​Alva skateboards - In 1977, at the age of 19, Alva turned down the biggest skateboard company to form his own, Alva Skates. Alva's company was the first company ever controlled by a skateboarder as well as one of the first to use layered maple veneers for skateboard decks. The same year he was voted “Skater of the Year” in Skateboarder Magazine's readers' poll and set the Guinness World Record for barrel jumping.