Frankie Hill

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Frankie Hill (born 1971) grew up in Santa Barbara, California, where he became one of the most influential "street" skateboarders during much of skateboarding's transitional stage from old to new school (1989-1992). He was a member of the prestigious Bones Brigade team and his first pro model skateboard, known as the "Bull Dog" was among the highest selling decks of 1990.

The first generation of professional skateboarders to specialize in street skating were mostly limited to Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas, and Tommy Guerrero, due to the form's embryonic stage during the early to mid 1980s. Hill was a second generation street skater, and a leading pioneer in what became known as "stunt skating" (a sub sect of street skating which championed "going big" with dare devil maneuvers). Hill broke barriers clearing bigger stair sets, gaps, and drops than those preceding him. He especially brought his bold style to a new level when he cleared an enormous pile of dirt off a drop off gap in the Powell-Peralta film Propaganda in 1990. At the time, Hill's gap jump was the most legendary feat in the history of street skating. It would take another two years before Hill's contribution would be surpassed (when Pat Duffy grinded a long, kinked handrail in the 1992 film Questionable). "Stunt skating" has since been taken further by such skateboarders as Heath Kirchart and Dustin Dollin.

Hill was featured in the 1988 film Public Domain in a part that included fellow amateur street skaters Brandon Chapman and Jake Bradley, but his real debut which turned the skateboard world on its end was his opener in 1989's Ban This. This part made Hill, along with Matt Hensley, the most popular skateboarder over the next year.

Along with Ban This and Propaganda, Hill also had compelling video parts in Celebraty Tropical Fish and Hot Batch (1991 and 1992 respectively), but by this point, with his career inextricably linked with Powell-Peralta (which was fast becoming an unpopular company), Hill's star (along with skateboarding's general popularity) was fading. This was exacerbated by drug use and finally, a severe knee injury in 1992, which removed Hill permanently from the professional skateboarding scene. His last video part was in Powell's Chaos in 1992.