DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for action sports, including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, shirts, and posters.
History
The company was founded in June 1994 by Damon Way and Ken Block, and was originally based in Carlsbad, CA, is now based in Huntington Beach, California, United States (US). DC originally stood for "Droors Clothing", but since the sale of Droors Clothing (which is now defunct), DC no longer has ties to Droors and is simply DC Shoes, Inc.
On March 8, 2004, DC Shoes was acquired by Quiksilver in an US$87 million transaction. In 2010, DC Shoes moved from Vista, California, to Quiksilver's headquarters in Huntington Beach.
A video entitled Skateboarding Is Forever was released online in 2010 and featured parts from the amateur DC skateboard team at the time: Marquise Henry, Matt Miller, Wes Kremer, Evan Smith, and Greg Myers. Apart from Myers and Henry, all of the skateboarders from the video remain sponsored by the company in 2013, and have since attained professional status (Myers was arrested following a carjacking incident in October 2012).
In 2011 the brand underwent a rejuvenation process that included the design of a new flag logo. As part of this process, new skateboard team announcements were progressively made and a series of advertisements, under the direction of new team member Steve Berra, were released online. The other new team announcements were Mikey Taylor, Mike Mo Capaldi, Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, and Davis Torgerson. Felipe Gustavo was introduced at a later stage.
A further progression of the brand relaunch was the "Rediscover" campaign that commenced in December 2011, following the addition of Capaldi and Huston to the skateboard team. The campaign is entitled "Rediscover DC" and the launch signified the first time that the entire DC team had been brought together in nearly a decade.
In the first half of 2013, the promotion of new team members continued as Capaldi ("Mike Mo S"), Kremer ("Wes Kremer Pro"), and Huston released signature shoe models. On the final night of May 2013, a launch event was held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California, U.S. for the first signature model skate shoe of Huston's career, with Pete Rock in the role of DJ. The model is named the "Nyjah Huston Signature Shoe" and the promotional advertisement features Huston executing a trick at set of stairs at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, U.S.
Cliché Skateboard is a skateboard company based in Lyon, France and distributed by the American company Dwindle Distribution.
History
The company was established in 1997 by French professional skateboarder Jeremie Daclin and initially found a niche sponsoring European professional skateboarders. Already a well known local skater in Lyon, Daclin decided to produce equipment to suit the styles of his friends and fellow Lyonnais. Daclin explained in 2012 that he had been travelling a lot as a professional skateboarder and, after filming a video with the American company New Deal, he moved to the Deathbox team (now Flip Skateboards) to be involved with a brand that was more local. However, Deathbox then relocated to the US and Daclin declined the invitation to join the move, stating that he would try to develop his own brand in France. Daclin's vision for Cliché was based on three elements: photography, Europe and all types of skateboarding.
Former Australian professional skateboarder Al Boglio was recruited by Daclin as a "right-hand man" after the brand achieved initial success. Eric Frenay was recruited by Daclin as the brand's Creative Director and Frenay explained his history with Daclin in a 2012 interview: "Being in Lyon, I knew Jeremie [Daclin] for a long time and he was kind of, we called him "The Master" at the time because he was so good, you know, the European Championship and everything. Then he opened up All Access [skateboard shop] ... when he launched Cliché it was like a big, big bet."
The first Cliché video Europa was released in 2000 and featured Spanish skateboarder Javier Mendizabel and French skateboarder JJ Rousseau. French professional skateboarder Lucas Puig, who was unable to speak English during his early years with the company, then joined the team through Rousseau. Puig was 14 years of age when he first joined the team on a tour Daclin started sending him skateboard decks after the tour and later officially recruited Puig. Cliché was purchased by the France-based Salomon Group in 2001.
Cale Nuske was the company's first Australian skateboarder and he joined the team after the release of the Europa video. Nuske's initial video footage formed the opening part in the 2003 Bon Appetit video and he was named by SLAM magazine as the 2004 Australian "Skater of the Year". Another Australian, Andrew Brophy, was later sponsored by the company in 2005, when he was 19 years of age, and he also won the SLAM award in 2009. Brophy explained in October 2013 that his early period with the brand was affected by his partying lifestyle in London, UK, but he attained greater focus after a conversation with Boglio. Also in 2005, the company's first-ever American team member, Joey Brezinski, began his relationship with Cliché.
