Stephen Hill (born 1962) is a former champion Australian

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 ...

and the co-founder of

Globe International Globe International Ltd. is an Australian footwear, clothing, and skateboard hardware company. It was founded in 1985 by three Australian brothers. Globe International's core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands, and ...

, a multinational, youth culture, branded footwear, apparel and skate/surf business with his brother Peter Hill. Stephen Hill has also acted as an executive

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

on over 30 media projects including feature films and television specials. Hill has also been involved in several community action projects including promoting new skateboarding facilities and local environmental causes.

Career

Stephen Hill was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and started skateboarding at age eight with his brother Peter in the early 1970s. In their teenage years, they put together one of the early Australian sponsored skate teams, Sparx, were in the

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

skateboard team in 1979 and competed successfully in Australian skate titles. Along with their younger brother,

Matt Hill Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. Career His roles include List of Ed, Edd n Eddy characters#Ed, Ed in ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene, Kevin Keene/Captain N in ''Captain N: The Game Ma ...

, they began to import skateboards and associated equipment, eventually forming Hardcore Distribution, a company that later grew into Globe International. In the 1980s, the brothers promoted skateboarding in Australia, running demonstrations and tours featuring local and American skateboarders including Allen Losi,

Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time ...

Christian Hosoi Christian Rosha Hosoi ( ; born October 5, 1967) is an American professional skateboarder. He is also known by the nicknames "Christ" and "Holmes". Early life Hosoi was born on October 5, 1967 to a father of Japanese descent from Hawaii, and a mo ...

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

Lance Mountain Robert Lance Mountain (born June 13, 1964) is a professional skateboarder and artist who was one of the prominent skateboarders throughout the 1980s, primarily due to his involvement with the Bones Brigade. As of August 2017, Mountain continues ...

, Jeff Phillips 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 ...

. They also distributed Vision Streetwear and Airwalk shoes. Stephen and Peter wrote two books on skateboarding, ''The Skateboard Book: Blast! '' (1986) and ''Skate Hard'' (1988). The design plans from those two books influenced the construction of Australian

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...

s and ramps for the following decade. In 1987 the brothers were profiled on a segment on Australian skateboarding on ''60 Minutes''. In that same year, they co-founded an Australian skateboarding magazine, ''540''. Stephen and his brother were also early

snowboarders Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

in Australia and successfully lobbied for snowboarders' access to Australian snow fields. Stephen and Peter's private company, Globe, grew throughout the 1990s, and they also licensed major

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

labels

Mossimo Mossimo is a sportswear and accessories American company, founded in 1986 by designer Mossimo Giannulli and owned by Iconix Brand Group since 2006. Mossimo specializes in youth and teenage clothing such as shirts, jeans, jackets, socks, underwe ...

, Stussy,

Eckō Unltd. Yakira, L.L.C. (trade name: Ecko Unltd.) is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under brands including the men's Ecko Unltd. line and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. ...

, Freshjive, Split, Hardcore Jeans and

Paul Frank Industries Paul Frank is a US-based lifestyle products company, selling apparel and accessories. The company is owned by Futurity Brands AG, a subsidiary of Futurity Brands Limited as of 2020. History Creator Born on August 29, 1967, in Downey, CA. Paul Fra ...

, along with creating their own propriety brands, including Mooks and M-ONE-11. In 2001, Stephen oversaw the

public float In the context of stock markets, the public float or free float represents the portion of shares of a corporation that are in the hands of public investors as opposed to locked-in shares held by promoters, company officers, controlling-interest i ...

of the company on the

Australian Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as, ...

with his brothers, maintaining a large shareholding and subsequently appointed to the board as an

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

. Stephen remained actively involved in product development and brand creation, as well as development and positioning for the company as it expanded into North America, Europe and Asia. Along with his brothers, Stephen also founded

Whyte House Entertainment Whyte House Entertainment (formerly known as Whyte House Productions) is an international film, television and multimedia production company with over 25 years of experience and is owned by brothers, Matt Hill (CEO), Matt, Peter Hill (entreprene ...

