History
Almost Skateboards was started in 2003 by Mullen and Song after both had ceased participating in their previous companies, enjoi and Artafact, respectively. Mullen explained in July 2014 that he knew in his "heart" that the founder of enjoi, Marc Johnson, wanted to leave the company. After he received the news from a friend of Johnson's, Mullen who had been thinking about collaborating with Song prior to Johnson's departure, as the pair had been skateboarding together over a long period of time called Song:
I wanted so badly to do something with Daewon [Song] Daewon was my first call: "Oh man, I have bad news ... but I got some other news. I got this idea you wanna do something together? Start something new?" And, I could hear the excitement in Daewon's voice. So, that's why it started: I'd been wanting to do it for so long! But, opportunity never really came up until then.
The initial team also consisted of Cooper Wilt, Chris Haslam, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka. The Almost: Round Three video featured all of the brand's original team riders and was released in 2004 to launch the brand.
Lewis Marnell was introduced as the company's first amateur in 2006 through a bonus part included with the company's Cheese and Crackers video the second Almost video release that features Song and Haslam on a mini-ramp structure Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up" is the soundtrack to Marnell's part. Sheckler later joined the newly reformed Plan B Skateboards team in January 2007, followed by Lutzka, who left Almost to join the Darkstar team in May 2010.
Torey Pudwill was announced as the company's new amateur in 2007, and both he and Marnell were promoted to the professional ranks in 2008. For Marnell's professional inauguration, Song and videographer Socrates Leal filmed a spoof video part to welcome Marnell. The video, entitled "Almost Filmer Asshole", is shot through the lens of a "poacher" (someone who is attempting to film footage of another skateboarder usually a professional skateboarder when that person has not been given permission to do so) who throws Marnell's first professional Almost skateboard deck into the view of the camera, upon being caught by Song and Leal; the video was published on the Almost website and YouTube. Marnell's first board graphic featured a lion waving a Rastafarian flag.
Like Sheckler, Pudwill left Almost to join Plan B in March 2010 and Pudwill's personal friend, Justin Schulte, was eventually announced as the company's new amateur rider after a trial period to determine if he was a suitable fit. Schulte had previously been sponsored by Element Skateboards, but had also been in contact with Song, who asked Schulte to let him know about his progress. An introductory video was released to welcome Schulte in February 2010. German amateur skateboarder Willow was announced as the new Almost team member in November 2010 and a welcome video was also published on the internet. Willow had previously been sponsored by Flip Skateboards.
The company released a video in October 2012, in which Haslam surprises Willow with his first professional skateboard deck model at a signing in Germany. On November 26, 2012, "Willow's World", a full-length video part edited by Mike Manzoori (Sole Technology), was released on the Transworld Skateboarding website to commemorate the team rider's professional status. Youness Amrani was announced as the company's next amateur rider in April 2011.
The company premiered its third video production, 5-Incher, in June 2012 and used the release to introduce new amateur rider Mitchie Brusco, as well as a "flow" team consisting of Matty "Schmatty" Chaffin, CJ Tambornino, Michael Sommer, and Issey Yumiba. ("Flow" denotes the status of a team member prior to their announcement as an amateur and typically do not receive any financial remuneration.) The video featured parts from all of the Almost team with the exception of Mullen, who was recovering from an injury and the world premiere occurred in Long Beach, California, US. The company made no mention of Schulte's status and at the time of the premiere, he was no longer listed as a team member. The video was Marnell's final appearance in an Almost production, as he died in January 2013 from a diabetes-related complication.
In August 2013, Almost collaborated with Nike SB and TransWorld Skateboarding magazine on a feature for amateur rider Amrani. Entitled "Marrakesh Express", the project combined a print article with a video part that was launched on the TransWorld website on August 9, 2013. Videographer Chris Thiesson accompanied Amrani as he skated and traveled between "Casablanca and Marrakesh by way of Rabat, Kenitra, and Agadir" in Morocco. Amrani was born in Morocco, but grew up in Belgium.
The company commenced a series on Tony Hawk's RIDE channel, hosted on YouTube, in December 2013. Titled "Almost Famous," the series has featured skateboarder and artist Brian Lotti and a "craziest trick" contest.
The company celebrated its 10th anniversary with an event at the Berrics indoor skate complex in early March 2014, at which Amrani was presented with his inaugural professional skateboard deck. Leal, a longtime videographer for Dwindle Distribution, created a video retrospective of the brand's growth since inception, entitled "10 Years of Almost." At the same time as the 10-year anniversary, the company released a collaborative series of skateboard decks with the DC Comics comic book brand.
Carbon construction decks
- The Über Light is a 7-ply Resin deck with a carbon fiber inner layer that constitutes a foam core. The design creates a stronger, lighter and more rigid board in comparison to regular wood decks. Only 500 Über Light boards (named "Über Experimental") were made when the model was first produced, but, as of May 2012, the boards are regularly manufactured. The construction was created by Mullen and the latest version, the Super Uber Light V3, is featured in the Almost Skateboards "Spring 12" catalogue.
- The Impact Support is an 8-ply Resin deck that uses die-cut carbon fiber discs that are inserted in the 8th ply around the truck mounting areas; the discs prevent "pressure cracks" in the areas of a skateboard deck that typically break. The model is lighter and stronger than Almost Resin-7 and 8 decks, and are covered by a 30-day warranty.
- The Double Impact series was released in 2010. The model utilizes carbon fiber discs (such as Impact Support), with Resin-6 construction and a carbon fiber top sheet. The Double Impact design features all the benefits of the Impact Support model, but is lighter and stronger. Almost provides a 45-day warranty with the Double Impact model.
Contests
The first installment of the Almost "Double Impact Contest Series was launched in 2011 as a collaborative event with the Liberty Boardshop. The inaugural contest was held at a public location called the "Brea 12 set" and was held in November 2011 the winning trick was a switch-stance 360-flip.
The second contest was held in August 2012 at the Springfield Skatepark "10-stair" in Oregon, United States, in collaboration with the Tactics skate shop. The prize was a new skateboard every month for the duration of a year. The winner of the Oregon contest was Scott Grady, who landed both a nollie backside heelflip and a switch varial heelflip.
In January 2013, the Europe Impact Tour commenced, featuring demonstration performances from Haslam, Amrani, and Wildgrube. Double Impact contests were incorporated into the tour and on January 16, 2013, the first tour stop occurred in Berlin, Germany at the Skatehalle-Berlin skate park venue. The winner of each round, as per the previous contests, wins a year worth of Almost skateboard decks at the first stop in Berlin, the winner was photographed with a signature model "Willow" (Wildgrube) skateboard deck.
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