Mike McGill
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Mike McGill is an American skateboarder. He is best known for inventing of the McTwist, an inverted 540 degree mute grabbed aerial which he first performed on a wooden half-pipe in Sweden in 1984 and then at the Del Mar Skate Ranch in a concrete bowl when he returned to the US. He was inspired by Fred Blood, who'd performed a 540 on roller skates. It was a groundbreaking trick that dominated skateboarding for many years afterwards. Only a handful of pros were able to learn it at the time. The trick was named by fellow teammate Rodney Mullen, and is derived from "Mc" in McGill's last name combined with Twist. Teammate Tony Hawk, inspired by the McTwist, went on to invent a 720 degree aerial and as an homage to McGill, named it the McHawk.
McGill was also a member of the Bones Brigade, an elite team of skateboarders sponsored by Powell Peralta who dominated much of professional skateboarding (both in contests and in videos), for much of the 1980's. McGill mainly skated vertical, and when street skating began to dominate the industry, McGill turned to the business side of skating. He started his own skateboard company, "Chapter Seven" (which is now defunct), and opened his own skate park. Today he own two skateshops in addition to a mail order website, and continues to skateboard.
[edit] External links
- Article - profile of Mike McGill
- McGill's Skateshop
- Thrasher Magazine 20 year retrospective on the McTwist