, a multimedia company based in Australia and Los Angeles in 1997, where he acted as an executive producer on all titles produced. In 1999, Stephen produced ''Tic Tac 2 Heelflip: Australia’s Skateboarding History'', which played at film festivals, broadcast on national television and was released on Home entertainment formats. Stephen was also an executive producer on ''Love the Beast'', a feature documentary featuring

Eric Bana Eric Banadinović, (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his career in the sketch comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (19 ...

released theatrically in Australia in 2009. Hill has executive produced the award-winning surf short film ''Electric Blue Heaven'' (2012) and most recently, ''Dark Hollow'' (2021). Stephen was the founder of the Globe

World Cup Skateboarding World Cup Skateboarding (WCS), sometimes referred to as World Cup of Skateboarding, is an international skateboarding organization that hosts the World Championships of Skateboarding series and other skateboard competitions. Overview Focusing on ...

event, a professional skateboarding competition held annually in Melbourne at the

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing the ...

, which ran during February from 2002 through to 2006, along with the Gallaz Girls Street Jam series. The Hill brothers featured in the book, ''Unemployable: 30 Years of Hardcore, Skate and Street'' released for the 30th anniversary of the Globe and Hardcore companies in 2015. Hill has also been involved in with several community action projects including promoting new and improved skate parks and the Bayside Transport Action Group to reduce heavy truck traffic along Melbourne’s Beach Road.

Personal life

Along with his brother, Peter, Stephen Hill has been listed in

BRW Rich 200 The ''Financial Review Rich List'', formerly known as the ''BRW Rich 200'', is a list of Australia's two hundred wealthiest individuals and families, ranked by personal net worth published annually in ''The Australian Financial Review Magazine' ...

list since 2001. Stephen Hill lives in Los Angeles, Fiji and Melbourne, skating, surfing and snowboarding regularly.

Filmography

*1998 ''Canvas: The Skateboarding Documentary'' (television documentary) Executive Producer *2000/1 ''The Heist'' (feature film) Executive Producer *2001 ''Opinion'' (video documentary) Executive Producer *2001 ''Tic Tac 2 Heelflip'' (television documentary) Producer *2001 ''Down and Out with the Dolls'' (feature film) Executive Producer *2002 ''Globe World Cup Skateboarding'' (TV movie) (producer) *2002 '' AKA: Girl Skater'' (documentary) Executive Producer *2003 ''The Globe World Cup Skateboarding'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2004 ''AKA: Girl Surfer'' (TV documentary) Executive Producer *2004 ''The Globe World Cup Skateboarding'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2004 ''Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2004 '' Almost: Round Three'' (skate video) Executive Producer *2005 ''Globe Wildcard Skateboarding'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2005 ''The Globe World Cup Skateboarding'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2005 ''What If? '' (skate video) Executive Producer *2005 ''Globe WCT Fiji'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2006 ''The Global Assault!!! '' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2006 ''Secret Machine'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2006 ''2006 Globe WCT FIJI'' (video documentary) Executive Producer *2007 ''United by Fate 2'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2007 ''The Man Who Souled the World'' (feature documentary) Executive Producer *2007 ''Money for Blood'' (TV documentary) Executive Producer *2007 ''Inaugural Hobgood Challenge'' (documentary) Executive Producer *2007 ''United by Fate 1'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2008 ''United by Fate 4'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2008 ''Slaughter at the Opera'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2008 ''United by Fate 3'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2008 ''New Emissions of Light and Sound'' (video documentary) Producer *2009 '' Love the Beast'' (documentary) Executive Producer *2009 ''2008 Globe Pro Fiji'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2009 ''United by Fate 5'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2010 ''United by Fate 6'' (TV movie) Executive Producer *2011 ''Year Zero'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2012 ''Electric Blue Heaven'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2014 ''Strange Rumblings in Shangri-LA'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2021 ''Dark Hollow'' (surf video) Executive Producer *2021 ''Garage Dreams'' (TV Series) Executive Producer

References

External links

Globe International corporate websiteWhyte House Entertainment website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Stephen 1962 births Living people Businesspeople from Melbourne Australian film producers Australian skateboarders Australian film studio executives Australian company founders