Stevie Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Stevie Williams

Williams in 2023
Personal information
Born	(1979-12-17) December 17, 1979 (age 45) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Professional skateboarder
Years active	1994–present
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Skateboarding
Turned pro	1999

Stevie Williams (born December 17, 1979) is a famous professional skateboarder. He was even named one of the "30 Most Influential Skaters of All Time" by Transworld Skateboarding magazine in 2011. He ranked 27th on this important list!

Stevie's Early Life

Stevie Williams grew up in Philadelphia. When he started skateboarding, he and his friends were known as "dirty ghetto kids." This name stuck with them. When Stevie was 14, he left Philadelphia. He hitchhiked all the way to California, US, to chase his skateboarding dreams.

Becoming a Pro Skateboarder

When Stevie was just 12 years old, he and his friends met Jeff Pang. Jeff was a skateboarder for the Element brand. Stevie asked Jeff how he could join the Element team. Soon after, Stevie filmed a video part for Element's 1994 video, Fine Artists Vol. 1. In the video, he was called "Lil' Stevie." All of his skateboarding in that video was filmed in Philadelphia.

Joining Big Teams

After appearing in a Zoo York video called Heads in 1999, Stevie joined two big teams. He became part of the Chocolate Skateboards team and the DC Shoes team in the same year. Stevie filmed a full part for the 1999 Chocolate Tour video. He also released his own special shoe with DC in 2000.

Starting His Own Company

Stevie was in the 2003 DC Shoes video, The DC Video. After that, he decided to start his own company. He worked with his business partner, Eli Soto. They had already worked together on the Gold Wheels brand.

Stevie, Eli, and Troy Morgan later created a distribution company called Kayo Corp. They released their first Kayo video in 2004. After that, Kayo released It's Official in 2006. This video showed off Kayo's four main brands: DGK, Organika, Expedition, and Gold.

Working with G-Shock and Supra

Around 2009, Stevie got a sponsorship from Casio's G-Shock brand. He even released two special watches with them! In a 2012 video, Stevie explained why he liked G-Shock. He said he liked their toughness, street style, colors, and history. He felt G-Shock matched everything he had done in his skateboarding career. In 2013, Stevie visited Berlin, Germany, as a G-Shock ambassador. He helped celebrate the brand's 30th anniversary.

For a while, Stevie didn't have a shoe sponsor. He released a special shoe with the ALife brand during this time. Then, in early 2011, the Supra brand signed him. Stevie released his first signature shoe with Supra in mid-2012. It was called the "S1W" and came with a video.

Stevie also worked with Supra on another signature shoe called the "Estaban." It was released in July 2014. Stevie said it was his most stylish and new design since his first pro shoe. He explained that he always liked wearing three-quarter length mid-top shoes. He felt they looked the best when he skated or hung out.

DGK: Dirty Ghetto Kids

Stevie Williams is the person who started and co-owns Dirty Ghetto Kids (DGK) skateboards. DGK is an American skateboard company. Kayo Corp, the company Stevie helped create, distributes DGK products. This partnership happened because Stevie was friends with Troy Morgan from Kayo.

In 2004, Stevie's manager helped him get a contract with Reebok. This made Stevie the first professional skateboarder to be sponsored by Reebok! Stevie and his manager worked with Reebok to design a full line of products. This included DGK skate shoes and clothes, called "RBK-DGK." Later, Stevie even helped design a special "Flipside" Air Jordan skate sneaker for Nike, Inc..

In 2011, Stevie announced "Da Playground." This is an indoor training facility in Atlanta, Georgia, US. Its main goal is to give the DGK team a place to skate. However, other skateboarders have also used the facility in videos.

The DGK team won the "Best Team" award at the 15th Annual Transworld SKATEboarding Awards. This award came after a big feature in TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine. It also followed their full-length video, Parental Advisory, where every team member had a video part. In 2014, Stevie said that DGK was his "biggest accomplishment" in skateboarding so far.

Who Sponsors Stevie?

