DOA needs our help

[BrknBrds]

DOA needs our help. I emailed Steve to ask him when the new drop was coming out (because, yea I’m new and have no idea) and he sent me this via email: On Aug 30, 2022, at 10:46 AM, Steven Fletschinger <[email protected]> wrote:

I hate to say it but doubtful ever again
Sales have been way down

Sent from my iPhone

we cannot love skateboarding, new or veterans, and allow legendary smaller companies be dismantled in place of generic corporate wasteland companies. Help out, buy a fucking deck . Email him and say he needs to produce more we are all waiting

[Síota]

Joey shithead is doing well.

[GT]

Wish they posted to Australia. I think you gotta be open to global market if you want to sell more.

[RichardBarkley]

Wish they posted to Australia. I think you gotta be open to global market if you want to sell more.

I jumped through serious hoops to get a 7.5 sent to Ireland. Total pain in the ass

[Maccat]

Hard to believe with excellent wood, shape selection, art direction. Bought plenty since I got hip to PFC, both of which are East Coast staples at this point.

PFC faded and came back. Hope the same for DOA. Too many brands…but specifically these two have a place in skating, unlike numerous other corny brands making product.

Quality over quantity.

[FUBAR]

Damn it. The flat as fucks are so good.

[LebowskisRug]

They are not easy to get, especially on the West Coast. I'd check the site all the time and it would always be sold out in a shape I would ride.

[iw0]

guess it's time to pull the trigger on that shaggy square shape i've been twiddling my thumbs about

[Cthulhu!]

Yeah I agree, I couldn't always get my hands on one. The flats would sell out quick too.

[Maccat]

guess it's time to pull the trigger on that shaggy square shape i've been twiddling my thumbs about

Can vouch for the square shape. Never had more consistent pop shoves when I had mine. Cool shape.

[Nth syd bear]

Wish they posted to Australia. I think you gotta be open to global market if you want to sell more.

You can find DOA boards on parade world

Anyone know the DM's on flat as fuck 8'
Or do they change every drop?

[pointandclick]

i want to buy decks from doa direct. i did bring some in the shop i used to work at.
just shipping to canada is pricey.

[thunderskater2805]

from their instagram.

[Bupstop]

I ordered a deck. Might not help but I’ve been meaning to try them out and I really like a lot of their graphics

[arrbee]

Unfortunately, I think it’s done. Best thing you guys can do is scoop up what’s left and send Steve off not in more debt than he’s already incurred.

[Kombuch-A-Holic]

Just noticed that DOA website and instagram are gone. Does anyone know of any shops that still have some Flat AF decks?

[arrbee]

Just noticed that DOA website and instagram are gone. Does anyone know of any shops that still have some Flat AF decks?

Shops never had the FAF, those were online only. He only ever ordered a handful of those each run. I tried to get him to make a few FAF in the square shape, unfortunately it didn't happen before he decided to stop.

[notinternetfamous]

I managed to get some really cheap decks from their black friday sale. I never saw anything that said it was officially done besides a few stories indicating that. Sad, if true. Herbert Brown deserves to be taken care of. That man is super talented on a board

[spacial_profiling]

Wood/shapes are some of the best imo. Was up in NYC last summer skating one and heard tell that people aren't fucking with Steve anymore like that after he let some people go... idk if that would sink a company. But he did name it that for a reason. I think it's probably more so of having to "keep up" with social relevance via media; that in-part would doom many projects nowadays.

[SneakySecrets]

I have like 3 DOA flats on the stack, looks like those are the last I’ll ever skate.   

[chris.]

I have one more fresh 8.5 popsicle and that’s it. South Central decks are so solid my old ones still have some life left in them if I wanted to set them back up. Herbert is awesome, hopefully someone hooks him up.  I love his IG clips. I know he left a while back but Ben Havran is wildly talented too. Seems like Steve has been crazy active doing his podcast lately, but I admittedly haven’t listened to one yet.

Just look at those! Beautiful 

[rosemaryBB]

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Just noticed that DOA website and instagram are gone. Does anyone know of any shops that still have some Flat AF decks?

[close]

Shops never had the FAF, those were online only. He only ever ordered a handful of those each run. I tried to get him to make a few FAF in the square shape, unfortunately it didn't happen before he decided to stop.

Mentioned this in another thread, but when I heard they were going under I messaged them on insta and asked what would happen with the presses they use for the FAFs, he said since Politic is also South Central they are almost definitely going to start making them, although probably with a different name.

[thespacewolf]

Just noticed that DOA website and instagram are gone. Does anyone know of any shops that still have some Flat AF decks?

I believe the DOA insta is now for their radio thing, Dead On Air?

[Thebird]

So what shape are the current Politic decks?  Comparable to anything?  Are they pretty mellow?