Salomon Group became part of Amer Sports International in 2005. In 2009, US-based Dwindle Distribution purchased the company from the Salomon Group, with Cliché representatives acknowledging that the brand had been a difficult fit with the snow boarding-focused Amer Sports.
In the lead-up period prior to the April 2013 release of the Bon Voyage video, skateboard videographer Manolo published a compilation, entitled "JB Gillet Manolo's Mixtape for Cliché", for Cliché team member JB Gillet. The worldwide premiere of the Bon Voyage video was held in Los Angeles, U.S. and Daniel Espinoza was surprised by the company, as he was informed of his professional status at the event. The French premiere of the video, in Lyon, also consisted of a surprise announcement, as Flo Mirtain received his debut professional skateboard at the event that symbolized his promotion into the company's professional ranks. The video was directed by Boris Proust, and was produced by Daclin, Al Boglio, and Eric Frenay.
Cliche rider Sammy Winter was assigned professional status at the end of October 2013. A video was published on the Internet to announce the promotion and the artwork on Winter's inaugural signature skateboard deck was created by prominent skateboard artist Marc McKee. Thai-German team rider Lem Villamen was assigned professional status in early April 2014 and a Thrasher magazine video part was published on April 4 to coincide with his transition. At the time that Villamen filmed the part, he was unaware that it would be used to launch his professional status.
As of October 2013, Cliché is managed by Daclin and Boglio. In December 2012, the company remained based in Lyon and Mendizabel was the longest serving team member.
Guest boards
In February 2011, the French company released a guest board for skateboarding pioneer Mark Gonzales, who had previously lived for a year with Daclin in Lyon, and an accompanying video was also published. The model appeared in the spring 2011 Cliché product catalogue.
Cliché released a Tas Pappas "guest board" in January 2013, with graphics by McKee. The design is set to be representative of Pappas' life and new outlook, with a deity figure reaching down and exalting Pappas from a burning environment in which items such as handcuffs and a syringe are present. Footage of Pappas, skateboarding primarily at the Prahran ramp in Melbourne, Australia, accompanied the release of the product. Morgan Campbell, online content manager for Skateboarding Australia, the country's government-funded peak body,
stated:
Tas has truly put the board into orbit with this stupendous video part which contains some of the best vert skating we have seen from anyone in eons. The graphic was done by Mr Marc Mckee, so you can be sure that collectors snap it up all over the globe. So good to see you back in the skies above Prahran Tas. The clip is by Greg Stewart, who happens to be known in the UK as “The Talking Filmer”. Gregsie: we are all delighted to once again hear your mid-air commentary. Just incase you missed it, in 2011 Tas was given the Video Vault treatment for his epic Mad Circle part from almost 20 years ago.
Circa (stylized C1RCA or C1rca) is a skateboard footwear and apparel company that started in 1999 and is based in San Clemente, California.
It was started by Four Star Distribution along with Chad Muska as its first professional rider.
California Free Former was the world's largest skateboard manufacturer during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1981, it was owned by Steve Silberman with a business partner. They also held several licenses from Walt Disney, manufacturing roller skates and other Disney brand consumer products.
World Skateboard Championships
California Free Former also used to sponsor skateboarding competitions, including the California Free Former World Skateboard Championships held at the Long Beach Sports Arena. (Original and reenacted footage from the Free Former World Skateboard Championships was prominently featured in the feature film "Lords of Dogtown.")
The California Free Former World Professional Skateboard Championships were held at the Long Beach Arena in California. In The first competition in the summer of 1976 was the largest skateboard competition ever held up until that time. It's significant cash prizes changed skateboarding history and created a professional tier in the sport.
