[2] Tony Alva was born September 2, 1957, in Santa Monica, California, to Dutch and Mexican-American parents.

Alva and the other Z-Boys (also all surfers), were among the first to bring the dangerous art of skating empty swimming pools into the mainstream.

Alva is considered an originator of vertical skating and is credited as one of the first skateboarders to successfully pull a Frontside Air.

That moment, captured on film by photographer Glen E. Friedman, is considered by many to be the birth of modern skateboarding.

[3] Alongside professional skaters Arto Saari, Brandon Biebel, Perry Caravello, and Stevie Williams, Alva completed a photo and video shoot for Playboy magazine, that was shot by Irish photographer Tony Kelly.

[5] The shoot is entitled "Playboy Poolside" and features the four subjects skateboarding in and around an empty swimming pool.

In December 2005, Alva opened two retail stores in Southern California located in Oceanside, near San Diego, and on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.

The "bad boy" image of the Z-Boy was reiterated in the postcard invitation for the event, which featured a profane drawing.

[12] In July 2023, His Eyes Have Fangs participated as a special musical guest at the Los Angeles art and music collective Surf Skate Roots Rock, reuniting with fellow skateboarding-artist pioneers such as Lance Mountain, Lonnie Toft, Mike Smith, Marty Grimes, George Wilson, Steve Olson, etc.