[Sativa Lung]

Wood/shapes are some of the best imo. Was up in NYC last summer skating one and heard tell that people aren't fucking with Steve anymore like that after he let some people go... idk if that would sink a company. But he did name it that for a reason. I think it's probably more so of having to "keep up" with social relevance via media; that in-part would doom many projects nowadays.

Steve never let anyone go so I'm not sure who you're talking to. There was never anyone to let go, it was effectively a one man operation save for dudes like Mitch who helped out with shop sales. He did basically everything (even a lot of the art) right down to packing and shipping the boxes. The only team rider who's left in past few years was Ben and that was because Steve knew he couldn't provide the same support as the Chief and told him if he didn't take the offer from Zero he'd kick him off the team. There was absolutely zero bad blood and Steve always tried to do right by his riders and even paid for SF/NYC trips and filmers several times for multiple guys to try and get them some exposure. If anything people let him down by not always taking those trips seriously and not sending in footage on their own the way they'd agreed to, though he'd never say it.

This is going to be the reality in skating for a while guys. There's far too much wood in shops right now and it ain't really moving. With the post-pandemic economy demand is way down. Small passion projects like DOA that survived order to order on tight margins are just not a feasible business model at the moment. To put it in perspective imagine if over a year and a half your costs went up $5+ per board but sales actually dropped. Not a lot of small independent companies in any industry could take that hit.

So ya I'm sorry but there's no bad blood, no controversy, no mismanagement, nothing to see here. Just another casualty of the pandemic. It's totally fair for him to not want to have to keep sinking his own money from his real job into the company to keep it afloat. Dudes got a beautiful family to take care of and a civilian job so if he's at peace with it then we all should be too. He's definitely one of the good guys in skateboarding.

Check out the podcast/videos, they're actually pretty interesting.

[Sativa Lung]

Also, If you guys want to support what was essentially a sister company (same wood, same molds and dims, slightly different vibe) then buy politic and buy things from Library skate shop. Damon is another one of the really good dudes out there and yes, Steve said he's agreed to run some flats even though they don't sell in shops when he's run them before (also why Steve didn't sell them in shops).

Otherwise if you want an 8.25 or flat I've got 2 spare freshies and a dozen or so lightly skated ones. Shoot me a PM.

[arrbee]

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Wood/shapes are some of the best imo. Was up in NYC last summer skating one and heard tell that people aren't fucking with Steve anymore like that after he let some people go... idk if that would sink a company. But he did name it that for a reason. I think it's probably more so of having to "keep up" with social relevance via media; that in-part would doom many projects nowadays.

[close]

Steve never let anyone go so I'm not sure who you're talking to. There was never anyone to let go, it was effectively a one man operation save for dudes like Mitch who helped out with shop sales. He did basically everything (even a lot of the art) right down to packing and shipping the boxes. The only team rider who's left in past few years was Ben and that was because Steve knew he couldn't provide the same support as the Chief and told him if he didn't take the offer from Zero he'd kick him off the team. There was absolutely zero bad blood and Steve always tried to do right by his riders and even paid for SF/NYC trips and filmers several times for multiple guys to try and get them some exposure. If anything people let him down by not always taking those trips seriously and not sending in footage on their own the way they'd agreed to, though he'd never say it.

This is going to be the reality in skating for a while guys. There's far too much wood in shops right now and it ain't really moving. With the post-pandemic economy demand is way down. Small passion projects like DOA that survived order to order on tight margins are just not a feasible business model at the moment. To put it in perspective imagine if over a year and a half your costs went up $5+ per board but sales actually dropped. Not a lot of small independent companies in any industry could take that hit.

So ya I'm sorry but there's no bad blood, no controversy, no mismanagement, nothing to see here. Just another casualty of the pandemic. It's totally fair for him to not want to have to keep sinking his own money from his real job into the company to keep it afloat. Dudes got a beautiful family to take care of and a civilian job so if he's at peace with it then we all should be too. He's definitely one of the good guys in skateboarding.

Check out the podcast/videos, they're actually pretty interesting.

This is all true^^^ Steve is the best, hands down!

EDIT: To say from conversations I have had with Steve, sounds like these "let go" guys were never actually "on" just someone who was getting flowed some boards and fizzled out on supplying clips. I was never "on" DOA but Steve had sent me a bunch of boards and gear in the year before shutting down. Only ever had a few clips in edits because he wanted to keep everything standard definition and I was filming with HD filmers. He even went as far as sending me a VX, was just too late at that point I think he already made the decision to shut it down.

[spacial_profiling]

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Expand Quote

Wood/shapes are some of the best imo. Was up in NYC last summer skating one and heard tell that people aren't fucking with Steve anymore like that after he let some people go... idk if that would sink a company. But he did name it that for a reason. I think it's probably more so of having to "keep up" with social relevance via media; that in-part would doom many projects nowadays.

