Skateboarding legend Salman Agah has founded a pizza joint in LA. Highly respected in the world of skateboarding, Thrasher Magazine voted him Skater of the Year in 1993. Transworld Skateboarding also named him Most Influential Skater of the Decade in the 1990s.
Most know Agah as the Switchgod or the Sultan of Swing, having pioneered skateboarding in switch stance. Skateboarding switch means standing in the opposite stance to your natural one, or essentially skating backwards. Tricks that might seem doable in a regular position suddenly take on a whole new level of difficulty. A mean technical feat, Agah makes switch skating look effortless, blowing minds in the process.
Salman Agah shreds professionally
Agah first got spotted at the age of 16 by skateboarding pioneer Stacy Peralta. Peralta came from the legendary surf troupe Z boys, as made famous in the 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z Boys. Agah joined the Powell Peralta skate team alongside Steve Caballero and the world-renowned Tony Hawk. He would later join Real Skateboards and Black Label Skateboards before rejoining Powell Peralta, whom he skates for today.
From 1993-2001, Agah had his own signature shoe made by Vans. In that time, skateboarding enabled him to travel the world through the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. He also competed at the X Games and acted as a judge at the World Cup of Skateboarding.
Agah has involved himself in several entrepreneurial ventures. Firstly, he co-founded the Academy of Skateboarding in 2002, focussing on training and development, partnering with several city and private skateparks. Then in 2003, he partnered with celebrated artist Shepard Fairey in establishing the Skaterade Beverage Co. Soon after, he launched the world’s first action sports driven social media website icelounge.com and Skatecoverage.com, a skateboarding media monitoring service.
Salman Agah skates the vert
Born in Washington DC to Iranian and Azeri parents, Agah also lived in Iran and Europe as a child. His family eventually moved back to the US and settled in San Jose, California. Agah first picked up a skateboard at just 5 years old, igniting a life-long passion. He currently resides in California with his wife and two children.
Of course, Agah’s career has not come without its hiccups. He credits the years of 2000-2004 as the absolute peak of his abilities: “there were things I used to do that I now perceive as impossible,” he says. However, this run of glory ended abruptly in 2004, with a motorcycle accident that would change everything. “It took me really long to come back from. I fractured seven ribs, separated my shoulder, punctured my lungs. I was thrashed,” he remembers.
Agah’s biggest achievement? Learning how to skate vert, the giant vertical ramp that most of us know through Tony Hawk. For Agah, doing even the simplest tricks on this mammoth structure deserves recognition: “When I finally got to learn that stuff later it was really the biggest accomplishment for me. Just a backside air, in front of the foot, late grab proper backside air overhead on vert is a huge accomplishment,” he says.
Salman Agah: Pizzanista!
Now Agah focuses his energies on the pizza joint he opened in LA, Pizzanista!. The restaurant has been featured in several international outlets such as VOGUE, GQ, The Food Network, CNN, CBS and the Los Angeles Times. It has also hosted world famous artists, chefs and brands for collaborations, including Vans, Nike and Patagonia.
Agah specifically credits its success to the skateboarding community that has nurtured his career, right from his very first sponsorship at the age of 16. “Pizzanista is cranking dude. A lot of it is really thanks to the skateboarding community. I have a lot of patrons and support from the skate industry . . . I’m stoked,” he celebrates.
Check out Pizzanista! here and follow Salman Agah on Instagram for all his latest news.
