He entered his first skateboarding competition in 1973 at the first Del Mar nationals. He says he was really nervous and couldn't eat for days before the competition. However, in 1975, he was a contest veteran and placed second in the junior men's freestyle division. It was at this competition that the Z-Boys debuted on the skating circuit. This competition was highlighted in "Lords of Dogtown" in which Hollywood rewrote history according to Stacy Peralta’s 2001 film about Santa Monica’s “Dogtown and Z-Boys.” The movie suggested that Ty tried to change his skate style from freestyle to a more surf style, similar to the Z-Boys; however, Ty and Bruce Logan had been skating surf style with kick-turns and round-house slides as far back as 1964, before the Z-Boys began skating.