Pro Skateboard Decks
If you're looking for your next skateboard deck but stuck on which one suits your style, then maybe looking at the pro riders for inspiration might help. A pro rider's name on a deck is the same as an endorsement. That skateboarder is confident in the brand, whether it's from Creature, Girl, Santa Cruz, or Polar, and with their name on it, you can be confident with it too. Let's not also forget the awesome unique graphics that come with collab decks, so even if you don't want to set it up to ride, it will look awesome at home, pride of place. So let's look at some pro riders and the decks they choose to represent.
What is a Pro deck?
A pro deck is simply one that has the rider's name on it. The size and shape of a pro deck are typically chosen by the professional skateboarder based on their personal preferences and style of skateboarding. It is rare but sometimes a company will alter the size or shape if it will sell better
Pro riders get paid more. so if a rider gets a pro-deck it implies that the company backing them values the rider enough to promote them.
How do Pros earn their Pro deck?
There are several ways that a pro can earn, their pro deck is often a sign of ability and achievements but it really depends on the brand or shop.
If the skateboarder is well known (has a good track record) by being in magazines and competitions then it will be easier for them to get a pro deck from bigger more established companies.
Also if the sponsored skater has been riding for the company for a long time and has shown brand loyalty it is the most common way of getting a pro dec. Alternatively, if a rider has been riding for a sponsor for a long time, and hasn’t reached pro-status, another company may lure the rider away to them with the promise of a pro-deck.
Pro Skateboarders and their decks
Rowan Davis
In 2020 Rowan Davis won Slam Magazines Skater of the Year and has been putting out some amazing footage over the years. Earlier this year Rowan went pro with Girl Skateboards. His deck features colourful logo artwork, Made from the highest quality 7-ply US and Canadian maple for optimum pop. The Couch is a fully functional early '90s shape with a short wheelbase, football nose, wide rails, and square tail.
Jake Wooten
A rising star of the skateboarding scene boasting a special transition skating ability, Jake Wooten is one of the world's most watchable skaters. Jake Wooten turned Pro for Santa Cruz in August 2021. In an interview with gooddaytoskateboard he says “ It’s been such a journey the whole way and it was the dream to make it, to be pro, and for one of my favourite companies. “I turned pro and all my friends were there, the whole team was there, my parents, so it was very special”.
Mike McGill
Mike McGill is one of the great legends of skateboarding today. He invented one of the greatest tricks of all time, named by one of his former teammates, Rodney Mullen the “MCTWIST”. The Mctwist is a 540-degree aerial grabbing mute style. Today it is a staple in vertical skateboarding competitions.
The reissue skateboard decks from the latest Bones Brigade series are graced with new colour variants of classic Vernon Courtlandt Johnson artwork.
Oskar Rozenberg
As a product of Byrggeriet High School in Malmö, Sweden a.k.a. the “skateboarding high school,” Oski Rozenberg-Hallberg has become more than just a graduate, he’s emblematic of a new breed of skateboarding.
His Pro Decks usually are classic posicle-shaped and are available in different sizes.
