They destroyed one of the best brands to make that corny shit: FA

[The Ghost of Lenny Kirk]

i think in a few years mind field era workshop is going to be remembered very fondly. that video kicked off so much shit directly and indirectly.

[frontsideoverkrook]

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Bring back the coolest company ever

[close]

We want Meaty Pro model reissue!!

is meaty still alive? asking for a friend

[heritage]

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i felt that Quasi was more so a continuation of Alien Workshop than FA.

[close]

Totally. And they at least had the tact to wait until Alien was officially (albeit temporarily) done.

And what's this bullshit pretending Alien wasn't rad end to end in its first incarnation? Y'all gonna deny the greatness of Mindfield, Photosynthesis, Time code, and Memory Screen? Get the fuck outta here

And yeah, FA is the epitome of annoying NYC hipsterdom. Good skaters, annoying company

All of this. Perfectly said. Quasi (IMO, anyway) feels like the closest connection to the 'old' Alien while still being totally original and uniquely their own thing. Amazing aesthetic and amazing team. Their graphics have actually continued to get better and better, and they've all been good since the first. Regarding the rebirth of Alien, still a lot of polarizing opinion but the young guys they have skating for them are all pretty good. Joey Guevara and Max Garson are total rippers.

And whether people like FA or not, I don't think those dudes really care. They are what's happening and all credit to Dill and AVE for taking that chance. More Terp footage plz.

[Allez_Jambon]

oh, i forgot alien workshop still exists. i like brandon nguyen and uhh joey guevara but not well enough because i had to look up joey's name. its not something i pay attention to.

the videos are ok to me but now that i see the site, it feels worse than i thought. the decks are uninspired except for the pro models. i can see it, but i hope it doesnt turn into darkstar with those price point boards. a walmart board with a spooky mascot. hmm fuck.

[schralp pal]

fa is not aws, and i think that was the point

quasi hasnt proved shit, zero output, lame clothes, questionable graphics
hopefully that video comes

[DCLOVE]

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Bring back the coolest company ever

[close]

We want Meaty Pro model reissue!!

[close]

is meaty still alive? asking for a friend

I asked Dyrdeks assistant when I met him at a bar and he said he only has the second one now. I’ll double check next time I see him if it makes you feel better though.

[doomstation55]

fa is not aws, and i think that was the point

quasi hasnt proved shit, zero output, lame clothes, questionable graphics
hopefully that video comes

These are dope AF

[ImportantGuy]

If a company is ''destroyed'' by two riders leaving it kinda says something about the state of the company itself. I personally have no problem with FA. I think Alien is ready to settle into its mall phase.

I had forgotten those quasi parts ^ both super good.

[Francis Xavier]

Protip- Chili is free with purchase at 711. I used to go all the time, pick up a Meaty board and load that fucker up with as much chili as it could carry

Chili grip is the shit,actual magic unlike that fake Pair-a-dicks bullshit.

[DannyDee]

I don't know if Ave and Dill leaving was more a sign that Workshop as we knew it was dead or that it caused it. It seems since Burton they had trouble continually meeting pay-roll, maybe guys stick it out a bit longer if Dill and Ave are there, but in the end they'll leave. Guys like Dylan, Grant, Jake Johnson, and Crockett were always going to be in demand, same with Bledsoe to a lesser degree due to the knee injuries. If Aliens checks aren't clearing, you gotta think someone is going to offer them a consistent one at a legit company.

It sucks Alien fell apart. That Mindfield squad was heavy with the right mix of legends (Heath, Arto, Ave, Kalis, and Dill), established pros (Omar, Mikey Taylor, and Dylan) plus ridiculous Ams (Bledsoe, Jake and Grant). They were on the right track cutting some of the veteran kooky weight (Berra, and to a lesser extent Mikey and Rob), and brought in sick Ams in Crockett, Terp, and Piscopo.

While I think aspects of FA are kooky, and I think while having great skaters (Tyshawn and KB), they have other guys who are either overhyped (Na-Kel) or shouldn't be pro (Sean Pablo and Sage), I'm not going to say they killed Alien. I mean, before Alien imploded the only guy they poached was Terpening and a couple flow riders.

