Alien Workshop is a Skateboarding company founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Neil Blender, and Mike Hill^[1] and bought by Rob Dyrdek on January 10, 2012.

Based in Dayton, Ohio, this is a departure from the California-centric skateboard industry.

Alien Workshop produces decks, wheels, apparel and other skateboard accessories, and is known for its artistic graphical style, with themes of paranoia and futurism often used^[2] Alien Workshop is owned and distributed by DNA Distribution, which also owns Habitat Skateboards and Reflex Bearings. DNA Distribution was bought by Burton Snowboards on February 5, 2008.^[3] Skateboarder Magazine announced on January 10, 2012 that team member Rob Dyrdek had bought Alien Workshop from Burton Snowboards. ^[4]

Team[link]

The company finances a team to represent their brand. Team members include:^[5]

Professional[link]

• Tyler Bledsoe
• Gilbert Crocket
• Jason Dill
• Rob Dyrdek (CEO)
• Jake Johnson
• Dylan Rieder
• Omar Salazar
• Grant Taylor
• Mikey Taylor
• Anthony Van Engelen

Amateur[link]

• Donovon Piscopo
• Kevin Terpening

Videos[link]

The audio/ visual offerings that Alien Workshop has created to showcase its team.

• Memory Screen (1991)
• Timecode (1997)
• Photosythesis (2000)
• Mind Field (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alien Workshop
• AWS Filmworks

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Rob Dyrdek

Dyrdek on April 24, 2010
Personal information
Full name	Robert Stanley Dyrdek
Nationality	American
Born	(1974-06-28) June 28, 1974 (age 37)[1] Kettering, Ohio, United States
Residence	Hollywood, California
Height	5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m)
Weight	135 pounds (61 kg)
Website	www.dyrdek.com
Sport
Sport	Skateboarding
Turned pro	1991 (age 16)[2]

Robert Stanley "Rob" Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, actor, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, and reality TV star. He is best known for his roles in the reality shows Rob and Big, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Ridiculousness.

Personal life[link]

Rob Dyrdek was born in Kettering, Ohio to Gene and Patty Dyrdek.^[3] Dyrdek was involved in sports as a child and began skateboarding at the age of 11 when he received his first skateboard from professional skater Neil Blender^[4] Of his early interest in the sport, Dyrdek said, "I was a pretty driven young man. I was so focused on becoming a pro skateboarder. I would sit in school and think about all the tricks I was going to do, then I’d get out of school and skate until they made me come inside."^[5] At the age of 12, Rob acquired sponsorship from the same company Blender rode for and began his skateboarding career. A few years later, Dyrdek and Blender quit their board sponsor and created Alien Workshop – Rob’s current board company.^[6]

At the age of 16, Dyrdek decided to forgo his senior year of high school and instead moved to Southern California to pursue his professional skate career. Soon after moving, Dyrdek began to ride for Droors Clothing (now known as DC Shoes), where he also began his exploring entrepreneurship through shoe design. This led Dyrdek to launch various short-lived companies, including a hip-hop record label and a skate shop.^[6]

Dyrdek has one sister, Denise. His cousins Christopher "Drama" Pfaff and Scott "Big Cat" Pfaff (Drama's older brother) are featured in Rob and Big and Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.^[7] He also has two bulldogs named Meaty and Beefy.^[8]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Dyrdek first starred in an MTV reality series, entitled Rob & Big (aired November 2006 to April 2008), with his best friend and bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, as well as his cousin, Chris "Drama" Pfaff. After three seasons Boykin chose to leave the show when his long time girlfriend had a baby.

In February 2009 Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, featuring Dyrdek, Pfaff, and his Dyrdek Enterprise staff, was first aired. The "Fantasy Factory" is a converted warehouse where Dyrdek runs his many entrepreneurial ventures. It also features a large indoor skate plaza, Rob's personal office with "bat cave" parking garage, a foam pit, and numerous basketball hoops. He also built a "hands of God" music studio for his cousin "Drama" Pfaff inside the factory. During the course of the first season, he also opened his first SafeSpot SkateSpot with the sponsorship of Carl's Jr. At the grand-opening, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode with Dyrdek on the world's largest skateboard.

Dyrdek was also featured in the video games skate., and Skate 2 (which also featured "Big Black"). During the days of Rob & Big, the two were featured in an episode where they were actually going to the EA building to shoot for the game. In Skate 2, the player is able to purchase an early version of the Fantasy Factory on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store as an add-on, allowing the player to skate within the factory premises.

Dyrdek made a movie entitled "Street Dreams" in 2009.

On August 29, 2011, he started a show on MTV, called Ridiculousness, where he comments internet videos, mainly about extreme sports mishaps.^[9]

World records[link]

Dyrdek has set 21 separate Guinness World Records for skateboarding as part of his former show Rob & Big. Big Black also set two eating records for the show; most bananas peeled and eaten and most powdered donuts eaten in a set period of time.^[10]

In Fantasy Factory, Dyrdek also set the record for the largest skateboard (according to the GBWR website it is listed as the Longest Skateboard in the world) after he decided that the current record holders were undeserving.^[11]

Dyrdek's personal bests (some of which have been broken since) include:

• Consecutive front-side ollies: 46 (2007, WR)
• Ollie big spins: 12 (2007, WR)
• Consecutive nollie kickflips: 73 (2007, WR)
• 360-degree kickflips in one minute: 12 (2007, WR)
• Heel flips in one minute: 15 (2007, WR)
• Consecutive ollies: 215 (2007)
• Nollie kickflips in one minute: 22 (2007, WR)
• Longest stationary manual: 49 seconds (2007, WR)
• Switch frontside kickflips in one minute: 9 (2007, WR)
• Longest 50-50 rail grind: 100 feet 5.75 inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)^[12]
• Longest board slide: 100 feet 5.75 inches (30.62 m) (2007, WR)^[13]
• Highest skateboard ramp jump into water: 10 feet 8 inches (3.29 m) (2007, WR)^[14]

Sponsors, brands and partnerships[link]

Dyrdek is sponsored by DC Shoes, Alien Workshop, silver trucks, and Monster Energy. Dyrdek's properties include 'Wild Grinders', Street League Skateboarding, The Rob Dyrdek Foundation and Megahorse Racing. In addition, Dyrdek has partnerships with various brands including Bill My Parents, ISX(TM) (Instant Scoring Experience) and DTA Rogue Status with musician Travis Barker.^[8]

'Wild Grinders', a fictional cartoon skate crew, is Dyrdek's first venture into toys based on him and his group of childhood skateboarding friends. The line consists of six characters.

Dyrdek also pioneered the iSX, Instant Scoring Experience, which he hopes will revolutionize the way skate competitions are held. He is the creator of the Street League Skateboarding - a professional skateboarding contest offering the largest prize purse in skateboarding history and is also broadcasted live on ESPN and ESPN2.^[15]

Dyrdek also has his own signature TAG Body Spray scent called Make Moves. A fraction of the profit will go to his charity organization, The Rob Dyrdek Foundation.^[16]

Rob has also partnered with Chevrolet for the launch of the new Chevy Sonic. As part of the launch campaign, Rob performed a "kickflip" with a Sonic which was a full 360 degree rotation off a ramp and over the world's record largest skateboard which he also created. He performed the stunt at Six Flags Magic Mountain. ^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory
• Rob Dyrdek at the Internet Movie Database

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (August 2009)

Brian Wenning (born 1981 in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey) is a professional skateboarder formerly affiliated with Plan B Skateboards,^[1] Habitat Skateboards, and DC Shoes.^[2] He has appear on ESPN.com and in several skating magazines.^[3][4][5]

References[link]

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