[close]

Steve never let anyone go so I'm not sure who you're talking to. There was never anyone to let go, it was effectively a one man operation save for dudes like Mitch who helped out with shop sales. He did basically everything (even a lot of the art) right down to packing and shipping the boxes. The only team rider who's left in past few years was Ben and that was because Steve knew he couldn't provide the same support as the Chief and told him if he didn't take the offer from Zero he'd kick him off the team. There was absolutely zero bad blood and Steve always tried to do right by his riders and even paid for SF/NYC trips and filmers several times for multiple guys to try and get them some exposure. If anything people let him down by not always taking those trips seriously and not sending in footage on their own the way they'd agreed to, though he'd never say it.

This is going to be the reality in skating for a while guys. There's far too much wood in shops right now and it ain't really moving. With the post-pandemic economy demand is way down. Small passion projects like DOA that survived order to order on tight margins are just not a feasible business model at the moment. To put it in perspective imagine if over a year and a half your costs went up $5+ per board but sales actually dropped. Not a lot of small independent companies in any industry could take that hit.

So ya I'm sorry but there's no bad blood, no controversy, no mismanagement, nothing to see here. Just another casualty of the pandemic. It's totally fair for him to not want to have to keep sinking his own money from his real job into the company to keep it afloat. Dudes got a beautiful family to take care of and a civilian job so if he's at peace with it then we all should be too. He's definitely one of the good guys in skateboarding.

Check out the podcast/videos, they're actually pretty interesting.

[close]

This is all true^^^ Steve is the best, hands down!

EDIT: To say from conversations I have had with Steve, sounds like these "let go" guys were never actually "on" just someone who was getting flowed some boards and fizzled out on supplying clips. I was never "on" DOA but Steve had sent me a bunch of boards and gear in the year before shutting down. Only ever had a few clips in edits because he wanted to keep everything standard definition and I was filming with HD filmers. He even went as far as sending me a VX, was just too late at that point I think he already made the decision to shut it down.

What happened with Koki? Genuinely curious.

[Sativa Lung]

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Wood/shapes are some of the best imo. Was up in NYC last summer skating one and heard tell that people aren't fucking with Steve anymore like that after he let some people go... idk if that would sink a company. But he did name it that for a reason. I think it's probably more so of having to "keep up" with social relevance via media; that in-part would doom many projects nowadays.

[close]

Steve never let anyone go so I'm not sure who you're talking to. There was never anyone to let go, it was effectively a one man operation save for dudes like Mitch who helped out with shop sales. He did basically everything (even a lot of the art) right down to packing and shipping the boxes. The only team rider who's left in past few years was Ben and that was because Steve knew he couldn't provide the same support as the Chief and told him if he didn't take the offer from Zero he'd kick him off the team. There was absolutely zero bad blood and Steve always tried to do right by his riders and even paid for SF/NYC trips and filmers several times for multiple guys to try and get them some exposure. If anything people let him down by not always taking those trips seriously and not sending in footage on their own the way they'd agreed to, though he'd never say it.

This is going to be the reality in skating for a while guys. There's far too much wood in shops right now and it ain't really moving. With the post-pandemic economy demand is way down. Small passion projects like DOA that survived order to order on tight margins are just not a feasible business model at the moment. To put it in perspective imagine if over a year and a half your costs went up $5+ per board but sales actually dropped. Not a lot of small independent companies in any industry could take that hit.

So ya I'm sorry but there's no bad blood, no controversy, no mismanagement, nothing to see here. Just another casualty of the pandemic. It's totally fair for him to not want to have to keep sinking his own money from his real job into the company to keep it afloat. Dudes got a beautiful family to take care of and a civilian job so if he's at peace with it then we all should be too. He's definitely one of the good guys in skateboarding.

Check out the podcast/videos, they're actually pretty interesting.

[close]

This is all true^^^ Steve is the best, hands down!

EDIT: To say from conversations I have had with Steve, sounds like these "let go" guys were never actually "on" just someone who was getting flowed some boards and fizzled out on supplying clips. I was never "on" DOA but Steve had sent me a bunch of boards and gear in the year before shutting down. Only ever had a few clips in edits because he wanted to keep everything standard definition and I was filming with HD filmers. He even went as far as sending me a VX, was just too late at that point I think he already made the decision to shut it down.

[close]

What happened with Koki? Genuinely curious.

Not my place to say, but it wasn't anything nefarious from what I know. What I can say is that Fletch always did right by his guys, even when he didn't have to. This was always a passion project and half the dudes on the team were homie hookups to begin with, but he definitely got recognition both to the public and within the industry for the guys who legit have the talent to be a 2023 pro like Ben and Herb. He just didn't always get back quite what he invested, but this wasn't his first rodeo and I don't think that was a surprise to him.

Again, there's really nothing to see here. It's mostly down to the economy, between the stress of that and losing Drew I think it was probably a good time to put it down. Better to burn out than fade away etc.

[jakeumms]

You guys probably already have this in your recs but this post mortem is a good listen.