Stevie Williams is sponsored by many cool brands. These include DGK, Supra, G-Shock, 9five Eyewear, Gold, Grizzly Griptape, Venture, Diamond Supply Co., Beats by Dre, Bones Bearings, and Asphalt Yacht Club (AYC).

Skateboarding Heroes

In an interview about being one of the "Most Influential Skaters," Stevie talked about his heroes. He named five skateboarders who influenced him the most:

• Rodney Mullen (he said Rodney was "number one" and that everyone learns technical tricks from him).
• Daewon Song (number two).
• Guy Mariano (number three).
• Henry Sanchez (number four).
• He left the fifth spot open for everyone to think about!

When asked to pick just one most influential skateboarder of all time, Stevie chose Rodney Mullen. He said it was out of respect for all Rodney had created.

In 2013, Stevie also said that Curtis McCann was his favorite European skateboarder. Stevie still watches older skateboarding videos from when he was young for ideas and fun. Some of these videos include Questionable, Love Child, and Tim and Henry's Pack of Lies.

Stevie's Unique Style

In July 2013, Stevie shared a unique way he sets up his skateboard. He uses only four bolts to attach his trucks to the board, instead of the usual eight. He also puts his griptape over the bolts, not underneath them. This helps make his skateboard lighter!

Stevie as a Business Owner

In 2006, Stevie opened a skate shop called L&K Limited in Oceanside, California, US. He opened it with Nick Lockman. In 2008, he opened another skate shop called Sk8tique in Atlanta, Georgia, US. Sk8tique was described as a "skate boutique" that mixes city style with skateboarding gear. It sells products from DGK, The Kayo Corp, and other brands.

In 2013, Stevie started a clothing brand called Asphalt Yacht Club (AYC). It launched in July 2013 with a team that included famous skaters like Stefan Janoski and Nyjah Huston.

In 2023, Stevie launched SK8PES. This is an NFT project that combines urban anime and a web3 lifestyle. It's set to be released in the summer of 2023. SK8PES has already teamed up with other Web3 projects, like YogaPetz. You can find more information on the Official Twitter account for SK8PES: https://twitter.com/SK8PES.

Helping Others: Charity Work

Stevie's mother, Susan Williams, started an organization called "Save A Heart, Save A Mind." Through this group, she has held charity events at skate parks in California, US. The DGK website explains that Susan helps young people in the Los Angeles area who are facing challenges. In 2011, she held an event at a North Hollywood skate park. In 2012, her organization visited Pedlow Park in Encino.

The DGK team also helped launch a program for the Next Up Foundation. This foundation helps kids and teens in communities that need support. They guide them through action sports, give them equipment, and offer mentoring. On January 22, 2013, DGK team members Derrick Wilson, Dane Vaughn, Marcus McBride, Matty "Schmatty" Chaffin, and Lenny Rivas helped the foundation at the "Boys and Girls" club in Long Beach, California, US.

The Free Fabes Campaign

On October 5, 2012, Stevie's company, DGK, started the "Free Fabes" campaign. This campaign aimed to raise money for legal fees for Stevie's close friend, Fabian Alomar. Fabian is also a former professional skateboarder. Stevie appeared in a video with Fabian to promote the campaign. As part of the campaign, an old, never-before-seen video of Fabian skateboarding was released online.

Stevie in Video Games

Stevie Williams has been a character in many video games! You can find him in:

• Evolution Skateboarding
• Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
• Tony Hawk's Project 8
• Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
• Tony Hawk: Ride
• Tony Hawk: Shred

He was also a secret character in the game NFL Street 2. In that game, he was the captain of his own team, "Team Reebok," with his DGK logo. He played as a wide receiver. Stevie also appeared in MTV Sports: Skateboarding Featuring Andy Macdonald.

Stevie's Story on TV

On February 23, 2021, X Games released a video called "BEING STEVIE WILLIAMS." This video tells the story of his journey. It shows how he went from the streets of Philadelphia to becoming a successful business owner and a skateboarding icon.

TV Shows and Movies

Stevie Williams has appeared in some TV shows and movies as himself.

Skateboarding Videos

Stevie Williams has been in many skateboarding videos throughout his career.