1976 Results
Men’s Freestyle: 1-Chris Chaput, 2-Ed Nadalin, 3-Mike Weed, 4-Gary Kocot, 5-Russ Howell Men’s Slalom: 1-Henry Hester, 2-Bob Piercy, 3-Mike Williams Women’s Freestyle: 1-Ellen Berryman, 2-Laura Thornhill, 3-Ellen O’Neal Women’s Slalom: 1-Desiree Von Essen, 2-T. Brown, 3-Robin Logan Consecutive 360s: 1-Bob Jarvis, 2-Chris Chaput, 3-Gary Kocot, 4- Steve Shipp, 5-Ed Nadalin
Sept 24-25, 1977 Results
Men’s Freestyle: 1-Bob Mohr, 2-Mike Weed, 3-Ty Page, 4-Ed Nadalin Men’s Slalom: 1-John Hutson, 6.515 seconds 2-Bobby Piercy, 6.526 sec. 3-Randy Smith, 6.605 sec. 4-Greg Taie, 6.612 sec. Women’s Freestyle: 1-Ellen Berryman, 2-Ellen O’Neal, 3-Laura Thornhill Women’s Slalom: 1-Terry Brown, 2-Kim Cespedes, 3-Desiree Von Essen Consecutive 360s: 1-Russ Howell, 2-Paul Hoffman, 3-Ed Nadalin, 4-Steve Shipp High Jump: 1- Bryan Beardsley, 2-Jerry Pattison, 3-Brent McCullogh Barrel Jump: 1-Tony Alva (17 barrels), 2-Paul Hoffman, 3-Ed Nadalin, 4-Steve Shipp. The poster for the 1977 event was done by artist / designer Jim Evans
California Skateparks
California Skateparks (or CA skateparks) is the largest and most notable skate park and action sports facility builder and designer in the world. Founded in 1989, and based in Upland, California, CA Skateparks has constructed more municipal city and county parks, action sports competition arenas, and professional athlete's private facilities than any other company of its kind. CA Skateparks is part of a larger group of companies, including California Landscape & Design Inc. and CA Ramp Works all owned by founder Joe Ciaglia Jr. California Skateparks designed and built Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, which has appeared in the MTV show, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. The company also designed the Vans skatepark in Huntington Beach, California.
Blueprint Skateboards is a skateboard company set up in 1995.
Originally only available in the UK, worldwide demand has grown alongside the company and Blueprint was once available in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. After the creative director, Dan Magee left the company, he was shortly followed by professional skater Paul shier. After which, Blueprint Skateboards faced a mass exodus of its original hand picked team roster. Although not officially discussed, this was believed to be due to the way the company was being run by its new backers, Pure Distribution. Since the founding members and original team departed, the new backers attempted to revamp the brand using new team riders who consisted of relatively unknown American ams who were aligned to Pure's other hardware brands. They also added Mike York as a professional rider and Cliche flowrider Ignacio Morata, who was immediately promoted to the pro ranks. The new changes at Blueprint outraged many of the original fans of the company as the brand's new look and image a complete u-turn in the manner the original brand was run. New graphics also consisted of bastardized versions of the original Blueprint's distinctive artwork.
However, 8 months after the relaunch Mike York left the company and the brand has since been wound down without official announcement. New pro Ignacio Morata and all of the new Blueprint's ams are left without board sponsors.
Video Releases
Only days after the premiere of Lost And Found, the team were out filming already for their next production due in April 2010, provisionally entitled "Make Friends With The Colour Blue".
PNC/Blueprint:A Mixed Media (1996)
Available on VHS cassette in the UK only. A joint venture with the now defunct Panic Skateboards. A Mixed Media sold several thousand copies.
PNC/Blueprint:Anthems (1997)
Anthems sold worldwide in both PAL (European format) and NTSC (USA Format). This release also saw the combining of Blueprint Skateboards with the now defunct Panic Skateboards.
Build and Destroy Promo (1999)
Promo video included at the end of 'Through the Eyes of Ruby'. This was originally meant to be Blueprint's 411 Industry section.
Waiting For The World (2000)
Available on VHS cassette only. Waiting For The World really defined Blueprint as a team and opened everyone's eyes to the talent of the riders and what the UK has to offer.
First Broadcast (2001)
Available on VHS cassette only, this release further displayed the skills and diversity of the team. This release also featured sections from Unabomber Skateboards and Organic Skateboards (Now Landscape Skateboards) as well as many of the companies friends.
The Belong Tour (2002)
Available on VHS cassette only. This release covers the UK tour of the entire Blueprint team and is perhaps the least fondly remembered of their productions. The soundtrack includes tracks by Elliott Smith. The highlight of this video are the offcut clips of the team and friends street skating at the end of the tape.