Alien had a great run, but over its last 10 years, they did do things that didn't jive with the aesthetic of the brand and it hurt them. Being bought by Burton, and the promotion of someone of Dyrdek's Beefy boards and stuff just didn't work. They also lost Pendelton around them, which was a blow to them in regards to graphics.

[tom]

It can't be understated how much Jake Burton fucked over Workshop. Burtons terrible sales from a few bad led to them selling off Workshop and Habitat, and killing Gravis and four other brands. Dyrdek buying it and selling to an investment company pretty much hammered the last nail into that coffin

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

AWS is the only brand I skated religiously for 20 years straight.
I still buy an AWS deck every now and then, but these days it's mostly to collect them.

I loved AWS to death. But they just killed themselves to be honest.
Unfortunately they kooked it pretty bad with Dyrdek and his questionable tv graphics. If you come from graphics that were literally vector 'art pieces', and you go to decks with a picture of a dog on it?

Well that's just asking for trouble...

People just seem to forget how important aesthetics are to a skateboard company. The product that's being sold is basically the same for the whole industry (a piece of wood). Some seperate companies even use the same wood. But it all comes down to how it's all presented (and the shapes and quality of course...). Together with 'old' chocolate, Alien workshop (Pendleton era) just had one of the best graphic departments ever. The graphics, the ads, the editing of the videos was all lightyears ahead of other companies. Hands down. And don't forget that at one point they had one of the heaviest teams ever: Heath, AVE, Kalis, Arto, Dylan and Grant on one team? Game over.

As much as I hated AVE and DILL leaving, I could understand it. I loved the AWS graphics but they were losing it and I tried supporting them through their endeavors but it just wasn't the same. I, a regular skater/customer that never had much talent to begin with, could feel it wasn't the same anymore. How must t have been for 'cool guys' like DILL?

I understand they left...

Recently AWS started again. I was happy at first but have been nothing but disappointed with their reincarnation. I love that they turned Joey en Yaje pro, but graphicwise they're not the same anymore...

I like these though, but most stuff is pretty lame:




BUT... they also make this thrash:


I made these, even showed them to Don Pendleton (just because he is one of my favorite illustrators and have too much respect for him. I didn't want him to think I 'ripped' him. But he liked them a lot). Sent them to workshop two times ages ago... but they stopped replying one of a sudden (they could have the designs for free by the way)

I made the Max Garson deck for fun, I don't think he's turning pro anytime soon.




As far as FA goes, I love AVE and DILL. they're both great skaters and DILL certainly has an eye for 'what's cool'. But as a 35-year old graphic designer I can't wear/skate stuff that has excessive swearing on it and support 'the craft of desiging' that is just literally 'cut and paste' artwork...

I was skating and FA board and a friend of mine came up and asked what board I was skating and I felt embarrassed saying it was a 'fucking awesome' board...

[Dwyck]

... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

how could you say that

[DannyDee]

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... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

[close]

how could you say that

Because I haven't seen one full part of his where I'm like damn, this guy should be pro. His footage is good, but not standoutish in an era where guys like Jack Olsen or Will Marshall are still am or flow.

[heckler]

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... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

[close]

how could you say that

[close]

Because I haven't seen one full part of his where I'm like damn, this guy should be pro. His footage is good, but not standoutish in an era where guys like Jack Olsen or Will Marshall are still am or flow.

If you're watching a Sage Elsesser part and expecting Jack Olson tricks, that's your problem. I think he's one of the better dudes out of that crew.

[fangen]

Even at it's ~worst~ Alien Workshop was killer!

[Matthew_James]

Just buy a Quasi deck or something and get over it. The past is the past and nothing stays the same forever, things would have changed into something you didn't like over @ aws regardless of FA becoming a board company.

 Remember that Girl became "lame" as you mentioned, and that was before all of their staple riders jumped ship. The same would have happened in this case, and I think deep down you already know that.

[Allen.]

LatestLargest photo I could find

[7 year old]

It can't be understated how much Jake Burton fucked over Workshop. Burtons terrible sales from a few bad led to them selling off Workshop and Habitat, and killing Gravis and four other brands. Dyrdek buying it and selling to an investment company pretty much hammered the last nail into that coffin

From Chris Carter's Chromeball interview:

Fair enough. So looking back now, was the Burton buy-out the right move? Would you do it again?


