Alan Gelfand

Alan "Ollie" Gelfand (born January 1, 1963) is an influential American skateboarder, racing driver, and entrepreneur credited with inventing the ollie, the foundational skateboarding trick.

Early life Alan Gelfand was born in New York City, and is Jewish. Gelfand moved to Hollywood, Florida with his family in 1972. He started skateboarding in 1974 after his father bought him his first skateboard.

Skateboarding career

Invention of the ollie Named by Thrasher Magazine as "The Founding Father of A Generation", Alan Gelfand's invention of the ollie changed the face of skateboarding. His initial performance of the trick in 1976 at Skateboard USA in Hollywood, Florida, was serendipitous, stemming from the imperfect construction of the skatepark itself. Gelfand explained that the park's poorly constructed features inadvertently led to his groundbreaking discovery. "It was all by accident. The park was built so poorly that many of the features were over vertical and uneven. There was a part of the pool run where, when you skated it, you went out, caught air, and because it was over vertical, the board would pitch back towards your legs. You'd bend your knees back in and the board would come back to you. It was all by accident, really," Gelfand recalled. He began applying this technique to various elements, further refining his approach. By 1979, during a visit to Winchester Skate Park in San Jose, he was perfecting the ollie, leading to it becoming a fundamental move in skateboarding.

This unintentional innovation, dubbed the "trick of the century" by Stacy Peralta, fundamentally changed skateboarding, transforming it from simple maneuvers to complex aerial dynamics. Gelfand was credited in the Oxford Dictionary of English, the Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Webster's Dictionary as being the inventor of the trick after it had previously been listed as unknown.

The trick involves a skateboarder snapping the tail of the board down while jumping to lift the board into the air without the use of hands. The Bones Brigade was an elite team of skateboarders sponsored by Powell-Peralta, which included other legendary skateboarders like Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen, and was instrumental in the evolution and popularization of skateboarding. Their collective innovation and media exposure played a significant role in skateboarding's transition from a niche hobby to a global phenomenon.

Gelfand's competitive spirit was evident as he participated in and won numerous skateboarding contests globally. His tour and competition schedule in the late 1970s included events across Europe and South America, where he showcased the ollie and other complex maneuvers, further popularizing skateboarding as a sport.

Competitions entered, touring and cultural impact Throughout his career, Gelfand participated in numerous notable skateboarding competitions.

Racing career

After retiring from professional skateboarding, Gelfand transitioned into car racing, particularly focusing on Volkswagens. His racing career spanned from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, where he participated in various endurance races and showcased his driving skills.

Grand-Am Cup Series Gelfand competed in the Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series in 2001, participating in multiple races across different circuits:

Daytona International Speedway: Third and eighth positions in two different races. Phoenix International Raceway: Fifth and twenty-first positions. Homestead-Miami Speedway: Seventh position. Watkins Glen International: Tenth position.

Other competitions Gelfand also competed in various other endurance races:

1993 IMSA Firestone Firehawk race: Fourteenth position. 1993 3 Hour Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship at Laguna Seca: Twenty-eighth position. 2001 Daytona Motorola Cup: Ninth position.

Year Race Class Position Team Car Make/Model Class Source 1990 Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars 1 BSI Racing 1981 VW Rabbit 1 IT-B Racing History Project 1991 Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars 1 BSI Racing 1981 VW Rabbit 1 IT-B Racing History Project 1992 Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars 1 BSI Racing 1981 VW Rabbit 1 IT-B Racing History Project 1993 Longest day of Nelson 24 Hour Endurance Race for Showroom Stock Cars 1 BSI Racing 1981 VW Rabbit 1 IT-B Racing History Project 2001 Daytona International Speedway 3 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST The Third Turn 2001 Phoenix International Raceway 5 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST The Third Turn 2001 Homestead-Miami Speedway 7 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST The Third Turn 1992 Ace Auto Parts 250 Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championships Sebring International Raceway-Sebring, FL 8 N/A N/A N/A 2001 Daytona International Speedway 8 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST The Third Turn 2001 Daytona Motorola Cup 9 N/A N/A N/A Zoom Pics 2001 Watkins Glen International 10 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST The Third Turn 1993 IMSA Firestone Firehawk race 14 Team Schlesinger-Gelfand Volkswagen Corrado N/A Ultimate Racing History 2001 Grand-Am Cup Street Stock Series at Phoenix International Raceway 21 Speedsource Porsche Boxster ST Motorsport 1993 3 Hour Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship for Grand Sports, Sports, and Touring entry list 28 Rally's Hamburgers Volkswagen Corrado Touring Prog Covers

Progression into automotive industry

Frequently working as a mechanic on the cars he raced, and those of his teammates, post-racing, Gelfand continued his involvement with automobiles by founding the German Car Depot in Hollywood, Florida. The business specializes in the repair and maintenance of German automobiles, reflecting his connection with automotive engineering and mechanics.

Automotive Business - German Car Depot Gelfand opened the German Car Depot, an auto repair shop specializing in German automobiles, located in Hollywood, Florida. The shop, established after a rebranding from VW Depot due to a trademark dispute, now operates with eight bays and serves hundreds of cars monthly, generating multimillion-dollar revenues. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary still lists the origin of the word as unknown, despite all other editions crediting Gelfand.

Filmography Gelfand's significant contributions to skateboarding have also been recognized in several documentary films, which explore the cultural and historical aspects of the sport. His participation in these films helps preserve the legacy of skateboarding's evolution and his pivotal role within it.

Skateboard Madness (1980) Gelfand appeared as a skateboarder in Skateboard Madness, a documentary that captures the vibrant skateboarding scene of the late 1970s. The film provides insight into the dynamics of skateboarding culture during a period of significant growth and innovation.

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012) In Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, directed by Stacy Peralta, Gelfand appears as himself. The documentary focuses on the history of the Bones Brigade, a legendary skateboarding team known for their influence on the sport in the 1980s. Gelfand's firsthand account contributes to the narrative of the team's pioneering impact on skateboarding.

Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) Gelfand also featured in Dogtown and Z-Boys, another documentary by Stacy Peralta. Originally filmed in the 1970s, but released officially in 2001, these two films examine the skate and surf culture of 1970s Venice, California, highlighting the innovations brought by the Zephyr Skateboard Team. Gelfand's involvement in the documentary underscores the revolutionary changes in skateboarding during this era, including his invention of the ollie which can be seen on video for the first time.