Lost and Found (2005)
Available in DVD format. The team travelled virtually non-stop over the length and breath of Europe over two years in order to film their video parts. Lost And Found was then premiered to nearly 1000 skaters in London on March 12, 2005. The following 2-disc DVD set was released shortly after to worldwide acclaim. It was also premiered in virtually every country in Europe, the USA and many other parts of the world. The release has further pushed Blueprint on to new level and coming directly from our strong amateur program and their breakthrough video parts in Lost And Found, both Danny Brady and Nick Jensen were turned pro after the DVD release.
This DVD features the following riders: Danny Brady, Neil Smith, Scott Palmer, Ben Grove, Paul Shier, Vaughan Baker, Michael Wright, Colin Kennedy, Chewy Cannon, Mark Baines and Nick Jensen. Stephan Morgan, Tuukka Korhonen and Conhuir Lynn are featured in the credits. Paul Carter, John Fisher and John Rattray have easter egg sections.
Make Friends With Marty (2010)
Online promotional clip, welcoming US pro rider Marty Murawski to the team and showcasing clips from the rest of the team. This clip acted as a teaser to the next full-length Blueprint DVD release, 'Make Friends With The Colour Blue'. Already-filmed footage of Marty couldn't be used in the forthcoming DVD due to camera compatibility issues, so this was a useful outlet for the footage.
Make Friends With The Colour Blue (2010)
Available in DVD format. With the addition of two US riders (Marty Murawski and Kevin Coakley) introduced the brand officially to a new US audience. The resulting DVD, 'Make Friends With The Colour Blue' (commonly abbreviated to 'MFWTCB'), features a truly international line-up of team riders and is perhaps the most polished Blueprint production yet.
Blind (stylized as bLind) is a skateboard company founded by Mark Gonzales in 1989 under Steve Rocco's World Industries distribution company. Gonzales has since left the company and today the company continues under the ownership of Dwindle Distribution. The company produces decks, wheels, soft goods and accessories. The company's logo for many years was a stylized grim reaper.
History
Formation
The name "Blind" was devised as an intentional slight to Gonzales' former sponsor, Vision Skateboards.
Upon the brand's launch, Jason Lee moved from World Industries to Blind as its second professional rider (as founder, Gonzales was the team's first). Blind then signed Rudy Johnson and Guy Mariano, both from Powell Peralta, and Jordan Richter as its vert rider. Danny Way rode for the company for a very brief period of time, and a signature skateboard deck, featuring a pink-colored car, was designed and released for Way.
Video Days
Blind released its first video in 1991, entitled Video Days, which featured full-length parts from Gonzales, Mariano, Richter, Lee, and Johnson. The video was filmed and directed by Spike Jonze and is considered one of the most influential skateboarding videos of its era. While filming a second full-length video, Plan B director, Mike Ternasky reviewed progress footage and came to the conclusion that Tim Gavin and Henry Sanchez, also members of the Blind team, were the only two riders who had produced footage of a high enough quality the release of Tim and Henry's Pack of Lies followed in 1992.
By 1993, the team had grown, with the formal inclusion of new professional riders, Gavin, Sanchez, Brian Lotti, and amateur skater, Jeron Wilson. Lotti, who formerly skated for Planet Earth (founded and owned by professional skateboarder Chris Miller), was recruited by Lee and filmed several tricks for the opening section of Tim and Henry's Pack of Lies. However, in a 2010 interview with the "chrome ball incident" blog, Lotti expressed regret in regard to his departure from Planet Earth, a company that he described as a "small and tight family": "I loved skating with everyone, but I wasn’t always psyched on the whole World Industries thing. I definitely felt at times like I blew it with Miller and wished I would have just stayed on Earth… I was really involved there. I had a good thing going."
Departures
The company later signed Ronnie Creager from Foundation Skateboards. In late 1993, Johnson, Mariano, Gavin, and Wilson left Blind to join the newly formed Girl Skateboards, and Gonzales had also left by this time, along with Lee the latter proceeded to form Stereo Skateboards with Chris "Dune" Pastras, another sponsored skateboarder. Wilson later revealed in a January 2013 interview for the "Weekend Buzz" segment of the internet-based RIDE channel that a transfer tape of skateboard footage, originally filmed for a Blind video that was never produced, is in existence but has not been released by Socrates Leal (skateboard videographer) footage of Wilson and Mariano, among other skateboarders from the early 1990s, forms the tape's contents.
