Jamie Thomas

Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974), is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear. Thomas's nickname in the skateboard industry is "The Chief".^[1]

Early life

Thomas grew up in Dothan, Alabama, United States (US),^[2] Thomas started skateboarding at the age of eleven.

Skateboarding career

In 1992 Thomas left Alabama and relocated in San Francisco, California in order to pursue a career in professional skateboarding. At the time, he was sponsored Real Skateboards, Thunder trucks, and Spitfire wheels under the Deluxe Distribution company. Thomas turned pro for a short lived brand called Experience. Thomas then went on to ride for San Diego-based Invisible Skateboards.

After relocating to Southern California in 1994, Thomas was featured on the cover of TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine and filmed video parts for Spitfire and Invisible. In 1995 Thomas left Invisible to join skateboarder/artist Ed Templeton at Toy Machine Skateboards. Thomas filmed and directed two Toy Machine videos, the second one being the one of the most influential skate videos of the 1990s Welcome To Hell.

Thomas launched the first part of his personal website in March 2014, explaining that he intends to "archive his 20-year professional skateboard career and share the work of those who have influenced him."^[3] In August 2014, video footage of Thomas skateboarding in the newly designed TransWorld SKATEboarding park was published on the magazine's website.^[4]

The Active Ride Shop, an American skateboarding retail business, recruited Thomas to the team in early 2014, and an announcement was released on March 4, 2014 in an online video that included skateboarding footage.^[5] The Official headwear brand then announced Thomas as an addition to their skate team in April 2014. The brand plans to collaborate with Thomas to release a line of signature beanies and hats, stating: "As a 20-year veteran of professional skateboarding with an authentic do-it-yourself style, Jamie brings a unique level of diversity to our program."^[6]

"Leap of Faith"

The Zero video Thrill Of It All featured Thomas's attempt at what would be coined "The Leap of Faith"^[7] (an "ollie melon" over a handrail and then down an 18-foot, 8-inch drop). The location of the "leap" was the Point Loma High School in San Diego. Although Thomas did not successfully land the trick, his attempt garnered notoriety.

Sponsors

Thomas is sponsored by Zero skateboards, Fallen footwear, Thunder trucks, Spitfire wheels, Bones Swiss, Mob Grip, olloclip, Active Ride Shop, and Official headwear.^[2][8][9]

Business career

In 1996, Thomas started a small clothing company through skateboard distributor Tum Yeto called "Toy Machine Zero Division." This company later became Zero Skateboards. In 2003 Thomas started the core skate shoe brand Fallen Footwear. In 2006, Thomas won a regional "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from business leaders Ernst & Young.^[10]

In a June 2014 interview with the Jenkem online publication, Thomas explained that the Dwindle Distribution skateboard company—responsible for the Enjoi, Blind Skateboards, Almost Skateboards, Darkstar and Cliché Skateboards brands—will take over "the sales, finance, production and distribution aspects" of the Zero brand, without citing a time frame. Thomas further explained that the Zero employees will remain independent and will focus on "the team, marketing and creative aspects" of the brand.^[11] On June 27, 2014, Cole posted an announcement of his departure from Zero on the social media platform Instagram, without a corresponding reason; however, a reply from the Zero Instagram account thanked Cole for his "loyalty & dedication."^[12]

Thomas explained in a June 24, 2014 interview with the Active brand's online media channel that core skateboard brands will need to remain authentic to survive in the marketplace. He also revealed that he continues to enjoy the process of working in collaboration with sponsors and companies on projects, and recommended skateboarding projects to the audience for motivational benefits.^[13]

Reflections

Thomas has stated that he constantly wishes that he is not a perfectionist: "Yeah, I wish that all the time. My whole life is wishing that I didn't need to have something a certain way. I don't like to use the term "perfectionist" because I don't think perfection is accomplishable. But I wish I wasn't obsessed with trying to make things perfect. Yes. It's terrible; it's a curse."^[1]

Personal life

Thomas is married to Joanne and has three children (Julien Tiger, born October 30, 2003, James Ruby, born March 30, 2006, and Maximus Trey, born June 11, 2008). The Thomas family resides in Encinitas, California, US. Thomas is also a Christian, with several board graphics that feature Christian imagery and scripture.^[14]

Thomas has explained that his nickname, "The Chief", was started by professional skateboarders Elissa Steamer, Erik Ellington and Jim Greco.^[1]

Videography

• Spitfire Wheels: Spitfire (1993)^[15]
• Invisible Skateboards: Invisible (1994)^[16]
• Toy Machine: Heavy Metal (1995)^[17]
• Etnies: High Five (1995)^[18]
• Toy Machine: Welcome to Hell (1996)^[19]
• Emerica: Yellow – shared part with Adrian Lopez (1996)^[20]
• Zero: Thrill of it All (1997)^[21]
• Zero: Misled Youth (1999)^[22]
• Landspeed: CKY (1999)^[23]
• Transworld: VideoRadio (2001)^{[24][25][26][27][28]}
• Transworld: Chomp on This (2002)^[29]
• Zero: Dying to Live (2002)
• Zero: New Blood (2005)
• Reason to Believe (2005)
• Thrasher: King of the Road (2004)
• Thrasher: King of the Road (2005)
• Thrasher: King of the Road (2006)
• Zero promotional video (2007)
• Fallen: Ride The Sky (2008)
• Bill Maher's Religulous (2008)
• Zero: Strange World (2009)
• Insight: Untitled (2011)
• Zero: Cold War (2013)^[30]

References

External links

• Black Box Distribution official website