Tom Penny

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Tom Penny (born April 13, 1977) is a professional skateboarder from Dorchester, England. He is well known in the skateboarding community for his calm style and natural abilities and as a master of frontside flips and many kickflip variations. He is also known as one of the few talents to avoid the trappings of skateboarding fame: he lived in St. Victor, France, for many years.

Tom was first spotted and sponsored by Sean Goff, ex pro skater and owner of SS20 skateshop in Oxford. He gained coverage in UK skate magazines such as RAD, and was soon spotted by Flip Skateboards owner Jeremy Fox, and added to the now world famous Flip team.

Around 1993, Tom made his first International video appearance in 411vm's video Issue 2 Wheels of Fortune at the age of 15, where he was filmed skating at the Radlands Skatepark in Northampton, England.

In 1994 Flip Skateboards left UK shores and moved to California, the hub of world skateboarding. Along with other team members Geoff Rowley, Andy Scott and Rune Glifberg, Tom took the skateboard world by storm. Tom is one of the original team members of Flip, and still rides for them to this day.

Tom ended up winning the 1995 Radlands Contest where he beat over 100 other competitors including noted U.S. pros, such as Ray Barbee, Ed Templeton, Phil Shao (now deceased), and Jamie Thomas. His winning run is regarded as one of the best contest runs in history, and cemented his place in the upper ranks of Pro Skateboarding.

During his time in the US, Tom had video parts in the mid 90's such as etnies footwear's High Five video, Transworld Uno, Life in the Fast Lane, Balance in the World of Chaos, and others.

In 1997, having had enough of the spotlight and pro scene, he left California and went to Europe, keeping a low profile. He was living in Saint Victor, France for many years with his mother at their holiday home, with time also spent in Barcelona, Spain. Not much is known about him during this time, but he made occasional appearances in France and Spain in the late 1990s and thereafter.

During the early years of the new Millennium, Tom reappeared and made his comeback in Flip Skateboards classic videos, Sorry and Really Sorry.

He has a son, Nicholas, born in April of 2003.

In 2005 he left éS Footwear after nearly 10 years with the company, and joined Supra Footwear, the shoe company started by KR3W Clothing, his clothing sponsor.

He currently divides his time between Buenos Aires Argentina (where he spends most of his time with his Argentinian wife), California, England and France, and rides for Flip Skateboards, Fury Trucks, Supra Footwear, KR3W Apparel, Odessa Wristwear and Active Mailorder.