Zero Skateboards is a
skateboard company located in
Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...
, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur
Jamie Thomas
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thoma ...
, and distributed by his
Black Box Distribution
Black Box Distribution was a skateboard distributor owned by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas. Prior to October 2014, it served seven brands, three of which were owned by Thomas: Fallen Footwear, Mystery Skateboards, and Zero Skateboard ...
company. In late June 2014, Thomas announced that the brand would be distributed by the
Dwindle Distribution company, based in
El Segundo, California
El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...
. Subsequently, in 2016, Thomas and Dwindle announced that Zero Skateboards would be operated independently by Thomas.
History
The Zero brand was originally a clothing company, formed in 1996, and subsequently evolved into a skateboard company, with Thomas leaving
Toy Machine to become Zero's first professional team rider.
In early 2003, Thomas opened a plant in
Tijuana, Mexico, named "Edieth and Osuna", to manufacture the skateboard decks of the Black Box brands. Zero team rider
Chris Cole was a shareholder of the company from 2011 to 2014.
The company has released seven videos, with the premiere of the latest release, ''Cold War'', occurring on November 8, 2013. The premiere was held at the La Paloma theater in Encinitas, California, and Thomas invited every Zero rider, former and current, onto the stage prior to the showing of the 40-minute video.
Transition to Dwindle
In a June 2014 interview with the ''Jenkem'' online publication, Thomas explained that the Dwindle Distribution company—responsible for the
Enjoi,
Blind Skateboards,
Almost Skateboards
Almost Skateboards is an American skateboard company founded by professional skateboarders and business partners Rodney Mullen and Daewon Song. The company manufactures skateboard decks using 7-ply, 8-ply, and carbon fiber constructions, while th ...
, Darkstar and
Cliché Skateboards brands—will take over "the sales, finance, production and distribution aspects" of the Zero brand. Thomas further explained that the Zero employees will remain independent and will focus on "the team, marketing and creative aspects" of the brand. Zero celebrated its 20-year anniversary with a photo art show in June 2016.
Awards
From 2004 to 2006, Zero won three consecutive ''
Thrasher Magazine'' ''King of the Road'' competitions, beating other teams such as
Girl Skateboards,
Toy Machine, Darkstar,
Element, Flip, Habitat, Real, Almost, and
Baker Skateboards. Zero declined defending their title for the 2007 King of the Road to start the "Black and White" tour with the Mystery skateboard team.
Cole won ''Thrasher'' S.O.T.Y. award (Skateboarder of the Year) on two occasions, a feat that has only been achieved by two skateboarders in the history of the award (the other skateboarder is
Danny Way).
Popular culture
* The graphic of the skull used on their "Small Skull"/"Single Skull Mini" board is nearly identical to the skull seen on the shirt worn by Sid in the 1995 animated film ''
Toy Story''.
[Zero Skateboards products](_blank)
June 6, 2004 (retrieved from the Internet Archive)[Fall 2015 product lineup](_blank)
(scroll to page 6 to see "Single Skull" design)
* Soundtrack "
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" of John Rattray's part in Dying to Live video, originally performed by
The Proclaimers, was twice covered by
MxPx and
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
, not long after video release. Soundtrack
Another Girl, Another Planet of Garrett Hill's part in New Blood video, originally performed by
The Only Ones, was also covered by
Blink-182 and included to their ''
Greatest Hits'' album, which was also released in the same year with "New Blood" video.
Videography
*''Thrill of It All'' (1997)
*''Misled Youth'' (1999)
*''Dying to Live'' (2002)
*''New Blood'' (2005)
*''Promo'' (2006)
*''Strange World'' (2009)
*''Fresh 'til Death'' (feat. DGK) (2011)
*''Cold War'' (2013)
*''No Ca$h Value'' (2014)
*''Damn It All'' (2020)
*Painkiller The Zero Am Video (2021)
Team
Professional
*
Jamie Thomas
Jamie Thomas (born October 11, 1974) is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thoma ...
*
Chris Cole
* Dane Burman
* Tommy Sandoval
* Jon Allie
* Adrian Lopez
* Winsdor James
* James Brockman
* Tony Cervantes
* Chris Wimer
* Gabriel Summers
* Forrest Edwards
Amateur
* Reggie Kelly
* Adam Arunski
* Jonno Gaitan
* Colin Lambert
* Motic Panugalinog
* Gustavo Servin
* Brandon Burleigh
* Vinny Dalfio
* Kanaan Dern
* Kairi Netsuke
Former
*
Erik Ellington
*
Jim Greco
Jim Greco (born December 25, 1977) is an American professional skateboarder.
He established Bakerboys Distribution with Andrew Reynolds and Erik Ellington in 2007. Bakerboys Distribution provides distribution for closely related in-house skat ...
*
John Rattray
John Rattray is a Scottish professional skateboarder.
Early life
Rattray was raised in Aberdeen and attained a university degree from the University of Glasgow.
Professional skateboarding
In 2001, Rattray initially turned professional for the B ...
*
Elissa Steamer
* Tom Asta
* Shane Schilder
* Marisa Dal Santo
* Ed Duff
* Ben Gilley
* Ryan Smith
* Lindsey Robertson
* Garrett Hill
* Jamie Tancowny
* Nick Boserio
* Sheldon Meleshinski
* Ryan Bobier
* Keegan Sauder
* Matt Mumford
* Niels Breed
* Tom Karangelov
* Donovon Piscopo
* Ben Hatchell
* Josiah Gatlyn
* Franky Villani
* Scott Copalman
* Aaron Harrison
* Wade Burkitt
* Jud Ferguson
* Kurt Hodge
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Skateboarding companies
Companies based in Carlsbad, California
Companies established in 1996