HAMMER TIME.

I took the grip off and immediately realized this was a Rick Howard I bought from Mike York in between EMB and Pier 7. At the time I gave it a try, but hated it because it was too big and flat to do flip tricks on. Guess that's why I painted over it and forgot about it. I actually thought it was a Davey Rogers Beer City board that he gave me. Now I'm bummed because I don't know where that board is.

Latest weird cruiser design. The hammerhead model. I was a big fan of the Hosoi series back in the day, but this is not an ode, and not about functionality, it's about a cool fucking shape of a badass fish. Did you know that there is no record of a hammerhead shark killing a human? Afterthought: hope this doesn't look like a giant ribbed penis. But I guess either way it's impressive...

It like totally clashes!

I cut, shaped and painted this deck for Patrick. My newer, wider shape. Weird combo of black over red paint, cut marks via Kershaw knife, then some sanding. Dig his big azz black Bones wheels, but as an artist, I can't get behind his choice of white trucks. Indy's or not, it doesn't mesh with the dark, somber aesthetic.

But what the fuck do "artists" know?

Enjoy, sir Pat. These set-ups are what I call "therapeutic."

It's 75 degrees out right now and I'm in shorts. What the fuck am I doing inside? Going out for some therapy.

Q.

FOCUS AFTER FOCUS

YamaodaBroken skateboards are recycled into Iris decks.

What do you do when you break a board? Toss it in the dumpster, save it for your wall collection or paint something on it and make it an art piece? George Rocha takes his broken decks and makes them into decks! How is Rocha resurrecting the dead? Black magic perhaps? Well, he wouldn't go to deep into the actual process of his technique but you will find out that he's a 100% skateboarder and his company, Iris skateboards, is making a deck skateboarding has never seen before.

ESPN.com: Can you explain what is an Iris skateboard?
Rocha: They are cruiser boards made entirely of broken skateboard decks. Skateboards are made with glue and the catalyst in that glue is toxic, so it can't be put into landfills. So you have to do something with them. So I take broken ones and make them into skate-able ones and it just perpetuates the idea of keeping skateboards under your feet.

Are you an Eco-conscious person?
Yes, I am, I'm not like a tree hugger but I do think that we do have a responsibility on this planet not to kill it. So this is like an extension of that.

[+] Enlarge

YamaodaHow many people do you know that skates a recycled board in their own backyard pool they've poured themselves? George Rocha goes frontal.

Is that the inspiration for making these decks?
No, it was more like a bonus. The inspiration is skateboarding itself. There are other people that will take broken boards and make sculptures for example Haroshi who's amazing at his craft, I'm not trying to copy I'm just doing my version of what to do with a broken board.

Where are you getting the broken boards from?
Fortunately I live in San Francisco where a lot of great companies exist here and they allow me to use their returns, places like Deluxe, FTC and NHS. Big thanks to them. I do want to make a note, that every board I use must be broken or cracked, if it's rideable I'm gonna go down to the park and find a kid who wants it.

Is it possible to take a broken Iris boards and make another one?
That's a good question! I can't wait for the day to have a stack of broken Iris boards and glue them together! Just perpetuate the cycle, you know.

What's your work background?
I've been building skate parks and working as a masentry carpenter most of my life. I started making ramps when I was 10 years old. I got hooked on making skate parks first at Freddy Smith's Skate Park call "The Skate Hut" in Providence Road Island. When my friend Sloppy Sam began a company Breaking Ground is when I learned concrete, I basically jumped in and had to learn, that was 1999 or 2000ish. After that I've worked with Grindline, Red and the Dreamland crew, great dude doing great work. Then I decided to stop traveling so much and to try and make my living in SF. I made Thrasher's "Double Rock" park and I make private pools for people.

How long does it take to craft an Iris board?
It varies, I make them by hand so at best I can probably make 10 a week, just me. You can't walk down the street with one of these boards without someone stopping you and being like "what is that?" It's obvious it's made of other boards but don't know how or the story behind it so hopefully when some gets one they will know the story and keep passing it on.

Taken from:

Broken board resurrection

October, 15,

By Tadashi Yamaoda

Yamaoda

THE CHROME BALL IS IN MY COURT.

Treated self for birthday...wanted something big and fun, roughly like an old Blind shape from days of old. I found that shape in a Black Label series, and Mike at Gravity hooked me up without selling the whole series to some board collector schmuck. The only problem is all the artwork is done by Neil Blender, and now I'm having a hard time thinking about fucking it up. Same reason I can't buy one of these beauties...

And it's Blender!

....couldn't resist.

BLEEDING HEART, LIBERALLY SHAPED.

Newest cruiser. Old (my original) shape; acrylic, oil-based paint pen, aerosol, polyurethane coat. (p.s. FOR SALE!)

MEDICINAL PURPOSES.

New and improved shape and method. The new cruiser to ail my woeful heart. The cool colors were accidental, revealing themselves after a black spraypaint job that I decided to lightly sand down. Poly urethane coating to keep it waterproof, 80 deurometer (sp?) Bones ATF keeps the pebbles at bay. This little sucker feels really good, and will make any commute better.

PAY YOUR TAB, THEN GO HOME.

Jesse's home-crafted boards for sale. I don't know the particulars but I do know they are well made, completely unique, and built to last. Inlayed wood like the Hobie's and Sincor's of old, complete with the wedge-grafted kicktail, these fuckers have perfect balance, but hold a weight suitable for bludgeoning the most capable of attackers.

P.S. Happy Birthday Jesse!

SHAPE YOUR OWN.

TO THE KID FROM THE DORM WHO APPROPRIATED THIS FINELY CRAFTED TOOL: I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE.

R.I.P. ZIPPY

EVERY DAY I'M STEN-CIL-IN, EVERY DAY I'M STEN-CIL-IN...

HANG IN THERE.

I re-drew the Real Thiebaud hanging clansman graphic when it came out because I liked it so much. We xeroxed it (some with the soul man cartoon...I think that was stolen from Andy Howell) and left it all over school.

The original impetus to do this was prompted after an unsettling event. I was casually invited over to this kids house who I rode the bus with in junior high. He said he had cool stuff to show me. "Cool stuff" referred not only to his giant t.v. complete with porn channels, but specifically to all of their guns. For instance, (but not limited to, no!) he had a Mac 10 under his bed. He must've been 13. And his good ol' dad slept with a cocked and loaded .45 under his pillow and a sawed-off shotgun under his bed, apparently, according to his delightful son, really wishing someone would break in so he could blow them away in his pj's. And then, when I was leaving (in a hurry) and I didn't think it could get any worse, he insistently handed me a piece of paper from a large stack of copies atop the kitchen counter. "You should fill this out!" It was a real (no pun intended) Ku Klux Klan application. I couldn't believe it. I said I was definitely not interested, at all...at all.

The next week I happened to acquire the Thiebaud board. I would dangle it in KKK jr.'s face every time I saw him on the bus with a big grin on my face. Empty threats ensued. Looking back, of course this (graphic, and pushing it) is not the right philosophy. (I did not plan this post for MLK Day...he would be rolling in his grave.) Evil begets evil. But it sure is fun to rile up the wicked...

Thiebaud doesn't get enough credit for how innovative and stylish he was. First kickflip front board and 10 foot high frontside wallrides. And what other skater can you name who has published books of poetry?? 

And...Banksy seemed to have (inadvertent yet oddly similar...who knows?) made this homage to the infamous graphic in his southern U.S. escapades not long ago. He dropped into Birmingham and threw up some bangers. My favorite artist (cliche or not), period. 

JUNK