Hey there fellow skate rat! If you‘re as obsessed with skateboarding as I am, you‘ve probably spent hours watching skate videos, following your favorite pros, and debating the best skateboard brands with your friends at the skatepark.
There‘s no denying that skateboarding has exploded in popularity over the past few decades. What started as a niche hobby in the 1950s has grown into a massive global community with millions of skaters and hundreds of skateboard brands to choose from.
With so many options out there, it can be tough to know which skateboard brands are the real deal. That‘s why I put together this list of the top 10 skateboard brands that every skater needs to know about.
These are the brands that have shaped skateboarding history with their innovative products, iconic graphics, legendary team riders, and hardcore commitment to skateboarding culture. If you‘re serious about skating, you need to have at least one of these brands in your quiver.
1. Powell Peralta
Founded in 1978 by George Powell and Stacy Peralta, Powell Peralta is one of the most iconic and influential skateboard brands of all time. The company played a huge role in the birth of modern skateboarding in the 1980s with its Bones Brigade team featuring legendary riders like Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, and Rodney Mullen.
Powell Peralta is famous for its classic deck designs like the Skull and Sword, Tony Hawk Chicken Skull, and Gang Logo. The company also introduced groundbreaking skateboard technologies like the double kick tail, full concave, and bonite construction.
Today, Powell Peralta continues to make high-quality skateboard decks, wheels, clothing, and accessories that draw inspiration from their historic legacy. The brand sponsors an impressive team of pro skaters like Andy Anderson, Steve Caballero, and Bucky Lasek.
Some key facts about Powell Peralta:
- Over 1.2 million boards sold since 1978
- 30+ patents held for skateboard technologies
- 10 Thrasher Magazine covers since 1981
- Over 700,000 YouTube subscribers
2. Girl Skateboards
Girl Skateboards was founded in 1993 by professional skateboarders Mike Carroll, Rick Howard, Megan Baltimore, and Spike Jonze with the goal of building an independent skater-owned brand.
Over the past three decades, Girl has built a reputation for its clean, stylish skateboard graphics and legendary team riders like Eric Koston, Sean Malto, and Rick McCrank. The brand‘s popular deck series include the Eric Koston Basketball and Andrew Brophy Beautiful Mutants collections.
In addition to decks, Girl makes wheels, soft goods, and accessories through its distribution company, Crailtap. Girl also distributes other respected skateboard brands like Chocolate, Royal, and Fourstar.
Check out these impressive stats about Girl Skateboards:
- 2.5 million skateboards sold since 1993
- 5.2 million wheels sold since 1996
- 4.1 million Instagram followers
- 20 years of sponsoring the Girl & Chocolate skate tour
3. Santa Cruz Skateboards
Santa Cruz Skateboards is the oldest continuously operating skateboard company in the world, founded in 1973 by Rich Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman. The brand‘s iconic red dot logo and "Screaming Hand" graphic are some of the most recognizable symbols in skateboarding.
Over its 50-year history, Santa Cruz has released hundreds of classic skateboard decks like the Rob Roskopp Face, Jeff Grosso Toy Box, Jason Jessee Neptune, and Corey O‘Brien Dancer. The company also makes a wide range of wheels, trucks, and apparel.
Santa Cruz has stayed true to its hardcore roots by sponsoring fearless pro skaters like Eric Dressen, Yndiara Asp, Tom Remillard, and Steve Alba. The brand is also heavily involved in the music scene and has collaborated with legendary punk bands like the Misfits and Bad Religion.
Santa Cruz by the numbers:
- Over 5 million skateboards sold globally
- 150+ pro model decks released
- 60 countries with Santa Cruz distribution
- 1.8 million Facebook followers
4. Real Skateboards
Real Skateboards was created in 1991 by skateboard industry legends Tommy Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud. The brand has always been 100% skater-owned and operated with the mission of making no-nonsense skateboarding products for hardcore skaters.
Real is known for its bold, in-your-face skateboard graphics and technical deck constructions like Full SE, Oval III, and 2-Ply Sumo. The brand has released hugely popular pro model decks for Dennis Busenitz, Peter Ramondetta, Ishod Wair, and Kyle Walker, among others.
Real‘s skate team is stacked with some of the gnarliest skaters on the planet like Chima Ferguson, Davis Torgerson, Harry Lintell, and Zion Wright. The brand regularly releases full-length skate films featuring the exploits of their team riders that push the boundaries of what‘s possible on a skateboard.
Real Skateboards fast facts:
- 2.1 million skateboards sold in the last decade
- 70 skate tours around the world since 1991
- 1.3 million Instagram followers
- Thrasher‘s "Skate Brand of the Year" in 1998 and 2012
5. Flip Skateboards
Flip Skateboards was founded in the UK in 1991 under the name Deathbox, but rebranded as Flip in 1994 and later relocated to California. The brand played a big part in bringing the technical street skating style to the mainstream in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Flip is most famous for its Extremely Sorry (2009) and Sorry (2002) skate videos featuring mind-blowing video parts from team riders like Tom Penny, Geoff Rowley, Arto Saari, and Rune Glifberg. The brand continues to release progressive skate films like Propeller (2015) and Size 9¾ – The Louie Lopez Video.
In addition to decks and wheels, Flip makes high-performance shoes, clothing, and accessories for skateboarding. The brand has also done collaborations with reputable companies outside skateboarding like Levi‘s, Casio G-Shock, and Modernica Furniture.
