Peggy E. Oki (born April 10, 1956) is an American

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 ...

, surfer,

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

, and

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...

. She was an original member of the

Z-Boys The Zephyr Competition Team (or Z-Boys) were a group of American skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Santa Monica and Venice, California. Originally consisting of 12 members, the Z-boys were originally sponsored by the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zeph ...

and competed with the Zephyr Competition Team in the 1970s. She was the only female member of the Z-Boys.

Early life and education

Oki was born in

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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to Ben Oki and Sadako Oki. Her father was a

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

-born

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

. Her family is originally from

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, Japan. Oki grew up in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

, in an area later called Dogtown. Her father bought Oki (and her brother) her first skateboard when she was 10 years old from the

Fedco Federal Employees' Distributing Company, known as Fedco, was a membership department store chain that operated in Southern California from 1948 to 1999. History Beginning The chain was unusual in that it was a nonprofit consumers' cooperative. ...

department store. She said it was a Black Knight skateboard with "

Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom '' The Flintstones'', which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintsto ...

(stone-age) rock wheels". In 1973, Oki graduated from Venice High School. She has an AA in biology from

Santa Monica City College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high s ...

, and an AA in fine and studio arts (with Honors) from

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, ma ...

. Oki received a BFA in painting from the

College of Creative Studies The College of Creative Studies is the smallest of the three undergraduate colleges at the University of California, Santa Barbara, unique within the University of California system in terms of structure and philosophy. Its small size, studen ...

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

with an emphasis on

environmental art Environmental art is a range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works. Environmental art has evolved away from formal concerns, for example ...

Career

In the 1970s, while attending

, Oki began skating on the original Zephyr Competition Team also known as

. Oki, who was a surfer and

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

rider, met skateboarder

Jay Adams Jay J. Adams (February 3, 1961 – August 15, 2014) was an American skateboarder who, as a teen, was the youngest member of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team (Z-Boys). His spontaneous freestyle skateboarding style, inspired by ocean surf ...

, who asked her if she wanted to join the Zephyr team. She went to Jeff Ho's shop

Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions was a surfboard manufacturing facility and surf shop located in Santa Monica, California, that opened in 1971 and closed in 1976. The building was designated as a City Landmark in 2007. History In 19 ...

on Main Street in Venice, where the team was based, and joined the team. Oki's skateboarding style was described as raw and gritty. In March 1975, she took first place in Women's Freestyle at the Del Mar Nationals skateboarding competition. She said that she did not enjoy the politics of competing or the wait time involved where there wasn't much skating happening, so stopped shortly after the Del Mar event. Since 1998, Oki has worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer selling fine art cards as Oki Designs. Oki has also worked freelance in the fields of landscape and architectural design. In 2001, she appeared in the film ''

Dogtown and Z-Boys ''Dogtown and Z-Boys'' is a 2001 documentary film produced by Agi Orsi and directed by Stacy Peralta. The documentary explores the pioneering of the Zephyr skateboard team in the 1970s (of which Peralta was a member) and the evolving sport of ...

''. From 2003 to 2008, she taught art at

, Continuing Education and youth art programs through the Carpinteria Valley Arts Council. In March 2004, she founded the Origami Whales Project to raise awareness about commercial whaling in Japan, Norway, and Iceland. Since 2011, she has been an environmental art instructor at the Origami Whales Project's Whales and Dolphins Ambassador Program. The program works with students to educate them about the human created threats to

cetaceans Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

and the ocean habitats where they live.

Personal life

Oki went vegan around 2001 for ethical reasons, and before that she was a vegetarian. She is involved with many activities such as yoga, skateboarding, rock climbing, and has been a life-long surfer.

Awards

* 2010: ''

Santa Barbara Independent The ''Santa Barbara Independent'' is a news, arts, and alternative newspaper published every Thursday in Santa Barbara, California, United States. History The weekly paper was founded in November 1986, the result of a merger between ''The Santa ...

'', Local Hero 2010 * 2012: Skateboarding Hall of Fame

References

External links

*
Origami Whales Project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oki, Peggy 1956 births Living people American skateboarders American sportswomen American surfers American people of Japanese descent Climate activists Female skateboarders University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American women environmentalists American environmentalists Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni 21st-century American women