- C.R. Stecyk III is a Southern California native who has been recognized as being one of its leading historians of pop culture. Stecyk originally gained notoriety in the late 1960’Äôs executing artwork on surfboards for such surfing luminaries as Miki Dora and Dave Sweet. His fame increased with his involvement in the formation of the infamous Jeff Ho / Zephyr surf shop in Venice, California. There he demonstrated an iconic personal style, which was typified by such graff glyphs as the "Pig and Crossbones’Äù ’ÄúSkate and Destroy’Äù and the ’ÄúDogtown Cross.’Äù Those marks in particular became symbols of skateboarding’Äôs new rebellious attitude. C.R.’Äôs efforts as a writer/photojournalist in Surfer, Skateboarder and Thrasher magazines introduced the exploits of the DT Zephyr skate crew to the world. His often satirically humorous narratives were extremely popular although they were oftentimes decried by critics for their alleged advocacy of ’Äúsex, drugs and vandalism.’Äù Two-time World Champion Russ Howell pointedly commented "There were many good skaters who contributed positively to the sport and somehow Skateboarder chose to promote a gang of kids who only sought to destroy the sport on an organized level." Regardless of the abundant controversy, Stecyk’Äôs stories inspired a generation, and he is credited as being the Godfather of the sport/art of skateboarding, as it is practiced today. He is also a fine artist who exhibits his sculpture, painting and installation in international venues. C.R. is one of the founders of Juxtapoz art magazine, and has contributed to a number of different books dealing with the art and culture pertaining to surfing, skateboarding and automobiles. There have also been several touring museum exhibitions curated by Stecyk that explored the aforementioned themes. His life was portrayed in the 2001 award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, as well as the Hollywood feature film Lords of Dogtown in 2005.
