Oyola Interview". SULTANS OF SHRED. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  7. ^ A eulogy for a fallen landmark. Love Park, skate spot Archived 2013-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Classics: 1993 Spitfire Video, retrieved 2020-02-10
  9. ^ "VHS – THE SPITFIRE VIDEO – 1993". The Berrics. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  10. ^ Ricky Oyola 411 #10 (1995), archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2020-02-10
  11. ^ ricky oyola, retrieved 2020-02-10
  12. ^ "VHS Review Volume II: 7 Year Glitch (2002)". smltalk.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  13. ^ "Alternative edit of Ricky Oyola's Static 2 part – Caught in the Crossfire". Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  14. ^ "Traffic Skateboard – VIA". SOLO Skateboardmagazine (en). Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  15. ^ Vox Footwear – Black & Blue Vol.1_Pt.4/7, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2020-02-10
  16. ^ "Traffic – Tokyo Transfer – Skatevideosite". Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  17. ^ "The New Krux video Blown Out! is done!". TransWorld SKATEboarding. 2004-05-18. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  18. ^ "Ricky Oyola Sponsors, Skate Videos, & Photos | Skateboarding!". skatemorespots.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
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