Skateboarding has come in and out of popularity, but since the rise of street skating in the late ’80s, one thing has remained consistent: the deck graphics are always crazy. The early skateboards had imagery, but it wasn’t really until the ’90s, when companies started churning out signature graphics for their pro teams, that there were cutting-edge designs on the walls of every skate shop.
Skateboards come out by the hundreds each month these days, but things wouldn’t be the way they are now without the decade that brought us brands like World Industries, Alien Workshop, Real, Blind, 101, Flip, and Girl.
To give an insider’s look into the history of this period, we hit up Tim Anderson of bobshirt.com and Michael Hastings of Vans and KCDC, two collectors of ’90s skate decks, in order to get an expert opinion on the greatest graphics of that time. Check out Tim’s and Mike’s picks of the Top 50 Skateboards of the 1990s.
Note: This list was originally published on October 4, 2010.
Artist: Jeff Klindt
Year: 1991
There are a few Henry Sanchez decks on this list, so it makes sense to start strong with this dude. It’s tough to find still photos of this guy (he did have a Thrasher cover way back), but pretty much every one you can find is a banger. A quality skateboarder, and a quality graphic of a kid with a crayon.
Artist: Bernie Tostenson
Year: 1991
Two smiling hippies, high on good times. Tom Penny was the truth, and everyone loved this graphic. Most decks came and went, this one got reprinted and recreated multiple times.
Artist: Dave Kinsey
Year: 1993
The ’90s wouldn’t have been the ’90s without Pep. This was his first pro model.
Andy Jenkins was a talented illustrator, and his work defined this era of skateboard art. It’s not easy to choose just one graphic, but got to show Tony Ferguson some love.
Artist: Profile
Year: 1990
This was Stevie’s first pro deck. He helped shape skateboarding in the ’90s, and every white kid from the suburbs wanted to live that life.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1991
The original graphic from this deck was taken from a children’s book, then Pastras-ized. Ohhh, skateboarding.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1992
Everyone loves candy, everyone loves Cardiel. Yeah, it’s just a picture of a bunch of budget candy, but it’s sick.
Artist: Kevin Ancell and Natas Kaupas
Year: 1990
A hanging Klansman, simply genius. You couldn’t really expect anything less from design superstars Kevin Ancell and Natas Kaupas.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1995
Who doesn’t like the funnies? Clyde Singleton had the balls to turn himself into Calvin.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1992
Nicaraguan-born Brenes currently resides in Miami. The palm trees and roadside fruit in this board take us all the way to Florida.
Tim Gavin is a funny guy (who now owns Lakai and DVS) and he was really killing it back in the ’90s. Here he is, G’d up with a bunch of plastic ladies. So L.A.
Artist: Unknown
Year: 1997
Mike York had the sickest 360 flips, and this deck is based off of the “Chocolate Pow” skit in the video “Goldfish.” Down the brown.
Artist: Unknown
Year: Unknown
Keenan Milton was a truly amazing skateboarder, and to top it all off, he was a New Yorker. His video part in “Mouse” takes both the icing and the cake. R.I.P.
Artist: Jeremy Wray
Year: 1999
Jeremy Wray f/s-flipped The Carlsbad Gap and then went home and drew his own skateboard graphic. A skateboarding Renaissance man.
Artist: Duane Pitre
Year: 1992
Nobody was doing photorealism this well when Alien Workshop dropped this series of decks. It probably helped to have an art team from another planet. Super-innovative.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1993
Steve Rocco (founder of World Industries) took over skateboarding in the ’90s and reinvented the sport for better or worse. He destroyed some, but if you were on his side, it was pretty crazy. Here’s Rocco being worshipped. A fairly representative graphic of his reign in excess over ’90s skateboarding.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1996
One of Gino’s last decks on 101, this one pays tribute to the man who made the brand happen. It uses a panther graphic that works as a tribute to the original Natas Kaupas 101 decks.
Artist: Todd Bratrud
Year: 2000
A simple spin, but perfectly genius.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1993
Love him or hate him, all hail Steve Rocco…
Artist: Spike Jonze
Year: 1992
The O.E. bottle was, and will forever, represent trouble. Made a whole lot of sense as a deck graphic.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1995
If you’re in your 40s today and really skated in high school, the day you saw Lavar’s part in Trilogy changed your life. This is the dream deck.
