World Industries
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World Industries is a
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
company that offers skateboarding products, accessories and clothing. The company was founded by Steve Rocco in 1987. In 1988, Rocco was joined by skater, Rodney Mullen, and then
Mike Vallely Mike Vallely ( ), also known as Mike V, is an American professional skateboarder and musician. Since November 2013, he has been the lead vocalist of hardcore punk band Black Flag. Vallely is the second-longest-serving member of the band, althou ...
in 1989. As of 2014, World Industries operates under GVS America, a subsidiary of INA Sports Inc. & FGL Sports Ltd. The company also makes and sells Longboards.


History


Blind

In late-1989,
Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Ti ...
approached Rocco with the desire to be involved in his own company. Gonzales was riding for Vision, which was the largest skateboard company at the time. Gonzales and Rocco decided to name the company Blind, in contrast to Gonzales' former sponsor.
Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...
, who was, at the time, a World Industries team member, assisted with the development of the brand.


Plan B

In 1991, wanting to break from H-Street, co-founder Mike Ternasky formed the company
Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B En ...
with an exclusive production and distribution alliance with World Industries. In the deal, Plan B marketed itself from
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
while World Industries did the rest, paying a royalty fee to Plan B.} Mike Ternasky was able to convince perennial freestyle world champion Rodney Mullen to switch to street skating thus becoming a member of the Plan B team. In September 1993, Rick Howard defected with seven other riders from the fold of World Industries and started
Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
. Mike Ternasky was killed in a car accident in 1994. Plan B and World Industries parted ways in 1997, and was run by
Danny Way Danny Way (born April 15, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, company owner and rallycross driver who has been awarded ''Thrasher'' magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a ...
and Colin McKay, closing its doors shortly thereafter in 1998. In March 2005, Plan B was resurrected by team member and part-owner,
Danny Way Danny Way (born April 15, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder, company owner and rallycross driver who has been awarded ''Thrasher'' magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a ...
.


Restructure and growth

The years of 1996 to 1999 were years of significant restructuring and explosive growth for the company, led by the newly appointed executives, and subsequent shareholders, CEO Frank Messman and CFO Scott Drouillard. By the end of 1998, World Industries and Blind had achieved the status of number one and number two brands in skateboard hardgoods. This was in large part due to the re-positioning of the brands with Marc McKee's hugely popular cartoon characters of Devilman, Flame Boy and Wet Willy for World Industries, and the "Blind Reaper" for Blind..


Kubic Marketing

In October 1998, Steve Rocco and his then five other shareholder partners (including Rodney Mullen, Frank Messmann, and Scott Drouillard), sold a 70% majority interest of the company to an outside private equity group, SPC, while maintaining all key management and employees. The company was valued at $29 million at the point of sale. A parent company emerged by the name of Kubic Marketing ("Kubic") which owned World Industries and
Dwindle Distribution Dwindle Distribution, based in El Segundo, California, is an American skateboard distributor. It is a component of Transom Capital Group Limited. The company was founded by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen. Its formation is recognized as a key event ...
. In 1999, the parent company Kubic bought the then-largest retailer (catalog and internet) CCS in the skateboard industry for $21 million. In 2000, due to financial issues, the company sold CCS to Alloy, a publicly listed company for approximately $50 million.


Globe International

In 2002,
Globe International Globe International Ltd. is an Australian footwear, clothing, and skateboard hardware company. It was founded in 1985 by three Australian brothers. Globe International's core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands, and ...
Limited, an Australian public company, purchased all companies of Kubic, including World Industries.


i.e. Distribution

On June 25, 2007, Globe International Limited sold the World Industries brand to i.e. Distribution. As of February 2014, World Industries continues to sponsor a team of skateboarders; however, an official promotional flyer appeared on February 6, 2014, following the addition of a skateboard deck line to team rider Anthony Shetler's clothing brand "All I Need" (AIN). The flyer states: "Shetler and Timmy Knuth will have pro models," but as of February 20, 2014, both Shetler and Knuth remain on the World Industries website as team members, and no further information has been released. Golden Viking Sports On August 10, 2014, World Industries was purchased by GVS America, a subsidiary that is wholly owned by INA Sports Inc. & FGL Sports Ltd. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed to the public.


Team

*Andrew Cannon * Anthony Shetler *Timmy Knuth *Derek Fukuhara *Matt Mendenhall *Mike Franklin *Billy Davenport


The Man Who Souled the World

In 2007, Whyte House Productions released ''The Man Who Souled the World'', a documentary about Steve Rocco and the creation of World Industries, as well as his other skateboard related companies and ventures.''The Man Who Souled the World'' at IMDB
/ref> The film release was accompanied by a skateboard art exhibition (featuring Marc McKee's art) titled, "Censorship is Weak as F##k."


References


External links

*
''The Man Who Souled the World''
Archive of official site of the film.
Trashfilter.com editorial article
A personal retrospective of World Industries in the early '90s, by Chris Aylen for Trashfilter. * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, 1187641_1187641_man_who_souled_the_world, The Man Who Souled the World Skateboarding companies Privately held companies based in California Skateboard shoe companies