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Robert Lance Mountain was born in June 13, 1964 in Pasadena, California and was one of the most popular skateboarders throughout most of the 1980's, and one of the five most legendary members of the Bones Brigade, as featured in the 1987 classic The Search For Animal Chin (Bones Brigade Video Three).
When contests were the main judge of status in the skateboarding world, Mountain was a top competitor during street skating's first phase, but he specialized at riding vert (on ramps and in pools), where he also regularly placed in the top five.
Mountain was first sponsored by Variflex in 1982 before joining Powell Peralta a year later, where he formed a strong friendship with Stacy Peralta, the team leader and director of the Bones Brigade video series.
Mountain gained further eminence when he won the Upland Turkey Shoot at Upland Skatepark in 1983, against tough competition from fellow team riders Steve Caballero, Mike McGill and Tony Hawk. This was followed by Mountain acting as the backdrop of skateboarding's first video, The Bones Brigade Video Show, from 1984. In it, Mountain serves as the segue for all the video's various parts as he skateboards around Los Angeles, showcasing street skating in it's infancy as a legitimate discipline.
In the early 90's, the skateboard industry went through a major shift as street skating overtook vertical skateboarding as the dominant discipline, and the popularity of the Bones Brigade faltered as next wave of skaters made a name for themselves, strictly street skating with an emphasis on video parts instead of competitions. He left Powell Peralta and started his own skateboard company, "The Firm" in 1991 with notable skateboarders including Bob Burnquist, Ray Barbee, and Rodrigo Teixeira. On March 13, 2006, Lance Mountain announced the end of The Firmhttp://www.concretedisciples.com/bbs/index.php?action=vthread&forum=6&topic=12257. He is now riding for Flip Skateboards, in addition to Fury Trucks, Adidas footwear, and Stüssy clothing.
Mountain is married to Yvette Loveless and has one son, Lance Ronald Cyril Mountain.
Trivia
Lance Mountain is the inventor of the fingerboard, back in the mid 80's, fashioning out of cardboard, pencil erasers, and a disassembled Hot Wheels toy. It was featured in an article in Transworld Skateboarding Magazine as well as in the Powell Peralta video, Future Primitive. It was created as a fun do-it-yourself project, using kitchen sinks to emulate pool riding. It has since evolved into a major toy category selling muliple millions of units, most prominently under the Tech Deck brand.
He was the co-designer of the Independent Stage V truck, along with Steve Caballero. http://www.independenttrucks.com/team/rider.php?rider=scaballero
He is the co-inventor of the Gay Twist, along with Neil Blender.http://www.thefirmskateboards.net/teampage/lance/interviews_nav./tws-87/tws_87.html
Mountain was a regular contributor to 411 Video Magazine, introducing each issue.
References
External links
"Lance Mountain"