Santa Cruz Skateboards is one of the most famous brands with decades of achievement since the 1970s, and the company keeps on producing some of today’s trendiest line-ups of longboard products.
Many of the top Santa Cruz skaters appeared in legendary videos such as ‘Wheels of Fire.’ Skaters such as Natas Kaupus contributed strong video parts and boosted demand for Santa Cruz boards.
The team was a powerhouse in the late 70’s with John Hutson dominating prestigious slalom contests in the USA. Later Into the 1980s, Santa Cruz assembled a stellar cast of top vert skaters that included Keith Meek, Duane Peters, Steve Olson and Steve Alba. During the team’s Golden Era of the ‘80s, Santa Cruz brought on Rob Roskopp, then Jeff Kendall and Steve Alba, followed by Jeff Grosso and finally Jason Jesse.
Artwork has been a strong seller for Santa Cruz since the beginning. Santa Cruz artist Jim Phillips created the very emotional severed blue hand with bared teeth screaming silently. The intensely eerie logo became one of Phillips’ and Santa Cruz Skateboards’ most enduring graphics. A May 2002 issue of Thrasher magazine recognized the iconic Screaming Blue Hand as “one of the most recognizable skate logos of all time.”
Santa Cruz Reissue Skateboards Are Well Received
Along with a number of older skate companies, Santa Cruz has reissued past pro models. One of the most popular of these good quality reissues is the Rob Roskopp skateboard deck. Some reviewers have said the weight and width of the Santa Cruz reissue skateboard decks make them comfortable and stable for cruising the park and streets, but also render them awkward for modern skating tricks such as flips, grinds and slides. Others collect them for their retro style setup and highly recognizable artwork.
Young skaters on the label like street league skater Tom Asta favor modern pros boards in an 8.26 deck size. Santa Cruz offers modern boards decks from 7.8-inch street boards to the currently popular 8.25 decks. Their 9-inch decks offer a modern shape as well as comfort and stability. Santa Cruz offers pintail and drop through skateboard decks, but the common theme is cruisers.
Santa Cruz longboards keep the decks simple with artwork that’s eye catching. The same coolness factor in art extends to the brand’s skateboard wheels such as their BIG Slime BALLS. Santa Cruz has exclusive rights to Marvel characters Spider-Man, Iron Man and Hulk as well as the Simpsons and Star Wars characters.
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