Baker Skateboards is an American

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

company founded in 2000 by professional skateboarder Andrew Reynolds. The company's main products are skateboard decks, soft goods, accessories, and wheels.

History

In 1999, Reynolds went to a secret lunch meeting with

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...

Per Welinder Per Nils Welinder (born April 17, 1962) is a Swedish entrepreneur and former professional skateboarder. During the 1980s he achieved international fame as a freestyle skater and was a leading member of the Powell-Peralta skate team known as the ...

and started Baker Skateboards without J. Strickland's knowledge or any of the original riders. In 2007, the skateboard deck brand signed a distribution deal with Blitz Distribution, the company that, at the time, was distributing

Birdhouse A nest box, also spelled nestbox, is a man-made enclosure provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses or a birdbox/bird box, but some mammals such as bats ma ...

and other brands, such as Fury and Hook-Ups (Blitz had originally been formed by

and Hawk to distribute their own products). As of 2008, the brand was the top-selling brand under the Blitz Distribution umbrella. 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.

Leo Romero Leo Romero (born November 28, 1986) is a professional skateboarder whose early skateboarding influences included Heath Kirchart, Jamie Thomas and Andrew Reynolds. Early life Romero was born in Fontana, California, United States and is the son ...

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 Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera. These do not form a clade but are a phe ...

'' magazine's "Skateboarder of the Year" trophy in 2010.

Riley Hawk Hudson Riley Hawk (born December 6, 1992) is an American professional skateboarder. He is the son of Tony Hawk. Unlike his father, who is known for his vert style, Riley Hawk is better known as a street skater. He turned pro on his 21st birth ...

, son of professional skateboarder and company owner

, joined the Baker team in 2012 after riding for his father's company, Birdhouse.

Baker Zone

The RIDE Channel, a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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."

Pro Team

Andrew Reynolds

Elissa Steamer Elissa Steamer (born July 31, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder. Early life Steamer was born in Fort Myers, Florida, United States, and began skateboarding in 1989. Steamer frequented a small city owned skate park on Grand Avenue. ...

Kevin Spanky Long Sammy Baca

Theotis Beasley Theotis Beasley (born February 16, 1991) is a goofy-footed American skateboarder from Inglewood, California. Personal life Born in Inglewood, CA, Theotis Beasley is a graduate of Morningside High School. Beasley is a car enthusiast who curren ...

Rowan Zorilla Tristan Funkhouser

Dustin Dollin Dustin Dollin (born 27 June 1980) is an Australian professional skateboarder who is one of the original team riders for Baker Skateboards Early life Dollin was born in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, and raised in Katoomba, New South Wale ...

Zach Allen Justin "Figgy" Figueroa Jacopo Carozzi Casper Brooker Tyson Peterson Shane Heyl Bryan Herman Don "Nuge" Nguyen

Amateur Team

Zion Effs Vince Palmer

Sully Cormier Sully may refer to: * Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (born 1951), American pilot notable for landing his disabled airliner on the Hudson in 2009 ** ''Sully'' (film), a 2016 film by Clint Eastwood about Sullenberger Places France * Sully, Calvado ...

Stu Kirst Max Wasungu Lyric Bennet

Mingus Gamble Mingus may refer to: * Charles Mingus (1922–1979), jazz composer and double bass player ** Sue Mingus, wife of the jazz composer ** ''Mingus'' (Charles Mingus album), 1961 album by Charles Mingus ** ''Mingus'' (Joni Mitchell album), 1979 jazz ...

Sengo Prevost Sengo may be, *Sengo language *Mose Se Sengo Mose Se Sengo ("Fan Fan") (16 October 1945 – 3 May 2019) was a guitarist, composer and band-leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was one of the pioneers of Congolese Soukous. Backgrou ...

