The original team consisted of surfers that would skateboard in their free time. At this time skateboarding was still in its infancy, with the urethane skateboard wheel being a fresh invention. In 1974, Santa Cruz released the “Road Rider” wheels, which were urethane wheels that featured caged bearing or precision bear to prolong bearing lifetimes. The Road Rider was such groundbreaking technology that pushed forward the potential of skateboarding. The road riders went on to sell over a million units in one year.
THE LOGO:
When it comes to skateboard logos, the Santa Cruz logo is easily among the most iconic. At the time, skateboard brands would just put their names on boards with different typefaces to differentiate themselves and no logos. Jim Phillips came along and incorporated the typeface into what is now the iconic “Dot Logo” with Jay Sherman. Philips would go on to create the iconic screaming hand logo.
These logos created a big step in skateboard graphics, featuring bold lines and bright colours that really made the boards pop. Jim Philips is respected as one of the best skateboard artists of all time. Some skateboard graphics Jim has done include the Roskopp face, Salba Tiger, Steve Olson Checkerboard, Jason Jesse Poseiden, and the Grosso Toy Box.
SANTA CRUZ SKATER OWNED AND OPERATED:
Although Santa Cruz is one of the biggest skateboarding brands in the world, it has still kept the closely knit family vibes of a small brand. Santa Cruz has remained skater owned and operated; with the CEO of NHS being retired pro skateboarder Bob Denike. Many other retired pro skateboarders are now working for NHS, this includes Jeff Kendall and Andrew Cannon.
THE “TERRORIST SERIES”:
In the book “Disposable”, David tells a story of a poorly timed skateboard deck series. In 2001, Santa Cruz was headed to one of the biggest trade shows to show off their new series dubbed the “Terrorist Series”. This series depicted scenes of riots and crowd control. These boards were sitting in the warehouse on the night of September 10th, 2001… The next day the series was cancelled for obvious reasons.
SANTA CRUZ COLLABS:
Santa Cruz is known for having a ton of cool collabs with brands and other media. Some of these collabs include Stranger Things, TMNT, Star Wars, Spongebob, The Simpsons, Vans, Emerica, Garbage Pail Kids, and many more. Many of these decks have become highly valued collectors items.
SKATE VIDEOS:
Santa Cruz has had many iconic skate videos through the years, some include Streets On Fire, Speed Freaks, Wheels of Fire, Out There, A Reason For Living, A Right To Exist, and more!
RESEARCH AND DESIGN:
Santa Cruz had continued its tradition of innovating, having created the Everslick, Powerply, and VX Deck. The everslick decks feature a textured bottom, having a better slide while preserving the graphic for longer. The powerply decks have a reinforced nose and tail to prevent chipping. The VX deck is their carbon fibre deck, made to be lighter and nearly indestructible when it comes to snapping.
Santa Cruz has not limited themselves to just skateboards either, they have made surfboards, snowboards, and even have an offshoot bike company.
MODERN SANTA CRUZ:
Today, Santa Cruz has maintained their tradition of having a stacked team, with huge names like Erick Winkowski, Jake Wooten, Fabiana Delfino, Jeremy Knibbs, Kevin Braun, Tom Asta, Blake Johnson, Justin Summer, Mario McCoy, and more.
