With so many skate brands popping up – what makes Corn skateboards stand out?
I think it’s pretty easy to just slap a graphic on a piece of wood. Most of these new brands are just short term clout chasers who will get burnt out after a few years once the cash runs out. That’s an opinion. That was never the idea behind what I do. I’m an artist, and I think painting on rectangles is boring. The first skateboards ever made were hand painted in some way. Following the tradition of the original roots of skateboarding art, every corn skateboard has been hand painted 1/1s until recently. Lately I have been doing some collabs exploring the boundaries of what this brand can be while working with artists that I admire. This has allowed me to print graphics on boards while giving back to the community that gave me the foundation that I exist on now.
Why the name Corn? I was thinking like harvest / growth – I could be totally off though!
I painted the first corn skateboard in high school for a small show. The other kids liked it. It hung on my bedroom wall at home for years during college. I had no idea what I was doing back then, but I kept looking at the corn board on my wall. At the time I was obsessed with making something original, that hasn’t been done before. I felt like every song had been written and every great artwork had been made. But this corn on my wall was different, fresh, and people seemed to like it, so one night I made a website and ordered some hats and haven’t looked back since.
One feature of Corn I love is the artwork. It is so awesome. Very unique. Do you work with one artist or are there many you collaborate with?
Every hand painted corn skateboard is painted by me, the small run printed boards are done by legendary artists that I admire. I’ve wanted to work with Chris Dyer for years. Recently I have worked with Jimbo Phillips, and my latest board was done by Bart Saric. These are guys that I look up to as an artist and it’s been legendary working with all of them so far.
Artwork is a big part of Corn – did you start doing art and then transition to skateboards?
I think of myself as an artist first, I think I’ve always painted. Skating is just something i love and couldn’t live without. I’d rather paint on a skateboard than a rectangle any day. I also do mural work and Illustration work, but the skateboards are my favorite outlet.
When did Corn start – did you always want to kind of run a brand, or were you just happy making a few skateboards – eventually turning it into a brand.
I painted the first corn board in 2009, and started the brand in 2014.
Do you have team / flow riders? Who are some of your favorite skaters – who would be on Corn if you could get anyone in the world to skate for Corn?
I’ve had “riders” in the past but it’s hard for me to get a team of individuals together. I usually just give boards to kids or homies who need them. This has nothing to do with my team but I really like what Niel Blender has been doing lately with his Heated wheel brand. I guess I just like people who don’t care, and want to do something different.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Who knows, but Corn skateboards isn’t going away anytime soon
Do you think the skateboard market will become over saturated with new brands popping up or is it a good thing?
The skateboard market has been over saturated for years. Whatever. Once half these guys realize there’s no money in selling planks of wood I bet they will be doing something else. I want to see more unique original stuff. I want to see quality products. I want to see something I’ve never seen before.
