The Black Tony Hawk: Stevie Williams talks skateboarding in the African American community
 photo by Steed Media Servce
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On a chilly night in Atlanta’s Little Five Points section, Stevie Williams takes warm comfort standing atop a half pipe in his new store, Sk8tique. A native of Philadelphia, Williams recently partnered with DJ Don Cannon for his latest business venture. At this particular juncture, the two men just finished celebrating the boutique’s opening with performances from Asher Roth and The Cool Kids.
When asked about his partnership with Cannon and the hip-hop community, Williams insists that it’s a more than a smart business move; it was a natural union.
“Skateboarding has dealt with a lot of the hardships that [hip-hop] has been through before it blew it up, so it’s only right that something like that could come to common ground. And [for] somebody like me – that lives a pop culture lifestyle – it only reflects my team, my skateboards and my career,” Williams says. “I saw a lane, and I took it.”
Surprisingly, though, Williams wasn’t the first black athlete to crack into the skateboarding arena. Back in the mid-1980s, guys like Ray Barbee, Ron Allen and Steve Steadham were pioneers in introducing African Americans to skateboard culture. Historically known as a “white boy sport,” the 1990s saw stars like Harold Hunter and Kareem Campbell take skating to new heights, but it was Williams who has been the most successful person of color to bring mainstream success to the sport.
The legendary skate sneaker brand DC Shoes endorsed Williams for six years before he left the brand to join Reebok. With the Reebok, Williams became the first-ever skater to land a major deal with the athletic apparel giant with his Dirty Ghetto Kids RBK line. For Reebok, the 28-year-old was a perfect replacement for Allen Iverson and Jay-Z to market their urban-themed styles. Even though he would eventually leave Reebok to pursue business ventures with the Jordan Brand, Williams understands the importance of his achievements.
“I hear that a lot, that I have broken some barriers,” he says. “I have accomplished a lot and at the same time, I’m still trying break other barriers, so it’s not like I’m content on what I’m doing. I just go for it, and sometimes I try to be the first dude to go get it.”
As the crowd at Sk8tique dies down and Williams looks on in awe at his most recent successful business endeavor, he finally admits that he might actually be a big deal in this thing called skateboarding. “I can’t really take credit for all of the black kids skating,” he says. “I do know I’ve got a piece of that, and I’m content with that. So I can keep pushing and [people] recognize the work I’ve put in.”
—gavin philip godfrey
