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 U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 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 known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. 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 an American brand 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 2014, ...

, 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 Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series ''My Name Is Earl'', for which he was nominated for ...

founded STEREO Skateboard. Pastras starred in the STEREO

skate video A skate video is a movie of or about skateboarding typically showing new Skate tricks, tricks and a series of skateboarders in a Montage (filmmaking), montage set to music. History Released in 1965, the short film ''Skaterdater'' is credited a ...

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

Slap magazine ''Slap Magazine'' is 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 ch ...

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

Transworld Skateboarding ''Transworld Skateboarding'' (''TWS'') is an international magazine on skateboarding that was based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The publication also ran an accompanying website and video production company. In February 2019, the pub ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 formal name for Super 8 is 8-mm Type S, distinguishing it from the ...

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastras, Chris American skateboarders African-American skateboarders Living people 1972 births Artist skateboarders 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen