Baker Skateboards

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

History

In 1999, Andrew Reynolds left Birdhouse Skateboards and started Baker Skateboards along with other professional skateboarders from Stereo, Zero, and other companies. The company was named after a lifestyle in which a person "gets baked" (smokes and experiences the effects of the drug, cannabis) and skateboards every day.[2] In 2007, Reynolds provided a detailed account of the company's beginnings:

Well, I was living in Huntington, riding for Birdhouse. We just thought to ourselves, all these companies are really lame. Like, Birdhouse doesn't promote piles, you know what I mean? Like, Zero's [skateboard deck brand] not promoting, like, what we're all about. You know, we met up with Jay Strickland, we started telling him about our ideas, like, "We wanna do something. We wanna do a company." And we're, like, "All of us, together.", you know? It was just, like, a big mess, you know? I went and talked to Tony [Hawk] and Per [Welinder]—"It's either, I quit, and take a bunch of guys and do something, or, you guys help me start a company, you know?"[3]

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.[3] In regard to the original Baker logo, Reynolds has credited the design to Strickland and stated that it represented a motley company that consisted of talented skateboarders.[3]

An interview with former Baker professional Shane Heyl on September 27, 2013 confirmed that Heyl, Kevin "Spanky" Long, Jeff Lenoce, and Braydon Szafranski are no longer members of the Baker team as of the date of the interview. Heyl declined to speak on behalf of the other former Baker riders, but explained that he initiated the decision regarding himself with Reynolds, whereby he stated to the company owner that his knee is an ongoing issue.[4]

Baker Zone

The RIDE Channel, a YouTube skateboarding channel cofounded 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]

Team

Professional

  • Riley Hawk
  • Andrew Reynolds
  • Don "Nuge" Nguyen
  • Dustin Dollin
  • Terry Kennedy
  • Bryan Herman
  • Sammy Baca
  • Theotis Beasley
  • Justin "Figgy" Figueroa[6]

Amateur

  • Cyril Jackson
  • Dee Ostrander[6]
  • Tristan Funkhouser[7]

Bakerboys Distribution

In 2007, Reynolds and fellow professional skateboarders, Jim Greco and Erik Ellington, established Bakerboys Distribution, a company that distributes six companies that are owned by past and current Baker riders/associates. These companies are:

  • Baker Skateboards
  • Shake Junt
  • Brigada Sunglasses
  • Deathwish Skateboards
  • Heroin skateboards[8][9]
  • Volume 4[10]

Formerly with the Blitz distribution company, Baker's distribution was newly managed by Bakerboys in 2011.[11]

Videography

  • Baker Bootleg (1998)
  • Baker 2G (2000)
  • Summer Tour 2001 (2002)
  • Baker 3 (2005)
  • Baker Has a Deathwish (2008)
  • Baker Has a Deathwish Summer Tour Video (2009)
  • Bake And Destroy (2012)[12]
  • The Deathwish Video (2013)[13]

References

  1. ↑ Baker skateboards (2012). "Product". Baker skateboards. Baker Boys Distribution. Retrieved 19 August 2012. 
  2. ↑ RIDEChannel (4 September 2012). "Insight With Andrew Reynolds (Part 1 of 2)" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Patrick O'Dell (January 2008). "Andrew Reynolds' Madness – Epicly Later'd" (Video upload). Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved 19 January 2013. 
  4. ↑ Ride Channel (27 September 2013). "Erik Ellington & Shane Heyl: Brad Pitt, Baker & Carlsbad Dance! Weekend Buzz ep. 79 pt. 2" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2013. 
  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. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Team". Baker Skateboards. Baker Boys Distribution. December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013. 
  7. ↑ Brian Blakely (18 October 2013). "Exclusive Part: T-Funk". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. Retrieved 7 December 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Blog". Bakerboys Distribution. Bakerboys Distribution. January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013. 
  9. ↑ Erik Ellington. "About". Bakerboys distribution. Bakerboys. Retrieved 2 September 2012. 
  10. ↑ TWS (11 July 2013). "BAKER BOYS DISTRIBUTION LAUNCHES VOLUME 4". TranWorld Skateboarding. GrindMedia. Retrieved 31 August 2013. 
  11. ↑ Blitz Distribution (1 October 2011). "Blitz and Baker part ways". Blitz Distribution. Blitz Distribution. Retrieved 2 September 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Baker Skateboards skate videos". Skatevideosite.com. Skatevideosite.com. 2005–2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013. 
  13. ↑ Ride Channel (31 March 2013). "The Deathwish Video Premiere" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 31 August 2013. 

External links

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