Todd Bratrud is an illustrator and artist born in 1975 in

Crookston, Minnesota Crookston is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Polk County. The population was 7,482 at the 2020 census. It is part of the "Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Greater Grand Forks". Crookston ...

, on the same day as the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. He is the owner of Send Help skateboards, previously known as The High Five skateboards. He is currently living in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

. He lived in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

until he moved to

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

in 1999 to become the art director of Consolidated Skateboards. He has created hundreds of graphics for skateboards, stickers, advertisements and apparel for companies like Consolidated Skateboards,

Flip Skateboards Flip Skateboards is a United States-based international skateboard company, co-owned by Jeremy Fox and Ian Deacon. The company produces skateboard hard goods (decks, wheels, bearings, completes, and hardware), soft goods (T-shirts, tops, sweats ...

Birdhouse Skateboards Birdhouse Skateboards (originally Birdhouse Projects) is a skateboard company formed by ex-Powell Peralta professional skateboarders Tony Hawk and Per Welinder in 1992. Birdhouse makes decks and wheels, as well as clothing and accessories. ...

, Enjoi Skateboards, Black Label Skateboards, Creature Skateboards, Real Skateboards and

Volcom Volcom is a lifestyle brand that designs, markets, and distributes boardsports-oriented products. Volcom is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, U.S. The brand is known for its trademark ''stone'' logo, its slogan ''True to This'', and the '' ...

. He is also an illustrator and blogger for

The Skateboard Mag ''The Skateboard Mag'' was an independently published American skateboarding magazine that published over 100 issues (in 2005 its circulation was approximately 90,000) and featured professional skateboarder, Danny Way, on the cover of its inaug ...

. Examples of his skateboard graphics can be found in the book Disposable, published by Ginkgo Press. In 2006,

Nike Skateboarding Nike Skateboarding, primarily known as Nike SB, is the Nike brand for its line of shoes, clothing, and equipment for skateboarding. Nike Skateboarding won the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Home/Welcome Page in the category Web. Hist ...

released the "Send Help" version of the

Nike Dunk Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

shoe with artwork designed by Bratrud. In spring 2008, Todd was a featured artist for

released a series of T-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, bikinis, hats, and iPod cases based on the 'Lizard Print' motif designed by Bratrud.

also sponsored a series of international art openings to showcase this product line and promote a series of limited edition screenprints. In Fall 2008,

released another version of the

shoe designed by Bratrud. In Spring 2009, Todd designed the cover of Clout magazine as well as a limited edition T-shirt featuring the same illustration. In Spring 2009 he designed a board for MayDay distribution's Artist series called Tetris Effect. In Fall 2009, Todd designed two more sneakers for Nike Skateboarding, the "Bratfink" (also known as the "Asparagus Dunk" ) and the "Brain Wreck." In Fall 2009, Todd also designed a series of shirts for Brooklyn's KCDC skate shop. It is rumored that Bratrud is the creator of the highly coveted and iconic Belle and Sebastian/Bad Brains mashup T-shirt, also sold at KCDC. On April 20, 2010, Nike released the "Skunk Dunk, " designed by Bratrud. On Dec. 9, 2010, Todd was voted the top skateboard artist "right now" by Complex magazine. On April 20, 2011, NIke released the "Cheech and Chong" Dunk, designed by Bratrud. In August 2011, Todd Bratrud designed the graphics for the XGames Converse Coastal Carnage contest and also built a trophy replica of the art. In September 2011, Nike released "The Cigar" Dunk, designed by Bratrud. In November 2011, "The Art of Todd Bratrud", a graphic collection of Todd Bratrud's artwork was released by Mark Batty Publishers. In October 2013, Nike released the "Send Help 2" Dunk, designed by Bratrud. In October 2021, Nike released the "Strawberry Cough" Dunk designed by Todd Bratrud as a literal interpretation of a "Strawberry Cough", a strain of marijuana.

References

External links

The High Five SkateboardsBurlesque Design - Todd Bratrud's Design FirmTodd's blog at The Skateboard MagMayDay Dist. Tetris Effect series illustration by Todd Bratrud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bratrud, Todd American artists Living people 1975 births Artist skateboarders