Jamie Thomas

Jamie Thomas, nicknamed The Chief, is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur born on 11 October 1974 and the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards. He was born in Florida, grew up in Dothan, Alabama, and started skateboarding in Palm Beach Gardens at the age of eleven. He won a competition in Panama City, Florida, in 1991, moved to San Francisco in 1992 and to Southern California in 1994, and in 1995 joined Ed Templeton's Toy Machine Skateboards, where he filmed and directed two videos, the second being Welcome to Hell, one of the most influential skate videos of the 1990s. He started Zero in 1996 through Tum Yeto and the footwear brand Fallen Footwear in 2003, and his failed attempt at the Leap of Faith, an ollie melon down a 14-foot, 3-inch drop at Point Loma High School in San Diego, brought him notoriety.