Russell Wayne Howell (born September 1949) is a professional skateboarder. While working towards his degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

, Howell competed and won many freestyle skateboarding competitions throughout his skating career.

Life and career

Howell was born in September 1949 in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

, but moved with his family to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

when he was nine months old. Howell first began skateboarding at the age of 9 in 1958. At the age of 19, Howell entered the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, where his roommate got him interested in skiing. After his service, he received a two-year degree in mathematics from a junior college. From there, Howell studied

at California State University, Long Beach, eventually earning a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1979. While working and going to school full-time, Howell began teaching people how to skateboard for free. Encouraged by his students to try competing in a skate contest, he enrolled as a competitor in the 1975 Dyno Championships in Huntington Beach Mall. Howell ended up placing first in the men's freestyle event, and was deemed the second-best overall skater. This was the first in a string of freestyle contest wins for Howell. Most notably, he won the senior men's freestyle event at the 1975 Bahne/Cadillac National Skateboard Championships in

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...

, the same competition that helped propel 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 ...

to notoriety. Russ set a Guinness World record for longest handstand on a skateboard (2 minutes). In 1979, he set an unofficial record by performing 163 consecutive 360-degree spins on his skateboard. Russ is the first professional skateboarder and opened up the sport to professionalism. He served on many organizational boards in an effort to elevate the sport. He also worked in the

Long Beach Unified School District The Long Beach Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Long Beach, California, United States. Established in 1885, Long Beach Unified School District now educates 81,000 students in 84 public schools in the cities of Lon ...

as a substitute teacher. He is a member of the

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of perching bird, passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family (biology), family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genus, genera. T ...

Hall of Fame. He currently skates for Decomposed Skateboards. During the 1970s, Russ Howell built his own wheels (Howell Freestyle Wheels) for his freestyle boards. In 1975, he was sponsored by Grentec, whose plastic skateboards he promoted. However, Howell became disillusioned with Grentec; according to him, the company did not pay him, and the boards he received felt cheap. In 1992, Howell moved to

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

Legacy

Howell is regarded as one of the earliest professional freestyle skateboarders who wanted to help skateboarding gain legitimacy as a sport. Stacy Peralta of the Z-Boys recalled that Howell "might have been one of the only skaters to get paid at the time" in 1975. An issue of ''

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 ...

'' magazine that same year described him as "a model competitor", and that he "has done more than anyone to promote the credibility of skateboarding by taking it into the dance-art form stage." Regarding his beliefs, Howell said, "I was a physical-education major, and I wanted to help integrate skateboarding into public school athletics and into a place where the International Olympic Committee would consider it a sport."

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Russ American skateboarders Sportspeople from California Living people Freestyle skateboarders Place of birth missing (living people) 1949 births