SWOLAN

We screened Swolan a week ago for the first time for a private audience at Baker Boys Distribution, Swampy went Pro, it was a great time. There’s been some shop screenings this past week too, and we did a night at Unmodern on Friday too which was a blast. We were trying to release the video on YouTube on Saturday or Monday, but we’ve unfortunately had a delay due to some music licensing. It’s all going ahead though, just means we have to wait for some paperwork to come through before we can share this one with you. It’s with the wait. Like I said, thanks for your patience!

Dead Dave Live From California

This August, Dead Dave flew out to California to skate with us for nine days. It was epic, besides the 114 degree heat every day. We had a blast, skated, ate good food, did a few day trips, and got loads of footage. I was up at my cabin a couple of weeks ago and sat down and edited it all in to “Dead Dave Live from California”.

I edited the whole thing myself from the ground up, I feel like it really gets across the fun that we had during that week. Come back soon Dave,, we miss you!


Check in

Hey, so you’re on the website? Wow, that’s pretty novel, it’s all Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and Snapchat these days, at least according to the kids. I can’t really get my head around Tik Tok or Snapchat, so don’t expect much from me there, Twitter too, I just go on there and get annoyed by politicians mainly. Instagram is good though, I mean the ads these days are a bummer, and you can’t really check anything out without someone shoving sales down your throat. Well, I’m glad you’re here, I used to update these things quite a bit, but it’s been a while I think, just up at my cabin and thought I’d take a bit of time and update a few things here and there. It’s December 9th, so our Egg-Vent calendar is in full effect over on the old Gram. Worth a look if you’re into egg shaped skateboards at all.

So what else is new? Well, I’m chipping away at some video stuff while I’m here, there’s a couple of things I’m working on at the moment. More news soon, but I’m very happy with how they’re going. Had a setback the other week when my desktop computer died and I had to get a new hard drive, I lost 9 years worth of stuff. Of course it wasn’t backed up, don’t be ridiculous. Ha ha. So I’ve really been dealing with the aftermath of that and trying to catch up on a few projects.

Heroin Spring is looking good and being made now, that launches in February. I’m finishing up Summer now and I’m really stoked on it so far. Anyway, that was it really, check the Egg-vent calendar on instagram, keep an eye out for video news, and look after yourselves. We live in weird times.

Congratulations Aaron Wilson!

Aaron Wilson was one of the first American riders that I sponsored when Heroin Skateboards first came over here from the UK.

Aaron has filmed a bunch of great parts with his friend John Danielson for his video projects over the years, he has a full time job and is raising a family of three, yet he’s never taken his foot off the gas when it came to his skating, and in the past year seemed to have been pushing himself harder than ever.

I’m very stoked to announce that he’s the latest rider with his name on the bottom of a skateboard. Congratulations Aaron!!

Portrait by @keywilsonphotography

Zane Timpson Forever

I’m heartbroken to have to announce that our newest Pro, Zane Timpson passed away on Saturday. If you were lucky enough to know Zane, you loved him, his infectious enthusiasm, the passion that he had for life and skateboarding radiated from him.

The first time I met Zane he was living in San Francisco and riding for my friend Ira’s company Warco. He somehow ended up being our tour guide for the city and as you can imagine it was one of the best trips because of him.

After Warco ended, he hit me up about getting boards, but we’d just put a load of people on the team so it wasn’t quite the right time, he rode for a brand called Vagrant for a few years and around 2019 he hit me up again, and as it happened we had room, as a few people had just left. Perfect timing, the planets had aligned. Having Zane riding for us really inspired me as a brand owner, his enthusiasm, as I mentioned, was infectious, and having someone who believes in the brand the way that Zane did, gave me a lot of confidence to push things. He started working on a “Welcome to” video, and it ended up being the first part in the “Earth Goblin” video from Jan 2020. Needless to say it was great, he edited the whole thing and used his friend Pablo’s band for the music too. So he was officially on the team, and I told him “If you put another part out for us I’ll give you a board”. It was on. Whilst working on that he also happened to put out another incredible part called “FFFURTHER” for Western World Clothing. His ender on that part was legendary and made it into a Thrasher “My War” article.