Artist: Eli Gesner
Year: Unknown
In the 1990s, Zoo York was one of the most powerful brand names, and its graphics followed suit. The level of “cool” was through the roof.
Artist: Evan Hecox
Year: 1997
Everything that Evan Hecox touches is gold. His portrait series for Chocolate will forever win.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1992
When you’re young, skateboards with images of naked girls on them are a dream come true. When you’re old, skateboards with images of naked girls on them are a dream come true.
Artist: Mark Gonzales
Year: 1989
Gonz’s artwork, skating, character, and the brands he has created have built a myth beyond the man. It all translates into skateboarding harmony.
Jeff Pang was putting on for the city in the ’90s, and if we had a dollar for every time the NY skate rats watched Zoo York Mixtape we wouldn’t have to be sitting here making lists all day.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1995
Keenan’s first deck on Blind. Yup, this list is biased. Sorry. Dude is a king.
Artist: Chris Miller
Year: 1991
One of the great children’s books of all time, matched with one of the great skateboarders of all time. Win.
Artist: Sean Coons
Year: 1993
Character matchup nailed. Sheff is burly and doesn’t take shit, kind of like that hairy-ass Wookie.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1990
Natas ran a series of cat skateboards, and each one was great. This one was the most demented of the bunch.
Artist: Andy Jenkins
Year: 1994
Sheffy was the man, and this board was so sick.
Artist: Niko Achtipes
Year: unknown
Everyone could relate to this POV image of, well, you know. When you factor in that this was the deck of God-skateboarder Mike Carroll, it’s a sure thing for a best-of list.
Artist: Gino Iannucci
Year: 1994
If you were skating in the ’90s and didn’t like Gino, 101, and the Wu…you were not skateboarding in the ’90s.
Artist: Daniel Harold Sturt
Year: 1992
Combine the most technical of skaters, a motorcycle, and a girl with her shirt off. Umm. That should be enough.
Artist: Mike Hill
Year: 1993
When these decks first came out, everyone had to have them, and the full matchy kit. T-shirt, hat, wheels, sweatshirt, belt. It looked ridiculous. And awesome.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1991
Space, tigers, afros, velvet, Colvin, World Industries. Dare you to argue with that one.
Artist: Sean Coons
Year: 1993
1990s skateboarders and church often went together like peanut butter and glass shards. They did (and do) love girl imagery though, so this deck was a way for the two to meet somewhere in the middle.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1992
When you scratched Arnold’s face off of this board there was a picture of the cyborg Terminator underneath. Truly genius—there should have been more like this.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1992
Such an elusive deck, it was hard to find even when it was on sale. Probably the best spoof deck ever, and miles away from mom-safe. Good luck tracking one down today.
Artist: Sean Coons
Year: 1993
Sean Coons nailed this character matchup. If anybody is the Yoda of skateboarding, it’s Rodney Mullen.
Artist: Geoff McFetridge
Year: 1992
Put your ear up against this deck really close, conch-style, and you’ll hear Royal Flush’s “Worldwide.”
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1994
It was a new era, and skateboarding had changed. Steve Rocco flaunted his control of the skateboard industry with a series of world-takeover graphics including this statue crushing the Powell logo.
Artist: Kevin Ancell
Year: 1993
The more colorful follow-up to the original. A hanging Klansman. Again, more ’90s genius.
Artist: Sean Coons
Year: 1993
Deep down inside, skateboarders are nerds. Star Wars was everyone’s favorite, and Boba Fett was a bad ass. It just makes sense.
Artist: Sean Cliver
Year: 1993
Good ol’ Charlie Manson schoolin’ the Peanuts kids. One of Cliver’s best.
Artist: Kevin Ancell
Year: 1992
Who wouldn’t wanna be this kid?
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1992
Marc McKee did the best graphics for Guy Mariano in the 1990s. Point and case.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1991
It might be illegal to discuss “best graphics ever” and not mention this deck—666, 101, Natas, McKee. For those of you who need a giant billboard to explain it to you, sorry. The ad for this deck was the best: “But seriously folks, these are jokes. These are all jokes.” Yeah, right.
Artist: Marc McKee
Year: 1991
It’s a skull worshiping a banana, a takedown of the classic Powell deck, and one of the best graphics ever. Sorry, Powell: Party’s over.
Artist: Carl Hyndman
Year: 1992
Who doesn’t love Mowgli and Baloo the bear? Another board that plays with a childhood favorite, and pulls it off so well.
Read the full article here