Bakerboys Distribution

In the early 2000’s, Reynolds and fellow professional skateboarders,

Jim Greco Jim Greco (born December 25, 1977) is an American professional skateboarder. He established Bakerboys Distribution with Andrew Reynolds and Erik Ellington in 2007. Bakerboys Distribution provides distribution for closely related in-house ska ...

and

Erik Ellington Erik Ellington (born August 9, 1977) is an American professional skateboarder. He established Bakerboys Distribution with Andrew Reynolds and Jim Greco in 2007. The company provides distribution for closely related skateboard companies. In 2 ...

, established Bakerboys Distribution, a company that distributes many brands, some of which are owned by past and current Baker riders: *Baker Skateboards *Shake Junt *Happy Hour Shades *Deathwish Skateboards *Volume 4 *Heroin Skateboards *

Palace Skateboards Palace Skateboards (or Palace) is a London-based skateboard brand established in 2009. The brand was founded by Lev Tanju and Gareth Skewis. Palace Skateboards is heavily influenced by 90s pop culture. Since its inception, Palace has used VHS ...

*Hammers *Death Lens *

Illegal Civilization Illegal Civilization, also known as IC or Illegal Civ, is an American skateboarding company and movie studio founded in North Hollywood by Mikey Alfred. The brand produces clothing, accessories, skateboards, and videos. Outside of skateboarding, ...

*Ashbury *ABC Hat Co. *

Birdhouse Skateboards Birdhouse Skateboards (originally Birdhouse Projects) is an American skateboard company formed by ex- Powell Peralta professional skateboarders Tony Hawk and Per Welinder in 1992. Birdhouse makes decks and wheels, as well as clothing and ac ...

Call Me 917 Alex Olson (born 1986) is a goofy-footed American professional skateboarder, company owner, and entrepreneur. Olson runs the companies ''Call Me 917'' and ''Bianca Chandon''. Biography Early life Son of Steve Olson, Alex's first memory of sk ...

* Gnarhunters * The Heated Wheel Formerly with the Blitz distribution company, Baker's distribution was newly managed by Bakerboys in 2011. 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.

Deathwish

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 ''The Vigilante'', marketed as ''The Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West'', is a 1947 American Western film serial directed by Wallace Fox. The 33rd serial released by Columbia Pictures, it was based on the comic book cowboy Vigilante, who fir ...

justice cult film series Death Wish starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

. Deathwish Skateboards logo is the cross symbol sported by the Street Punk Gang in the movie

Death Wish 3 ''Death Wish 3'' is a 1985 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and edited by Michael Winner. A sequel to the 1982 film '' Death Wish II'', it is the third installment and the last to be directed by Winner in the ''Death Wish'' fi ...

. 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. Former Deathwish professional Antwuan Dixon was imprisoned in mid-2013 and stated in a July 2014 ''

'' magazine interview — conducted by Reynolds and Ellington — that he was scheduled to be released on August 23, 2014. 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.

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.

Heroin

Created by England-born artist Mark "Fos" Foster, the Heroin brand was named after Fos' addiction to "skateboarding." 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. Foster's debut American art show, "Diamonds And The Rough," was presented at the Kingswell Gallery in Los Angeles, US, on June 14, 2014.

Palace

was founded around 2011 in England, United Kingdom by Lev Tanju, who was part of a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-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 Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for his own fashion label, Marc Jacobs, and formerly Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, which was produced for approximately 15 years, before it was d ...

) 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."

Hammers

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." 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."

Videography

*''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) *''Bake And Destroy'' (2012) *''The Deathwish Video'' (2013) *''TRAVELOGUE Baker Tour'' (2015) *''Baker Presents "Certi-Fried Pro Rowan Zorilla" Part'' (2016) *''Shake Junt - Skate Tank'' (2016) *''Baker 4'' (2019) *''Deathwish - Uncrossed'' (2020) *''Shake Junt - Shrimp Blunt'' (2022) *''Baker Has a Deathwish Part 2'' (2024)

References

{{reflist American companies established in 2000 Skateboarding companies Manufacturing companies established in 2000