Peggy Oki | |
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Born | 1956/1957 (age 59–60) United States |
Education | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Occupation | skateboarder, surfer, artist, activist |
Peggy Oki (born 1956/1957) is an American skateboarder and surfer, as well as an artist and environmental activist.
She was on the original Zephyr Competition Team also known Z-Boys. She skated with the Z-Boys in the 1970s. She appeared in the film Dogtown and Z-Boys. She took first place in Women's Freestyle at the Del Mar Nationals skateboarding competition, held in California in March 1975.
Oki was born in the United States to Japanese parents who escaped from Hiroshima.
She went to Venice High School and studied environmental biology and received a Bachelor of Arts in painting from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Today, she is involved with many activities such as yoga, skateboarding, rock climbing and has been surfing for over 24 years.
She has traveled to Fiji, Mexico, South Africa, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, and Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Costa Rica for surfing and as an environmental activist. Her paintings deal with nature and include landscapes and seascapes.
In spring 2004, she founded the Origami Whales Project to raise awareness about commercial whaling in Japan, Norway and Iceland.
Currently, Oki is an art instructor at Santa Barbara City College, Continuing Education and youth art programs through the Carpinteria Valley Arts Council.
She went vegan around 15 years ago for ethical reasons, and before that she was a vegetarian.
She has been honored as a "Local Hero 2010" by the Santa Barbara Independent.
She was an 2012 inductee into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.