His next project was his pro part for Heroin, which he called “Sufferlove” an incredibly appropriate name as anyone who has filmed a video part knows. He worked his ass off on this one, and would send me early edits as it progressed. One day I happened to tell him I skated Capitol records banks in L.A. and sent him a clip of a trick that I almost made and he immediately said “I’m coming up and filming that, and it’s going in my part”. I was honored beyond belief (Just ask my wife, I kept trying to explain what an honor this was). That Zane, one of the gnarliest skateboarders I know, who I love and respect so much, would ask me to film a trick for his part. I thought about it for a whole week, I switched out my wheels to deal with the rough bank, set a spare board up in case I needed it, and every time I thought about doing that trick my palms would sweat and I’d get super nervous. “Zane is driving up from SD to film this, I’d better make it” It was a feeling I hadn’t had for a long time to be honest. When the day came, we all met up at the spot, and Zane had also brought Nick Hanson, an awesome filmer, for a second angle and I started trying the trick over and over as you do. It was his enthusiasm and belief in me to make it that made it happen. I made it within about twenty tries and there weren’t too many slams. It was all down to Zane that one.

As the time was getting closer, he mentioned to me that he wanted to skate to a Modest Mouse song, they were formerly on Fat Possum records and I’d send some boards over there before and they’d sent me some records, so we had a relationship, so I sent some emails and did everything I could to make that work. Huge thanks to Patrick at Fat Possum and Ryan Baldoz for clearing that, it absolutely made Zanes day when I told him that we’d gotten the song he wanted cleared for the part.

It was only upon seeing the final part that I understood how much work Zane had put into “Sufferlove” he skated in it, he animated the whole thing and he edited it. It’s incredible from start to finish. The whole thing, you could just pull out any trick and it could be his ender, the entire part is made up of ender worthy tricks. It’s incredible. I really feel that this was Zane’s best part and his proudest accomplishment.

The day that this part dropped on the Thrasher site also happened to be his birthday, I drove down to Leucadia and brought two boxes of both of his brand new Pro boards with me. His pro party couldn’t have been any better, his parents were there at the park, and just overwhelmed with joy when I brought out the boards. We all went back to their house afterwards and hung in his back yard and his dad cooked burgers for us all.

Zane and his girl Maddie had just fixed up his van “Sylvie” and were road tripping around the West Coast in it. He’d just gone pro for us, off the back of an incredible part, he was completely happy and living his best life and I could hear the optimism and excitement in his voice whenever I spoke with him.

I’m absolutely heartbroken over his passing. I’m heartbroken because I miss my friend and his infectious energy and love for all those around him, and I’m heartbroken for his parents who just gave him nothing but love and support in his skateboarding, they were so proud of him and loved him so much. I’m heartbroken for his girlfriend Maddie and I’m heartbroken for all the friends he’s left behind, all the people that Zane’s light has touched. I’m heartbroken that he was taken from us all too soon, that we didn’t get to skate all the spots or do any of those trips that we talked about. The world isn’t as good without Zane in it. In the words of Zane “Don’t forget to tell your friends that you love them” I love you Zane.

Deer Man of Dark Woods Halloween 2021 part

Deer Man of Dark Woods has ridden for Heroin for over fifteen years. The first Barrier Kult video “Horde” was sent to me by John Rattray around 2004, and became a big influence on our 2005 video “Live from Antarctica”. Heroin Skateboards started communicating with the Barrier Kult shortly after receiving Horde, and the idea that Deer Man should ride for Heroin was suggested. His first Heroin part was in our 2007 DVD “Magic Sticky Hand” but his first pro board was shortly before that around the end of 2006. (French did the graphic, it was in the Evil Forest series)

Deer Man has gone on to make loads of great parts with Heroin, I first met him in person in 2010 when we did a trip to Japan together and filmed for a video that became the “Barrier Kult vs the Osaka Daggers” edit. Then he filmed the last part for “Video Nasty” our 2013 video. He’s appeared in every one of our video’s since in one way or another, and had an epic part in the Horde 2 video that released Halloween 2017.

This is his newest and last part for Heroin. I feel that Heroin has been so fortunate to have worked with Barrier Kult and Deer man for the past fifteen plus years, and thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to our brand. Deer Man has chosen to purify his approach to skateboarding by stepping away from the idea of a pro skateboarder, and that’s a decision that I respect.

Enjoy Deer Man’s final Heroin part and pick up his last “Return to the Forest” and “Life” boards, in stores now.