Ron Allen (skateboarder)

Allen is one of the nation’s first black professional skateboarders and one of the first to obtain a major corporate sponsorship.[4] The first company to sponsor Allen was Gullwing Trucks.[2] After placing third in an amateur contest in Santa Barbara, Vision Street Wear started to sponsor Allen.[5] In 1989, Allen left Vision for the newly founded H-Street, alongside John Schultes, Colby Carter, Art Godoy, Tony Magnusson, Danny Way, Chris Livingston, Aaron Vincent, John Sonner, David Nelsen, Matt Hensley, Sal Barbier, and others.[3][6]

After H-Street, Allen started his own company with Mike Ternasky called Life, a name based on the De La Soul song called Living In a Fulltime Era.[5] Soon after starting Life, Sean Sheffey joined the team. Two years later, Ternasky left Life for Plan B Skateboards.[5] Life ended because Allen and the other members of the company weren’t happy being associated with H-Street, so they moved to Deluxe & called it Fun Skateboards.[1][7] The team consisted of Jesse Niehaus, John Reeves, Keith Hufnagel and others.[1] After Fun, Allen founded American Dream Inc with the artist Alyasha Moore, who Allen met in 1996. Moore designed a deck for Allen with Dexter Woods of the San Francisco chapter of the Black Panthers on it. In 1999, Allen founded and released a bamboo board on his new company Energy, standing for: Enough Nonsense Every Rider Get Yours.[8]

In 2007, H-Street reissued Allen's Ben Outlook board with art by Jeff Klindt.[5] In 2008, Allen joined Creation skateboards at the age of 44.[9] Additionally, Allen work as team manager at High Grade Distribution, the company that distributes Creation; however, as a stint as team manager, Allen went back to being strictly a Pro.[10]

Allen had a part in the 2016 documentary “The Blackboard”. The film by Marquis Bradshaw, a Minot, North Dakota attorney and filmmaker, explored the issue of racial identity among African Americans through the lens of skateboarding.[4]

Allen is recognized for his unique variation on the Ollie North.[11] Allen is known for his unique style where he often leans back on his rear leg.[12]