In the mid-70s, George Powell worked as an engineer at Stanford University and used his knowledge to experiment with the manufacture of skateboard decks and wheels in his free time.
He used previously unknown materials such as fiberglass and aluminum and for the wheels he used urethane, the miracle material from which all wheels are still made today.
After being kicked out in 1976, Powell joined SIMS Skateboards in production and continued to experiment intensive with materials and shapes.
In 1977, Powell left SIMS and started his own company, Powell Corporation, where he impressed with decks made of maple wood and aluminum and the cult brand Bones Wheels made of urethane was born.
During these years, Stacy Peralta evolved from a professional skateboarder and legendary Z-Boys team member to one of the world's most important skateboarding stars.
In 1978, George Powell and Stacy Peralta finally got together and founded the iconic Powell Peralta and as the cherry on top, the magical, unique talent Vernon Courtlandt Johnson or VCJ took care of the eternally legendary graphics and designs.
Among other things, VCJ created the Ripper, the Caballero dragon, Tony Hawk's bird skull, Rodney Mullen's chessboard skeleton, Vallely's elephant, McGill's skull and snake, the skull and sword, Per Welinder's Viking skull and tons of more hot graphics !
In 1979, Skateboarder Magazine named Stacy Peralta “Skater of the Year,” and he announced his retirement from professional skateboarding to immediately found the Bones Brigade Team.
The founding members were Steve Caballero, Alan Gelfand, Mike McGill and Ray Rodriguez who also was the first pro ever at Powell Peralta !
Beside of this, pro decks from Jay Smith and Rodney Mullen were also released.
In 1982, the first Tony Hawk board was released.
The Bones Brigade's success was awesome and they dominated almost every contest.
In 1984, Powell Peralta released another milestone with “The Bones Brigade Video Show” as it is the first skateboard video in skateboard history !
A year later the second video “Future Primitive” was released, followed in 1987 by the next historic move... “The Search for Animal Chin” !
Public Domain followed in 1988 and “Ban This” in 1989.
Powell Peralta was the undisputed big player in the business...
But the market and the scene changed dramatically at the end of the 80s...
More and more riders were leaving their professional contracts with the big brands to start their own companies and the popularity and success of Powell Peralta and others went down...
In order to keep the riders, Stacy Peralta suggested giving the best pros their own brands under the Powell Peralta umbrella but this was unacceptable for George Powell who wanted to continue with everything under the established name.
The creation of all these new brands founded by skateboarders led to an oversupply in the market and unfortunately a simultaneous drop in demand.
Powell Peralta tried everything to get through this crisis as best they could.
In 1991, however, Stacy Peralta left the company and started a career as a filmmaker with the 2001 documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys” and 2005's “Lords of Dogtown” among his most important works.
Before his departure he still produced the videos “Eight” and “Celebrity Tropical Fish” but the company was struggling to survive (Steve Caballero was the only remaining founding member of the Bones Brigade).
In 1993, George rebranded Powell Peralta as Powell Skateboards and continued to produce hard goods.
After more than 10 years without contact and thanks to the big effort of Lance Mountain, Stacy and George reunited and make peace.
In 2012, “Bones Brigade: An Autobiography” was published and new products were launched on the market.
Even VCJ rejoined the duo and immediately started creating new designs for the brand.
In 2016, the crowning glory of their journey followed and Powell Peralta became member of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame !!!
As already mentioned and experienced, Powell always had a knack for choosing his riders. Here is a small selection:
Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Steve Rocco, Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen, Ray Barbee, Frankie Hill, Bucky Lasek, Salman Agah, Mike Vallely, Danny Way, Mike McGill, Guy Mariano, Jason Ellis, Alan Gelfand, Nicky Guerrero, Chris Senn, Kevin Harris, Andy Macdonald, Colin McKay, Brandon Novak, Ray Rodriguez, Steve Saiz, Giorgio Zattoni, Steve Steadham, Jim Thiebaud, Ray Underhill, Andy Anderson, Per Welinder, Kelvin Hoefler, Lucas Alves, Sakura Yosozumi, Brandon Johnson