Brian Lotti (born 1972, Okinawa, Japan) is an American professional

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...

, film-maker, and visual artist. Lotti rose to fame in the skateboarding world in the late 1980s while riding for

H-Street H-Street Skateboards is a skateboard company started by Tony Magnusson and Mike Ternasky in 1987. H-Street garnered popularity through their innovative videos and skating . History Magnusson and Ternasky went to George Hamad to pitch the ide ...

Skateboards. He is known for his fluid skateboarding style and inventing the "Bigspin" skateboard trick.

Professional skateboarding

Lotti's popularity peaked in the early 1990s while he was sponsored by skateboard company Planet Earth and appeared in the 1991 Planet Earth video ''Now N' Later''. After moving on to ride for

Blind Skateboards Blind (stylized as bLind) is a skateboard company founded by Mark Gonzales in 1988 under Steve Rocco's World Industries distribution company. Gonzales has since left the company and today the company continues under the ownership of Dwindle Dis ...

, Lotti left the world of professional skateboarding and moved to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Following his return to the skateboarding industry, Lotti completed filming a part in the 2007 Santa Cruz Skateboards "Legends" video. In 2009 Lotti founded his own company, Telegraph Skateboards, and all of the skateboard decks featured original design work by Lotti and his associates. However, as of March 2014, the brand is no longer operational—its web-site is nonexistent and its products are no longer sold.

Bigspin

As one of the originators of today's technical street-skating, Lotti brought several tricks to the forefront of skateboarding such as the frontside bluntside. He also invented the backside tailslide flip-out and the Bigspin. The Bigspin was done by skateboarders before Lotti but the catchy name caught on. The name was derived from a Californian lottery at the time with the name Bigspin. The person who named the trick the Bigspin saw Lotti do one and chose the name because his last name sounds like the word lottery.

Visual art

Following his initial departure from professional skateboarding, Lotti became an attendant for Roshi Robert Aiken at the Palolo Valley

sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

. There he studied

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and went on to further his education at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Lotti then moved back to the mainland and attended California State University at San Francisco, where he graduated with a degree in art. Following university, Lotti moved to

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

to concentrate on his art career. After a few years of living on the San Juan Ridge, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Lotti has designed board graphics for skateboard companies and brands, such as Cartel, Cliche, Listen, Stereo, Death Skateboards, Almost, and the now-defunct Adio Skateboards. In early 2016, Lotti participated in "The Art of a Political Revolution," an event in Los Angeles which showcased art that supported the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. Lotti designed new cover artwork for the 10-year anniversary reissue of

Midlake Midlake is an American folk rock band from Denton, Texas, formed in 1999. The band consists of Eric Pulido, McKenzie Smith, Scott Lee, Eric Nichelson, Jesse Chandler, and Joey McClellan. In 2012, vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Tim ...

's album ''

The Trials of Van Occupanther ''The Trials of Van Occupanther'' is the second studio album by American rock band Midlake. It was released on July 25, 2006, on Bella Union. It was reissued on its 10th anniversary in 2016 with new cover art, photographs, and two unreleased song ...

''. In September 2018, Lotti collaborated with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Skateboarding to reissue the brand's Campus 80s sneakers with his label and apparel.

Film-making

Lotti's most recent appearance in the skateboarding world has been as the director of a film called "1st and Hope" about a day devoted to skateboarding in the streets of downtown Los Angeles. His follow-up film ''Free Pegasus''—about skating through the streets of Barcelona, Spain—was released in 2008 and featured professional skateboarders Clint Peterson and Cooper Wilt.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lotti, Brian American skateboarders Living people 1972 births Artist skateboarders