Mid-1990s–2010
During the early 1990s, Blind was one of the largest skateboard brands in the world, due to board sales and sales of Blind's jean products. During the 1990s and early/mid-2000s, additional team members, such as Kris Markovich, Jake Duncombe, Jake Brown, Corey Shepard, Grant Patterson, Danny Cerezini, and Jani Laitala were recruited by brand manager Bill Weiss. Vert (skateboarding on a vertical "u"-shaped ramp) skateboarder Rob Loirifice was recruited to the team in 2008 and Cerezini was assigned professional status in the same year.
In 2010, the company celebrated its 21-year anniversary and returned to using the original logo. The company also began to reissue a series of boards from the early 1990s that were based on original shapes reissued boards included Mariano, Way, Johnson, Gavin, and Sanchez designs.
2010 onwards
Former Plan B rider, Sean Sheffey, Filipe Ortiz, Sewa Kroetkev, TJ Rogers, and Yuri Fachini were recruited to the Blind team in the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century. In an official statement released in April 2012, Brown's departure from the Blind team was announced and a comment from Weiss was included: "Jake Brown is one of the most dynamic, positive and genuine skateboarders I have ever met and been lucky enough to call my friend and I wish him nothing but the best on his next adventure. I cant wait to see what Jake’s got up his sleeve next.” (Brown had been a team member for eight years). Cerezini then parted ways with Blind in October 2012.
In 2012, team members, Kevin Romar (who moved to the company in 2009) and Morgan Smith were both assigned professional status. On March 22, 2013, at the Tampa Pro contest in Tampa, Florida, US, Ortiz was presented with his inaugural Blind signature model skateboard deck to signify his introduction into the professional ranks of the company the graphic on the skateboard deck features a handcuffed mummy figure with the facial section of the bandages peeled away.
Cody McEntire, a Texan skateboarder who was formerly a team member of the Think Skateboards brand, was recruited to the Blind team in March 2013. McEntire explained the process of joining the Blind team in a TransWorld Skateboarding "Roll Call" interview:
I’ve known [Bill] Weiss [Blind brand manager] for a while because we worked together on the Digital Smoke And Mirrors video. I was always stoked on how down he was for skating. One day I called him and told him I was really stoked on Blind and just wanted to see if anything would be possible with it. A few weeks later we sat down and talked and it worked out. It was crazy how fast it happened. I’m glad it all worked out because now I feel like I’m exactly where I want to be.
In April 2013, Duncombe left the company to ride for Life Extension (LE) Skateboards and announced the news on his Instagram profile: "Just want to thank everyone at blind for helping me out for all those years and putting up with my shit and to let everyone know LE is my new family!!!" A photograph of Duncombe with a bottle of beer that is above a forum post that reads "LE, where formerly great pros go to die" served as the official press release for LE. Duncombe later explained in December 2013: "There were a couple of times when I’d thought about quitting but didn’t due to loyalty. But at the end of the day new kids come in and older guys get let go."
The Blind brand released a new product line in early July 2013 and published a video advertisement on its YouTube channel on July 9, 2013. Under the heading "A damn good deal!", Blind promoted a new line of skateboard decks constructed from North American maple and resin glue with a retail price of US$29.95.
Black Label is a skateboarding company that was founded by its owner, John Lucero, in 1990. The company is based in Huntington Beach, California, United States (US).
History
Lucero Ltd.
Lucero was a competing professional skateboarder in the 1980s and rode for companies such as Variflex, Madrid, and Schmitt Stix. Lucero eventually launched his own brand, Lucero Ltd., in 1988 using skateboards manufactured by the Santa Cruz company.
Black Label
Lucero separated from Santa Cruz in 1991 and changed the company name to "Black Label", using the Canadian beer, Carling's Black Label, as inspiration for the title.
The motto for the brand is "Never Be Bought, Never Be Sold, and Never Forget".
Expansion
Lucero has created different divisions under the Black Label brand, including Label Legends and Emergency.
Distribution
As of 2012, Black Label is distributed by Blitz Distribution.
