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Baker Skateboards

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Baker Skateboards is an American skateboarding company founded in 2000 by professional skateboarder Andrew Reynolds. The company's main products are skateboard decks, soft goods, accessories, and wheels.[1]

History

[edit]

In 1999, Reynolds went to a secret lunch meeting with Tony Hawk & Per Welinder and started Baker Skateboards without J. Strickland's knowledge or any of the original riders.[clarification needed] In 2007, the skateboard deck brand signed a distribution deal with Blitz Distribution, the company that, at the time, was distributing Birdhouse and other brands, such as Fury and Hook-Ups (Blitz had originally been formed by Per Welinder and Hawk to distribute their own products). As of 2008, the brand was the top-selling brand under the Blitz Distribution umbrella.[2] In regard to the original Baker logo, Reynolds has credited the design to co-founder J Strickland and stated that it represented a motley company that consisted of talented skateboarders.[2]

Leo Romero left the Baker team in April 2009, and his departure led to a great amount of discussion among skateboarders and fans. Romero was awarded Thrasher magazine's "Skateboarder of the Year" trophy in 2010.[3]

Riley Hawk, son of professional skateboarder and company owner Tony Hawk, joined the Baker team in 2012 after riding for his father's company, Birdhouse.[4]

Baker Zone

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The RIDE Channel, a YouTube skateboarding channel co-founded by Hawk, announced on March 15, 2013, that a new series, entitled "Baker Zone," would commence on March 18, 2013. The series features video productions from the Baker company, such as "Weekend Warriors," "Piled Out," "Trash Compactor," and "Dumb Ass Park Footy."[5]

Pro Team

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Andrew Reynolds
Riley Hawk
Elissa Steamer
Kevin Spanky Long
Sammy Baca
Theotis Beasley
Rowan Zorilla
Tristan Funkhouser
Dustin Dollin
Zach Allen
Justin Figgy Figueroa
Jacopo Carozzi
Casper Brooker
Tyson Peterson
Neckface
Erik Ellington
Shane Heyl
Bryan Herman

Amateur Team

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Zion Effs
Vince Palmer
Sully Cormier
Stu Kirst
Max Wasungu
Lyric Bennet

Bakerboys Distribution

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In the early 2000’s, Reynolds and fellow professional skateboarders, Jim Greco and Erik Ellington, established Bakerboys Distribution, a company that distributes many brands, some of which are owned by past and current Baker riders:

[6][7][8][9]

Formerly with the Blitz distribution company, Baker's distribution was newly managed by Bakerboys in 2011.[10]

The Palace skateboard brand, which won the "Brand of the Year" award at Europe's Brighton Trade Show in January 2012, announced a distribution deal with Bakerboys in July 2014. The video appeared on the "PWBC News" series that Palace produces.[11][12]

Deathwish

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Deathwish Skateboards company draws its inspiration from 70s and 80s cult movies and kitsch magazine cover artwork. Deathwish Skateboards' brand name is inspired by the Vigilante justice cult film series Death Wish starring Charles Bronson. Deathwish Skateboards logo is the cross symbol sported by the Street Punk Gang in the movie Death Wish 3.

In 2016, Deathwish released a line of seven decks entitled VHS Wasteland. The 8.5 size team deck of this series shows a picture of Charles Bronson and his gun taken from the Death Wish movie as an obvious reference to their namesake.[13]

Former Deathwish professional Antwuan Dixon was imprisoned in mid-2013 and stated in a July 2014 Thrasher magazine interview — conducted by Reynolds and Ellington — that he was scheduled to be released on August 23, 2014.[14] Dixon also explained that he may be released earlier:

They say the 23rd, but I’ve been in this high-school-diploma program so I can get my high school diploma and you get milestone credits. And with these milestone credits you can earn six weeks, which means 42 days off. So if that goes through I should be getting out the beginning of July.[14]

Deathwish released a tribute skateboard deck in June 2014 to provide Dixon with a financial base to rebuild his life after his release from prison. The deck was sold with a letter from Ellington explaining Dixon's situation and his relationship with Deathwish/Bakerboys ("Antwuan is one of the reasons we started Deathwish. He's been here since day one, and he'll be here as long as we are."), in addition to a pre-addressed envelope for owners of the decks to be able to send Dixon a letter while he remained in prison.[15]

Heroin

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Created by England-born artist Mark "Fos" Foster, the Heroin brand was named after Fos' addiction to "skateboarding."[16] The global premiere of the Heroin skateboards video, Video Nasty, was held in Los Angeles, US on June 27, 2013, and included parts from Chet Childress, Deer Man of Dark Woods, Daniel Shimizu, Gou Myagi, Rogie, and Tom Day.[17] Foster's debut American art show, "Diamonds And The Rough," was presented at the Kingswell Gallery in Los Angeles, US, on June 14, 2014.[18]

