Toy Machine

Toy Machine logo

Toy Machine is a skateboarding company, housed under the Tum Yeto distribution company, started by Ed Templeton in 1993.^[1][2]

History

Prior to inception, Templeton was unable to decide on either "Toy Skateboards" or "Machine Skateboards" for a company name—friend and fellow professional skateboarder Ethan Fowler suggested a combination of the two propositions.

Some of the skateboarders who joined the company during its early period were Brian Anderson, Elissa Steamer, and Brad Staba; however, all three quit the company at the same time. Austin Stephens then joined the team, followed by Caswell Berry, Diego Bucchieri, and Josh Harmony.^[3]

Stephens, the longest-serving team member aside from Templeton, retired from professional skateboarding in December 2013. The company released a tribute skateboard deck to commemorate Stephens's career and Templeton officially stated:

I recall Austin coming to me at the Toy Machine Halloween demo a few years back saying that he didn’t think he could do it anymore. And I said, “Do what?” and he said, “Skateboard. My ankle doesn’t work anymore.” ... I respect a man who is willing to see things as they are and make an honest choice. So it was with great sadness that we retired Austin Stephens, the rider who was on Toy Machine the longest aside from me.^[4]

Team

• Ed Templeton
• Diego "The Butcher" Bucchieri
• Billy Marks
• Josh Harmony
• Johnny Layton
• Leo Romero
• Matt Bennett
• Collin Provost
• Jordan Taylor
• Daniel Lutheran
• Blake Carpenter
• Jeremy Leabres

Filmography

• Live! was released in 1994.^[5] Featured riders include Charlie Coatney, Templeton, Ethan Fowler, Jahmal Williams, Jerry Fowler, Joe Nemeth, Panama Dan, Pete Lehman, and Thomas Campbell.

• Heavy Metal was released in 1995. Featured riders include Templeton, Jamie Thomas, Josh Kalis, Panama Dan, and Satva Leung.^[6]

• Welcome to Hell was released in 1996.^[7] Notable featured riders include Elissa Steamer, Templeton,Brian Anderson, Donny Barley, Mike Maldonado, and Jamie Thomas. Chad Muska's part was edited out right before the premiere, due to a disagreement between Muska and Templeton. It included a segment from Zero Skateboards then called zero clothing.

• Jump Off A Building was released in 1998. The video featured all of the riders that were in Welcome to Hell, but also included new skateboarders, like Bam Margera and Kerry Getz.^[8]

• Good and Evil, Toy Machine's fifth video, premiered October 22, 2004, at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California, US. Riders featured are Templeton, Diego Bucchieri, Austin Stephens, and Marks, with debut parts from Josh Harmony, Johnny Layton, and Matt Bennett.^[9] Coming after a few years of exiting riders and a stint where the only people on the team were Templeton and Stephens, Good & Evil came out and won Transworld Skateboarding Magazine's "Video of the Year."

• Suffer The Joy premiered November 9, 2006 at The Art Theater in Long Beach, California, US.^[10][11][12] In addition to the riders from Good & Evil, the video included a debut part from Nick Trapasso.^[13]

• Brainwash premiered on October 26, 2010 at The Gaslamp in Long Beach, California, US.^[14] The promotional video includes all past riders from Suffer The Joy, as well as Leo Romero, Daniel Lutheran, Jordan Taylor, and Collin Provost. The video was released on iTunes and DVD on November 8, 2010.^[15]

• Tour videos: Sucking the Life (2003),^[16][17] Bezerker (2003),^[18][19] Lurk Fest (2008),^[20][21] and The Subhumans (2010).^[22]

See also

• List of skateboarding brands

References

External links

• Toy Machine website