Chris "Dune" Pastras (born July 14, 1972) is an artist, skateboarder, entrepreneur, skate company owner, and television host.

Early life

Pastras grew up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, raised with and mentored by Rodney Smith. Pastras got his first skateboard in 1979 at age 7, a gift from Rodney. Pastras is mixed-race, half-Greek and half-

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

. Pastras was raised by two black women.

Skateboarding career

Pastras' first sponsor was SHUT skateboards in his early teens. In 1990, Pastras left SHUT to ride for

World Industries World Industries is a skateboarding company that offers skateboarding products, accessories and clothing. The company was founded by Steve Rocco in 1987. In 1988, Rocco was joined by skater, Rodney Mullen, and then Mike Vallely in 1989. As of ...

, appearing in ''Rubbish Heap'' - 1989 and ''Two World Industries Men'' - 1990. After World Industries, Pastras rode for Blue skateboards. In 1992, Pastras and

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

founded STEREO Skateboard. Pastras starred in the STEREO

skate video A skate video is a movie of or about skateboarding typically showing new tricks and a series of skateboarders in a montage set to music. History Released in 1965, the short film ''Skaterdater'' is credited as the first film to depict skateboa ...

''Tincan Folklore.'' Pastras graced the cover of

Slap magazine ''Slap Magazine'' was an American skate magazine created by Kevin Thatcher and Fausto one late night when they sparked an idea to create their own competition. At the time they ran Thrasher Skateboard Mag. The next day they put Lance Dawes in cha ...

in May 1992. In 1993, Pastras graced the cover of

Transworld Skateboarding ''Transworld Skateboarding'' (''TWS'') was an Skate magazine, international magazine on skateboarding that was based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The publication also ran an accompanying website and video production company. In Februar ...

Stereo skateboards

Stereo used

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

imagery, combined with Pastras' artwork, and

super-8 Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...

skate footage giving Stereo a unique vibe.

Acting / Television host

In 2019, Pastras plays a host in the

directed music video for E.B. The Younger titled: ''When The Time Comes.''

References

External links

Talkin' Schmit Ep. 75: Chris "Dune" Pastras

Pastras skate video part: Two World Industries Men

Chris Pastras - Tincan Folklore
American skateboarders African-American skateboarders Living people 1972 births Artist skateboarders African-American businesspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-skateboarding-bio-stub