Palace

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Palace Skateboards was founded around 2011 in England, United Kingdom by Lev Tanju, who was part of a London-based skate crew known as the Palace Wayward Boys Choir. Tanju enlisted the assistance of friends like graphic designer Fergus "Fergadelic" Purcell (also design director at Marc by Marc Jacobs) and photographer Will Bankhead to launch the brand. Tanju explained in 2014: "I just wanted to make some skateboards that looked nice and skated nice."[19]

Hammers

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Greco's skateboard and clothing brand "Hammers" was launched in October 2014 as part of Bakerboys Distribution. Greco explained in August 2014 that the brand is "based on individuality, the pure moment of creation ... It's just based on creating."[20] In the first Hammers catalog, Greco explains that the company's products are made in the U.S. "...which in turn creates American jobs and manufactures better products."[21]

Videography

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  • Baker Bootleg (1999)
  • Baker 2g (2000)
  • Summer Tour 2001 (2002)
  • Baker 3 (2005)
  • Shake Junt (2006)
  • Baker Has a Deathwish (2008)
  • Baker Has a Deathwish Summer Tour Video (2009)
  • Shake Junt - Chicken Bone Nowison (2011)[22]
  • Bake And Destroy (2012)[23]
  • The Deathwish Video (2013)[24]
  • TRAVELOGUE Baker Tour (2015)
  • Baker Presents "Certi-Fried Pro Rowan Zorilla" Part (2016)
  • Shake Junt - Skate Tank (2016)
  • Baker 4 (2019)[25]
  • Deathwish - Uncrossed (2020)
  • Shake Junt - Shrimp Blunt (2022)
  • Baker Has a Deathwish Part 2 (2024)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Baker skateboards (2012). "Product". Baker skateboards. Baker Boys Distribution. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b Patrick O'Dell (January 2008). "Andrew Reynolds' Madness – Epicly Later'd" (Video upload). Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved 19 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "SKATER OF THE YEAR 2010 WINNER" (Video upload). Thrasher. High Speed Productions. 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  4. ^ "RILEY HAWK is PRO!!!" (Video upload). RIDE CHannel on YouTube. Google Inc. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  5. ^ Ride Channel (15 March 2013). "Baker Zone comes to RIDE Channel on 3/18/13" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 16 March 2013.[dead YouTube link]
  6. ^ "Blog". Bakerboys Distribution. Bakerboys Distribution. 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  7. ^ Erik Ellington. "About". Bakerboys distribution. Bakerboys. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. ^ TWS (11 July 2013). "BAKER BOYS DISTRIBUTION LAUNCHES VOLUME 4". TranWorld Skateboarding. GrindMedia. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  9. ^ "DEATH LENS AT BBD". Bakerboys Distribution. Bakerboys Distribution. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  10. ^ Blitz Distribution (1 October 2011). "Blitz and Baker part ways". Blitz Distribution. Blitz Distribution. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Palace: The Next Episode". TransWorld SKATEboarding. TEN. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Palace wins Brand of the Year". Grey. Grey. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  13. ^ "VHS WASTELAND SERIES". deathwish.
  14. ^ a b Andrew Reynolds & Erik Ellington (July 2014). "Antwuan Dixon Interview". Thrasher. High Speed Productions. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  15. ^ Jeff Davis (10 June 2014). "Deathwish's Free Antwuan Dixon Deck". Skate Warehouse > Go Skate Blog. Skate Warehouse. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  16. ^ "0:00 / 10:42 Skate Talk Bob, Boosh & Fos: Nudity, Broken Noses & Social Distortion! Weekend Buzz ep. 66 part 1" (Video upload). RIDE Channel on YouTube. Google Inc. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  17. ^ David Broach. "Video Nasty Premiere Photos". Thrasher. High Speed Productions. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Diamonds And The Rough By Fos". SLAP. High Speed Productions, Inc. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  19. ^ GRAHAM HIEMSTRA (7 July 2014). "The Rise of Palace: How Today's Coolest Skate Brand Went Global". Complex Style. Complex Media. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  20. ^ Hunter Charlton (20 August 2014). "SKATEBOARDING IS JIM GRECO'S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH". Vice. Vice Media Inc. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  21. ^ Jim Greco (October 2014). "Holiday 2014 catalog". Bakerboys Distribution. Bakerboys Distribution. p. 40. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Shake Junt - Chicken Bone Nowison". www.bakerboysdist.com. Bakerboys Distribution. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Baker Skateboards skate videos". Skatevideosite.com. Skatevideosite.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  24. ^ Ride Channel (31 March 2013). "The Deathwish Video Premiere" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Andrew Reynolds Says 'Baker 4' Is Releasing in November ⋆ SKATE NEWSWIRE". SKATE NEWSWIRE. 1 August 2019.
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