Skull Skates

Skull Skates

Products	Freestyle Decks, Wheels, Hardware, Skids, Grip tape, Apparel
Founded	April 1978
Founder	Rick and Peter Ducommun
Website	http://www.skullskates.com/
Address	PD’s Hot Shop 3734 W.10th Ave (at Alma St.) Vancouver BC V6R-2G4 Canada
Phone	604.739.7796
Mail Order Email	mailorder(at)skullskates.com
Administration Email	pd(at)skullskates.com
Skull Skates Japan Email	hotshop(at)skullskatesjapan.com
Skull Skates Switzerland Email	shop(at)skullskateseurope.com]

The Skull Skates Story

Skull Skates began in April of 1978 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It’s founders were the Ducommun brothers (Rick- who has skateboarded since the mid sixties and Peter (P.D.)- who began skateboarding in 1972).

The original company was “Great North Country Skateboards” and used a black and white Yin and Yang symbol as it’s logo. Shortly after, the name was abbreviated to “G.N.C. Skates”.

This is when P.D. designed the new logo known as Skull Skates. The original version of the logo included the letters “G.N.C” on the left side of the logo, however, skaters looked at the design and immediately called it “Skull Skates”. It was then that it was decided to drop the “G.N.C.” and go with Skull.

Actually, the very first version of the skull used in the logo was cut out of grip tape on a skate deck. It was this method that gave the skull it’s hard jagged lines. It only took about five minutes to cut out the design, but one look at it and we said, “that’s our new logo.”

To this day, it is one of the few logos with a built in knowledge detector… by just saying “Skates”, you are revealing apprentice status. The term “Skull Skates” indicates an intermediate level of understanding, while to say, “Skull” shows an accumulation of monk level dedication and any reference to “G.N.C.” or “Great North Country” terminology would mean the same attainment of wisdom as of Buddha.

At the beginning of the 1980’s Skull Skates moved west and relocated in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first retail shop was opened near Stanley Park just in time to take part in the outdoor rollerskating craze. This was the spot to get the latest Skull Skates gear and replace the toestops of your girlfriend’s rollerskates.

Next the Skull Skates crew ended up in South Vancouver specializing in skateboards, snowboards, BMX bikes, cruiser bikes and flat top haircuts. This location continued on for a total of ten years, setting up a lot of people with a lot of custom equipment. Since the beginning, there had always been frequent trips to California to keep up on the latest products available. In 1979, during a contest at the Marina Del Ray skatepark, two local skaters, Jimmy Plummer and Billy Yeron, yanked down a sponsor’s banner and replaced it with a Skull Skates banner. The coverage that followed in Skateboarder Magazine was the beginning of international recognition for the Skull Skates logo.

In the middle of the 80’s Skull Skates had relocated again, this time landing in Van Nuys, California - “The Valley” a suburb of Los Angeles. It was here that international distribution and sponsorship of skaterswith production pro models took place. The eighties boom was in full swing and Skull sank deep in the devious entity known as “The Industry”.

During the California years Skull Skates had associated itself with some of the following skaters and groups: Steve Olson, David Hackett, Christian Hosoi, Mondo, The Godoy Brothers, Tod Swank, Duane Peters, Jonny Ray, Skatemaster Tate, Gang Green, The Vandals, Social Distortion, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to name a few. At one point, the “Hosoi Hammerhead” skate deck was available in three sizes and about twenty different fluorescent and pastel color combinations. “Yeah Holmes”… Hardcore logo 1984 Hardcore Logo - 1984 Hackett logo 1986 Hackett Logo - 1986 O.G. Craniums logo 1988 O.G. Craniums Logo - 1988

Other notable achievements of that era included the “Dead Guys” graphic and coffin shape template and also the Tod Swank :moon and Star” deck with deep side cuts and pointy nose featuring Islamic flag graphics at a time when the U.S.A. was at war with Iran.

Skull Skates went through some shit in those years including our shaper torching his factory for insurance purposes and trying to burn us in the process, Fausto Vitello, owner of Thrasher and Indy, made up a story about us selling drugs at our booth to try to get us kicked out of a trade show, and our Australian distributor bootlegged our shit and bought our legit stuff at the same time (yeah, we got back at him).

After about five years worth of “The Industry” and about eight times almost getting shot for no reason other than being there, it was decided that big business and Los Angeles sucked. That was when the Skull Skates multinational corporation returned home to Vancouver, Canada.

Back in Vancouver we have quietly continued along our wayward path producing a large variety of products in small quantities. The brand line currently includes skate decks, wheels, skimboards, BMX frames, guys clothing, girls clothing, caps toques, bags, patches, stickers and other such useless consumer goods.

A special message to all of the skaters, punks, greaseballs, stoners, mods, new-wavers, drunks, skumbags, B.Boys, rockers, geeks, writers, bikers, ravers, muscleheads, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, intellectuals, scammers, artists, friends, wasteoids, hip hoppers, rastas, hippies, snowboarders, trippers, posers, rippers, loafers, fags, hetros, lesbos, freaks, musicians, old schoolers, new schoolers, drop outs, friends, enemies, BMXers, psychos, brotHErs, sisters, lamesters, lunkerheads, losers, scholars, originals, copiers, innovators, imitators, breakers, flakers, leaders, followers, pimps, gimps, shrimps, snobs, knobs, winners, players, dissenters, go getters, quitters, splitters, tweakers, jerks, pros, amateurs, beginners, intermediates, experts, males, females, surfers, skimmers, pinners, crashers, passers, failures, bailers, chumps, suckas, kings, queens, toys, biters, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, bugs, thugs, deejays, emcees, cripples, lowriders, devils, angels, dealers, rats, locals, foreigners, workers, wankers, gangsters, pranksters, skankers, red necks, bros, foes, citizens, anarchists, saints, sinners, robots, locos, she-males, sperm whales, volunteers, dumpster divers, mentors, loners, lovers, haters, outcasts, heroes, zeros, makers, takers, grubs, honeys, pickers, slappers, ticklers, tough guys, small frys, rollers, riders, gliders, characters, pillars, dolts, creeps, morons and everyday people…

THANKS FOR MAKING SKULL SKATES NOT EVEN CLOSE TO NUMBER ONE.

http://www.skullskates.com/history/our-story/