Yes, I would totally do that over again. It wasn’t a mistake at all. I don’t think people ever really knew enough about Burton to have a fair opinion.
Our buy-out deal was done in 2008. If you look at the next 5 years economically, there was a gnarly global recession that hit. The buy-out probably saved us. We weren’t going to grow organically anymore. We were just going to keep on doing the same hardgoods business with our limited customer base. Burton created and executed great plans for our brands and taught me personally so much about business. It was a great learning experience. 
The only negative thing about the buy-out was that they needed to divest from us 4 years later. They just had too many brands and their business was hurting. That’s why they had to pull the plug on Gravis, Analog, Special Blend and Forum. It was taking away too much focus from the Burton brand. Add to that, Jake Burton was experiencing health issues. It was one thing after another.
Things were going well.  We were developing Habitat Footwear and all our companies were growing. We had a partner in Burton with global manufacturing

chromeballincident.blogspot.ca/2016/04/chrome-ball-interview-90-chris-sarge.html?m=1
If you read this thing, it becomes pretty obvious that AWS was fucked in about 5 different ways and going to implode no matter what. Blaming FA for what eventually happened is really simplistic and braindead.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

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... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

[close]

how could you say that

Agreed. I'll jump on the FFA and fuck supreme bandwagon all day, I'll even drive it, but Sage is a ripper despite his questionable sponsors

[DannyDee]

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... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

[close]

how could you say that

[close]

Because I haven't seen one full part of his where I'm like damn, this guy should be pro. His footage is good, but not standoutish in an era where guys like Jack Olsen or Will Marshall are still am or flow.

[close]

If you're watching a Sage Elsesser part and expecting Jack Olson tricks, that's your problem. I think he's one of the better dudes out of that crew.

True, to each their own. The only guys who have gone pro under the FA/Hockey umbrella whose footage I really enjoy are Tyshawn, Kevin Bradley, and Piscopo. I guess its more for his lack of a stand out part. I find almost all the FA guys get the bump way too quickly driven by Supreme creating demand, compared to guys who have to pump out an insane amount of footage like T-Funk or have a really stand outish part.

[drcroc]

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wallrides, no complys and boardslides.

[close]

I think you're confusing them with Polar, Frog and 917

That dude Chris Milic Mango's clips are always pretty good

[SodaJerk]

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wallrides, no complys and boardslides.

[close]

I think you're confusing them with Polar, Frog and 917

[close]

That dude Chris Milic Mango's clips are always pretty good

Never said they weren't.

[Flabby cold demeanor]

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... shouldn't be pro (Sage),...

[close]

how could you say that

[close]

Agreed. I'll jump on the FFA and fuck supreme bandwagon all day, I'll even drive it, but Sage is a ripper despite his questionable sponsors

Sage one of the best right for sure

[Alan]

I think he's one of the better dudes out of that crew.

Agreed.

[GAY]

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wallrides, no complys and boardslides.

[close]

I think you're confusing them with Polar, Frog and 917

[close]

That dude Chris Milic Mango's clips are always pretty good

You say his name's Milic,
The 5 foot freak?
Let's say we get together by the end of the week.
You simply said no,
labeled me a ho.
I said, "how you figure?"
"My friends tell me so."

[straight]

fred gall

[Sanka Coffie]

Same shit about graphics. Primitive isnt my fav, but put out good skate edits and turned pro most of flow rippers of industry. Is FA great? Child portrait and face closes is 50% of their edits.

Also someone mentioned Tyshawn Jones, dude has worst arms in skateboard.

Have you literally never heard the name Torey Pudwill?

[Il Dio sotto la pelle]

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wallrides, no complys and boardslides.

[close]

I think you're confusing them with Polar, Frog and 917

[close]

That dude Chris Milic Mango's clips are always pretty good

[close]

You say his name's Milic,
The 5 foot freak?
Let's say we get together by the end of the week.
You simply said no,
labeled me a ho.
I said, "how you figure?"
"My friends tell me so."

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Francis Xavier]

fred gall