Special Guest Per Welinder

We are very excited to announce that two time World Freestyle Skateboard Champion Per Welinder will be joining us at this years World Freestyle Round-Up. Come meet the skater who doubled for Michale J. Fox in Back to the Future and who went on to launch Birdhouse Skateboards with Tony Hawk.

Google Per Welinder, and your Internet search will reveal the history of a pro skater and two-time World Champion Freestyle Skateboarder. Managing his own athletic career, Per landed sponsorships with Swatch Watches and a role performing the stunts in the cult film classic Back to the Future. Per applied that early promotional experience to his first business venture, Birdhouse Skateboards, a business he started with fellow skater Tony Hawk.

Today, Welinder is an entrepreneur in the business world. He earned his MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. Welinder is the President of Blitz Distribution, a brand incubator for apparel and skateboards. Per is also a motivational speaker and engages crowds at universities and trade organizations on the subjects of entrepreneurship and building brands in youth culture. Former Chairman and current board member of the board for IASC, the International Association of Skateboard Companies, Per has co-authored the book, Mastering Skateboarding, published by Human Kinetics, a how-to 270 page trick book on skateboarding.

Interview: by Monty Little:

Monty – Per the last time I saw you was at the TransWorld Skateboard Championships at EXPO 86. What was that like winning 2nd place in the World?

Per – Canadians made for a very friendly host, huge crowds made for a really good contest and a great way to showcase freestyle skateboarding to the world.

Monty – I know you were one of the three freestyle skaters that skated for Powell Peralta, how did that come to be?

Per – I met Stacy Peralta at the Eurocana Summer Camp in Sweden in 1980 when he and Alan Gelfand came over. Then after a short stint on SIMS with Steve Rocco, Stacy asked if I was interested in riding for Powell Peralta.

Monty – One of the most recognizable graphics in the skateboard industry is your Powell Peralta Viking Skull deck, What’s the story behind it?

Per – When I heard from Stacy that I was going to get my own model, I was stoked and spent months on what I would want. Something striking, representative of my Swedish heritage and of course aligned with Court’s gnarly style of drawing skulls. The viking motif came on early in the process… then towards the very end I suggested we give the skull fangs to make it more fantasy-like. The icing on the cake came later when I added runic lettering around the contour of the deck, with the mantra “search and strive, push beyond with strength, yours, not theirs, that is the key”. Thank you to Court, Stacy and George for making it possible in the first place. Today some 30 years later it is awesome to see that the graphics still has such strong appeal.

Monty – So what was it like to be the skateboarding stunt double for Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future?

Per – Although I worked on the film set for about 2 weeks, I only briefly met Marty (Michael J. Fox ) as he was filming for his tv show Family Ties in the daytime when we shot the skateboard scenes. All the skate scenes had already been filmed once, when Eric Stolz who was cast to play the character Marty McFly with my buddy Bob Schmelzer as the stunt double. But when Stolz was fired and Michael stepped in, the skate chase scenes had to be filmed over, as Michael is quite a bit shorter than Eric. That’s when I was lucky enough to be Michael’s stunt double.

Monty – Launching Birdhouse Skateboards with Tony Hawk, what was that like?

Per – Pure fun. Tony and I did not exactly know what we were doing, but it was really fun to get the riders involved turning Birdhouse into what it became.

Monty – I understand that you have made Southern California your new home?

Per – I am stoked to to live here with my wife Elaine who is super fun and our two sons, Lukas and Ben.

Monty – Not too many people know that you are one of the guys who dreamed up Go Skateboarding Day.

Per – Don Brown and I were charged to create something cool for the industry back on 2001 as board members of the International Skateboard Association. So we took a long breakfast at Ruby’s at the end of the Huntington Beach Pier. Go Skateboarding Day was born after some good fries and milkshakes mixed with bacon and eggs. It is truly amazing to see what Go Skateboarding Day has become – a celebration of skateboarding in all corners of the World.

Monty – I know that you are very busy running your business but do you still find time to skate?

Per – Cruise a bit on a custom slalom board with lots of flex. I love turning and picking up speed. Before I picked up a freestyle board I was a slalom racer.

Monty – Thanks for your time Per, we will see you in May at the World Round-Up.