Peggy Oki

Peggy E. Oki is an American skateboarder, surfer, artist and environmental activist, born on 10 April 1956 in Los Angeles to Ben and Sadako Oki. She was an original member of the Z-Boys, competing with the Zephyr Competition Team in the 1970s, and the only female member. Her father was a Sacramento-born Nisei and her family is originally from Hiroshima, Japan; she grew up in West Los Angeles in an area later called Dogtown, and her father bought her first skateboard, a Black Knight with Fred Flintstone rock wheels, at ten. She graduated from Venice High School in 1973, holds associate degrees in biology and in fine and studio arts, and a BFA in painting with an emphasis on environmental art. While at Santa Monica City College she began skating on the Zephyr team after Jay Adams asked whether she wanted to join.