Steve Caballero (born November 8, 1964) 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 ...

. He is known for the difficult tricks and air variations he invented for vertical skating and for setting the long-standing record for the highest air achieved on a

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, Inline skating, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially t ...

. In 1999, ''

Thrasher Magazine ''Thrasher'' is a skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello. The publication consists primarily of skateboard- and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews. The magazine also ...

'' named Caballero the "Skater of the Century".

Career

Caballero was born with

scoliosis Scoliosis is a condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve. The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not t ...

, a condition which causes a curvature of the spine, although he has stated that the condition "really hasn't affected me too much." He began skating in 1976 at the age of 12 and started his career at age 14. His first sponsor was Campbell Skate Park. In 1979, Caballero entered a national skate contest in Escondido. After finishing fifth place, he was approached by Stacy Peralta who offered him sponsorship with

Powell Peralta Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...

. He turned pro in 1980 during the Gold Cup series at the Oasis Skatepark, Southern California. By this time, Caballero had invented the '

Caballerial The Caballerial was originally a skateboarding trick performed in a half pipe, but has now been adopted in styles other than vert, and is also performed in BMX. The original trick is a fakie backside 360 ollie Ollie is a given name and a nickname ...

' (also known as 'Cab'), a skateboarding trick also known as the fakie 360 aerial. Caballero is also credited with inventing the

frontside In surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and aggressive inline skating, frontside and backside are terms that are used to describe how a person approaches an obstacle or performs a certain trick. In aggressive inline skating, frontside and bac ...

boardslide. In 1987, Caballero won both street and vert titles at the World Championships in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, Germany. The same year, he set the one-time world record for highest air achieved on a half pipe, which was 11 feet. Caballero's record was beaten by

Danny Way Danny Way (born April 15, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, company owner and rallycross driver who has been awarded ''Thrasher'' magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a ...

in 1997. In 1999, Caballero set another record for the longest board slide on a 44 step handrail. Caballero is a member of the

Bones Brigade Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...

, and has appeared in many of their videos, including ''

The Search for Animal Chin ''The Search for Animal Chin'' is a 1987 skateboarding film featuring the Bones Brigade. It is one of the first skateboarding films to have a plot, rather than simply a collection of skateboarding stunts and music videos. Plot summary The Bone ...

''. His current sponsors include

, Bones Bearings,

Independent Truck Company Independent Truck Company is a skateboard truck manufacturer based in Santa Cruz, California. Established in 1978, the company is owned by NHS, Inc. and sponsors an extensive list of team riders. History The company was co-founded by Richard No ...

, Bones Wheels,

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

Skate Shoes, 187 killer pads, Merge4 socks, and Protec Helmets. His past sponsors included Tracker Trucks, Standard Trucks, and Red Dragon Apparel. During the first half of the 1980s, Caballero was arguably the best professional skater and featured on the cover of ''Thrasher Magazine'' several times. He also features as a character in five of the ''Tony Hawk'' video games, from ''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the second installment in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series of sports games and was released for the PlayStation in 2000, with subs ...

'' to ''

Tony Hawk's Underground ''Tony Hawk's Underground'' is a skateboarding video game and the fifth entry in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series after '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4''. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2003 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, ...

'', and as a downloadable skater in ''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD'' is a skateboarding video game in the ''Tony Hawk's (series), Tony Hawk's'' series. Developed by Robomodo and published by Activision, ''Pro Skater HD'' is a high-definition remake of classic levels from ''Tony Hawk' ...

''. Caballero featured in Stacy Peralta's 2012 documentary film, ''Bones Brigade: An Autobiography'', which chronicles the life stories of members of the

skate team such as

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 ...

, Rodney Mullen,

Mike McGill Mike McGill (born 1964) is an American skateboarder who is best known for inventing the trick entitled the " McTwist", an inverted 540 degree mute grab aerial. Professional skateboarding McTwist A McTwist is a transitional trick that was inv ...

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 ...

and

Tommy Guerrero Tommy Guerrero (born September 9, 1966) is an Indigenous American musician, composer, and professional skateboarder. Early life Guerrero was born in San Francisco, California. He is of Ohlone-native, Chilean, and Filipino descent from his fa ...

Other projects

He has been a member of several punk bands including

The Faction The Faction is an American hardcore band from San Jose, California. Pioneers of the skate punk era during the early 1980s, their primary stint being from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 2020, The Faction were one of the first bands whose music ...

, Odd Man Out, Shovelhead, and Soda, and released a compilation CD of the various bands he has appeared in, titled ''Bandology'', through Sessions Records. The Faction's song "Skate And Destroy" featured on the soundtrack of Powell Peralta's eponymous Bones Brigade Video Show. He also had an acting role as Juan in the 1984

Jimmy McNichol James Vincent McNichol III (born July 2, 1961), known professionally as Jimmy McNichol, is an American former child actor and singer who first gained fame as a teen idol in the late 1970s. At the beginning of his career his popularity quickly gr ...

action movie ''Escape from El Diablo'', together with fellow skateboarder

. Caballero also paints, collects toys and comic books, rides

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 ...

, and is a

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

enthusiast. Caballero started a new punk band called Urethane, who has signed to the Cyber Tracks record label. Their debut album, ‘Chasing Horizons’, was released on September 24, 2021.

Personal life

Caballero is of Japanese and Mexican descent, and is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Contest history

All contest results are covered in ''Thrasher Magazine'' and can be checked at the Thrasher Magazine Archives. /www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/covers/covers-index/#1981''Thrasher Magazine Archives'' Website Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved January 1, 2015

References

*Brooke, Michael (1999). ''Concrete Wave: The History Of Skateboarding''. .

External links

Official websiteOrder video shoutout from Steve CAB1984 Interview; Ragged Edge zine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero, Steve 1964 births Living people American skateboarders American sportspeople of Japanese descent American sportspeople of Mexican descent Sportspeople from San Jose, California Musicians from San Jose, California Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople Artist skateboarders