"Ollie" is More Than a Skateboard Move

The skateboard had been around since the sixties as a California-based offspring of surfing culture. In 1977, fourteen-year-old Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, an avid skateboard enthusiast, made an amazing discovery on the east coast in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Alan "Ollie" Gelfand

In an interview with Miami New Times, Gelfand said, "Our (Florida) skate parks were so horrible back then, so kinky and vertical that I kind of did an 'ollie' by accident." Gelfand and his friends would frequent the few parks in Florida like Skateboard USA, but they'd also skate in empty swimming pools. It was during one of these runs that he discovered that he could pop his skateboard and jump it. Little did he know that this stunt would become the basis for all other skateboard stunts.

"Ollie" the Trick

The trick was dubbed the "ollie" after Alan Gelfand's nickname. Technically, the maneuver is performed by tapping the tail of the board on the ground, then crouching down for leverage, popping the skateboard upward in a jump. The board is landed with both sets of wheels hitting level with the ground.

In 1978, Gelfand and his friends grew tired of trespassing in swimming pool backyards; and constructed the first flat-bottom skate ramp, then dubbed the "Hollywood (as in Hollywood, Florida) Ramp."

The Bones Brigade

On a visit to Florida, California skating legend Stacey Peralta saw the "ollie" in action. He was so impressed that he assembled a team that he called "The Bones Brigade." Team members included "Ollie" Gelfand, Ray "Bones" Rodriguez, Steve Caballero, and Mike McGill, another Floridian. As a result, the "ollie" spread across the known skateboard world, inspiring wilder and more daring tricks and stunts.

Due to knee injuries, in 1981, Alan "Ollie" Gelfand dropped out of skating for twenty years, spending most of his time racing and repairing VWs and eventually opening a Volkswagen repair business.

Olliewood

In 2002, Gelfand started skating again after being invited to participate in an old school skater event. This led him to open "Olliewood", a converted warehouse space in Hollywood, Florida that housed a specially constructed full-bowl Skatelite ramp. His "dream bowl" sloped 10-feet deep, and was 65-feet in length and 40-feet in width.

Olliewood is located next to Gelfand's VW repair business. At first, it was open to the public; then he decided to turn it private, skaters admitted by invitation only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights. (Note that such an invitation might be had if you contact Gelfand directly at the Olliewood web site or at his personal site, Ollie Air. There are no guarantees, however.)

In 2004, the Oxford English Dictionary included "ollie" as an official entry. In 2006, Merriam-Webster followed suit.