10 Years on the Nod
July 08, 2008 @ 7:07 AM
How in the hell a skateboard company called Heroin survived and developed for ten years!?
I have absolutely no idea. Our charming personalities? Luck?
Give us an idea about how it all started?
Taken to hospital with a broken wrist from skating, no food for four days waiting for an operation… While in hospital my girl left me, I had to move out of my house: totally fucked. Decided to start a skateboard company. Talked to some people about starting it with me, friends and that, I was like “We’re gonna call it Heroin!” then everyone kind of realized that I was utterly out of my mind and didn’t want anything to do with it. So I did it on my own. It’s owned by me 100%. So it worked out good. Now I can do whatever the hell I want, I can make wheels at the best factory in whatever colors and sizes I want, nobody to answer to: its the best. Could make wheels at some shit factory in China and make twice as much on them but I won’t do it because I’m a skateboarder, I skate and I wanna ride good wheels. Started off by spraying boards in my back garden cause I didn’t have enough for all the screening.
Friend of a friend knew some folks in Japan that wanted to start distributing skateboards, sent some of our graphics, they were down. They paid for a few trips over there for us. We did a video called Good Shit in 1999. Snowy, Rough Mike and me were the riders. It grew and grew: Everything’s going to be alright video in 2002, Joey Crack, Arthur Tubb, me, Snowy, Japanese legends Ozawa and Chopper, Chris Pulman…
Started Landscape in 2003, Snowy and Joey went over to that, and we got some new riders. Made Live from Antarctica in 2005, got a section out of Howard Cooke!!! I was very proud of that video that sums up what Heroin is perfectly and we all worked hard to make that happen. After that I had to kick some folks off, we made the Magic Sticky Hand promo in 2007 with Rogie, Jon Monier, Colin Fiske, Chris Ault.
What kind of celebration went on at your donjon for the anniversary?
Nothing yet. There’s been talk of a few things, the actual date of the first invoice written was like November 1998, so really we should be doing something around then. Might have a BBQ or something.
Describe each of your riders in one line, and how they fit in Heroin…
Arthur Tubb: video game nerd, been skating with him since the Manchester days, good lad, good style, stoked on Arthur!
Chopper: Osaka Daggers head honcho, total legend, one of my top three skaters and human beings ever, been psyched on him since 1997. An unique thinker.
Hamaji: Choppers right hand man, heavy Osaka Dagger, laybacks on everything, always stoked, the words “Good Lad” was invented for Hamaji.
Howard Cooke: Bubble headed bastard, skates faster than anyone alive, been a fan since 1993, so so so stoked that he rides for Heroin.
Rogie: Haribo addicted Northern über shredder. Actually speaks a bit nowadays, take him to any spot and he’ll either kill it or himself.
Fiske: what can I say about Fiske? Fruitcake of the highest order, half the footage he sends us isn’t even skateboarding, it’s puking into pumpkins and whatnot, lanky poppy weirdo, a beautiful and unique snowflake.
Chris Ault: annoying nause bag, got too good so I had to put him on, little bastard.
Jon Monier: Token French guy, Rock and Roll animal, good people.
Ollie Tyreman: IS FROM BURNLEY. Über ripper, trannies, rails, steps. Whatever you got, Big Tyres will shred it up.
Deer man of Dark Woods: Canadian Satan worshipping man beast. After his BAKU part, emails were exchanged, contracts drawn up and signed in blood, Emerica shoe in the works.
Er, Fos: Weird coffee addicted, Tom Waits, J-Pop, Black metal, punk rock, comic books, liquorices eating art weirdo, where the hell else would I fit in? Nowhere, just like the rest of these misfits.
How did you pick the artists for the anniversary series?
It was a mix of folks who’d done stuff for Heroin before and dudes whose work I liked. Met Todd [Bratrud] and [Michael] Sieben when they were over for a Volcom show, both are good people, I liked their stuff and wanted to use them. Simon True is the only real genius I know, he’s been down for Heroin since day one, OG RDHC and Manchester 1988. Don Pendleton? The Guy rips, no question, mailed him and he was down. Gunsho just did a series, his work rips. I’m a fan, got him on board. French has done stuff for us for ages.
What’s in the future for the company?
No Future!
I dunno, maybe try and make another video or something, then go and get some coffee.