Notable numbers for Flip Skateboards:
- 1.8 million skateboards sold internationally
- 600,000 pairs of skate shoes sold
- 640,000 YouTube subscribers
- 79 countries with Flip products in skate shops
6. Zero Skateboards
Zero Skateboards was started in 1996 by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas and is still owned and run by skateboarders to this day. The brand quickly gained notoriety in the skateboarding world for its bold, skull-heavy graphics and relentless skate videos like Misled Youth (1999), Dying to Live (2002), and Cold War (2013).
Zero has always had a reputation for its raw, uncompromising approach to skateboarding and its team of heavy-hitting pros and amateurs like Chris Cole, Tommy Sandoval, James Brockman, and Dane Burman. The brand is also known for its annual "King of the Road" competition series with Thrasher Magazine.
Along with skateboard decks and wheels, Zero produces griptape, t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and other clothing and accessories with its iconic "Skull and Crossbones" logo. The brand has also collaborated with bands, wrestlers, and other figures in the world of counterculture.
Zero Skateboards statistics:
- 2.7 million decks made since 1996
- 1.1 million Skull griptape sheets sold
- Thrasher‘s "King of the Road" winners in 2004, 2005, 2006
- 460,000 Instagram followers
7. Element Skateboards
Element Skateboards was founded in 1992 by Johnny Schillereff and is one of the most environmentally and socially responsible brands in skateboarding. The brand is guided by the belief in being "conscious by nature" and giving back to the global skateboarding community.
Some of Element‘s most popular skateboard products include the Nyjah Face Palm Grip, Tom Schaar 8" Quadrant deck, and Jaakko 52mm Camo wheels. The brand also makes a wide variety of sustainable apparel and accessories made from organic cotton, hemp, and recycled materials.
Element sponsors a diverse international team of pro skaters like Nyjah Huston, Brandon Westgate, Evan Smith, Aori Nishimura, and Jacopo Carozzi. The brand also runs skateboarding camps for youth in different countries and partners with non-profit organizations.
Element‘s global impact by the numbers:
- 3.5 million skateboards sold worldwide
- 500,000 trees planted through Element Eden program
- 120 countries with Element products
- 1.4 million Instagram followers
8. Plan B Skateboards
Plan B Skateboards was originally founded in 1991 by Mike Ternasky, Danny Way, and Colin McKay with the idea of creating a "super team" of the world‘s best professional skateboarders. The brand relaunched in 2005 under the ownership of Way and McKay and continues to be a major player in skateboarding.
Plan B is known for sponsoring progressive pros with incredible skills and style like Ryan Sheckler, Torey Pudwill, Leticia Bufoni, and Sean Sheffey. Many of the brand‘s team riders have released influential video parts in films like Questionable (1992), Virtual Reality (1993), and True (2014).
The brand makes high-quality skateboard decks using U.S. hard rock maple wood and a special 10-step manufacturing process for maximum strength and pop. Plan B also sells wheels, apparel, and accessories featuring their iconic "Flare" and "Sheckler" logos.
Plan B Skateboards by the digits:
- 900,000 pro model decks sold
- 3 Thrasher Skaters of the Year (Danny Way, Chris Cole, Torey Pudwill)
- 45 countries with Plan B distribution
- 540,000 YouTube subscribers
9. Blind Skateboards
Blind Skateboards was established in 1989 by Mark Gonzales with the help of Steve Rocco and has been a major influence on street skating for over 30 years. The brand is known for its edgy, artistic graphics and its legendary team riders throughout history like Jason Lee, Guy Mariano, Rudy Johnson, and Jordan Maxham.
Blind‘s Video Days (1991) is widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential skate videos of all time with its documentation of technical street skating progression. The brand has continued to release cutting-edge films like What If? (2005) and liquefy (2022).
In addition to skateboard decks, Blind produces soft wheels, trucks, bearings, and hardware. The brand has also collaborated with artists like Shepard Fairey, museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and musicians like Guns N‘ Roses for special product collections.
Blind Skateboards fun facts:
- 2.4 million skateboards sold since 1989
- Transworld Skateboarding‘s "Team of the Year" in 2007
- 1.4 million Facebook fans
- 3 members of Skateboarding Hall of Fame (Gonzales, Lee, Thomas)
10. Toy Machine Skateboards
Last but not least is Toy Machine Skateboards, founded by Ed Templeton in 1993. Templeton‘s signature sketchy, DIY cartoon graphics have made Toy Machine one of the most distinctive and recognizable brands in skateboarding.
Toy Machine has put out a number of respected full-length skate videos over the years like Welcome to Hell (1996), Good & Evil (2004), and Programming Injection (2017). The brand is known for having an eclectic mix of skaters on its team like Leo Romero, Collin Provost, Ed Templeton, and Jeremy Leabres.
Toy Machine produces a range of decks in different sizes and constructions along with wheels, grip tape, and accessories. The brand also makes apparel, art books, and other items featuring Templeton‘s original illustrations.
Noteworthy numbers for Toy Machine:
- 800,000 skateboards sold
- 11 original skate video productions
- Distribution in over 30 countries
- 220,000 Instagram followers
Final Thoughts on the Best Skateboard Brands
So there you have it, my fellow skater. These are the 10 best skateboard brands that have made the biggest impact on skateboarding culture and progression. Of course, this is just my opinion based on my years of experience as a skateboarder and follower of the skate industry.
There are tons of other awesome skateboard brands out there that are worth checking out and supporting. At the end of the day, the "best" skateboard brand is the one that resonates with your personal style and helps you have the most fun on your board.
I hope this guide has given you a greater appreciation for the history, creativity, and dedication of these legendary skateboard brands. Now get out there and skate! And if you see me at the park, don‘t be afraid to say hello and talk some skate shop.
Peace out,
Your Fellow Skate Rat
