The Best Skateboard Brands Right Now

In the skateboarding industry, brands tend to come and go with ease. It’s rare for them to stay in the spotlight for any substantial amount of time. But the constant reshuffling of the deck (pun not intended) allows for a rotation of new brands to make a name for themselves. Whether they’re known primarily for their skateboarding parts essential to the craft (like decks, trucks, wheels, and shoes) or for their apparel and accessories, the skateboarding universe has been expanding ever since the sport caught the attention of the mainstream in the late ‘90s. Everyone may remember exactly where they were when Tony Hawk landed the 900° on national television, but the world of skateboarding brands is much larger than just that and more expansive than you may realize.

Skateboarding has also become a major source of inspiration for high-end fashion brands, as they design their own interpretations of the skate culture and style from graphic T-shirts, five-panel hats, cropped, wide-leg pants, and skateboarding sneakers from the brands like Vans. But there’s no faking the original, and the brands that do it best are the ones that have a long-time heritage in the sport of the board, unlike the luxury labels simply trying to capitalize on the look.

While no two brands are exactly the same and it’s difficult to compare them, the brands on this list are among those that offer their own unique spin on the skateboarding experience, which often comes from their own personal stories and love of skateboards that they discovered in their childhood. In a saturated market that now spans from the technical side of skating to streetwear-centered style brands, these are the ones that stand out the most. From the young upstarts to those with a long legacy to their name, these are the best skateboard brands out there, so get familiar—and at least learn to kickflip, man.

Roots: Founded by Kosta in 2005

Quartersnacks may be primarily known as an online magazine, but if you think that disqualifies it from being one of the best brands in skateboarding, you might not be aware of everything else it’s done for the skateboarding world. Quartersnacks makes soft goods that will instantly make you look like you don’t actually suck at skating, and got the honor of customizing their own Nike SB Dunk Low. Few other skateboarding brands have that and a book about their first decade of history to their name.

Roots: Founded by Peter Smolik in the early 2000s

Sk8mafia may not be as well known as an apparel company compared to other brands on this list, but it stays popular with skateboarding’s core of, you know, actual skaters. Their most prominent pro, Wes Kremer, was named Thrasher’s Skater of the Year for 2014, and the company continues to drop regular edits featuring the entire team. The Mafia keeps the streets fed.

Roots: Founded by Mark Gonzales in 2002

Mark Gonzales can do no wrong, and with him at the helm, Krooked will be in the conversation. Krooked is the Gonz’s brainchild and has always showcased a great selection of his unique style of art and illustration. No brand can be held up by one man alone, so Gonzales has made sure to keep his selection of riders carefully picked, with each one bringing their own style to the table. Brad Cromer is not Ronnie Sandoval is not Mike Anderson, yet somehow it all works out and comes together well.

Roots: Founded by Jason Dill in 2001/Anthony Van Engelen in 2015

These are technically two separate companies, but their shared history makes them worth mentioning in a single stroke. Fucking Awesome started out when Jason Dill and Anthony Van Engelen decided to move on from Alien Workshop in 2013. While the brand has existed in some form or another for over a decade now, it has only recently become a legitimate board brand after Dill dropped Alien Workshop. Now their logo is on tees and hoodies and worn by everyone from rappers to models, but their infamy in skateboarding came from their riders’ clips in Supreme’s film Cherry.

Hockey came into being after AVE tried to recruit a couple more Alien Workshop skaters after their downfall, but couldn’t seem to fit them in with the rest of the FA picture. The result was a small company pushing raw and stylish skating with graphics and illustrations that create an aesthetic playing off of the beauty of destruction.

Roots: Started by Peter Sidlauskus in 2012

As loosely defined as Bronze is, Peter Sidlauskus seems to be incapable of doing anything wrong in his marketing for the brand. It endlessly puts out hilarious and gnarly New York-based edits featuring a loose group of guys who make up their “team.” Bronze brings an aesthetic that falls somewhere between vaporwave and deepweb, and makes everyday wear-type gear from pink dad hats to coaches jackets.

Recently venturing into making boards through a sister company, Jamaica, after running a line under its own name, Bronze has not slept after catching their first break of success. In 2015, it teamed up with Palace on a collection that instantly sold out and has dropped another collaboration with HUF, too.

Roots: Started as a shop founded by Keith Hufnagel in 2002

The sight of someone wearing weed socks or a weed five-panel has become ubiquitous enough to make old heads slightly resent HUF. But the brand's products like the Classic Hi and Lo, their original videos, and clothing collaborations with Thrasher remind us why we keep coming back. HUF has mastered the streetwear game and has moved on to trying to master the skate shoe game, too. The addition of Dylan Rieder and Austyn Gillette to their roster, and their subsequent pro shoe model releases, have shown that it’s a brand that’s not afraid to take risks and try something new.

Roots: Founded by Josh Stewart as a webstore

Theories of Atlantis defies categorization. Josh Stewart’s brainchild has gone through more phases than most companies, beginning as a means for him to put out his Static video series featuring New York skaters, to its current status as a full-blown distribution house for smaller boutique skateboarding brands. Josh also puts out seasonal collections of soft goods, playing off conspiracy theory-style graphics on staple items like zip hoodies and long sleeves. The spirit of Theories is what makes it a success, though, always finding a way to contribute to the true culture of skateboarding, even when it means restructuring from a small web store to a major stockist for fledgling brands looking to find their place in the industry.

Roots: Founded by Soy Panday and Viivien and Jean Feil in 2010

One European brand steady killing the game is France’s own Magenta. Playing with the image and reputation of a place that kicks skaters out of everywhere just for skating, its collaboration with Adidas has shown that the Magenta crew can turn their niche image into something with mass appeal. Skateboarders already know the brand for their quick-footed style of skating and their unique illustration style, but they should also know Magenta for its conscious effort to make sure we all are enjoying the pleasure and the freedom skateboarding brings.

Roots: Founded by Pontus Alv in 2013

Adding another European brand to the list, Polar Skate Co. calls Sweden home. Founded by ex-Cliché and Emerica rider Pontus Alv, Polar popularized a style of dress and skating when they first hit the scene, convincing fans to learn wall rides and no complies in Converse and black long sleeves T-shirts. After a successful stint as a board brand featuring Pontus’ own art and photography, the brand expanded to design a high quality line of apparel that borders on athletic wear and traditional skate style. Over the last couple of years, Polar dropped jerseys and polos in high quality athletic materials, collaborated with Converse on some Chuck Taylors, and has kept a steady supply of their classic heavy chinos and hoodies, building up a brand you could literally rock head-to-toe.

Roots: Founded by Jim Greco in 2014

Skateboards just aren’t what they used to be, and that doesn’t make Jim Greco, Baker and Deathwish OG, happy whatsoever. Greco started the company in 2014 as an effort to bring American manufacturing back to skateboarding, using the traditional silk screen ink transfer and hand-shaping methods from the early days of the sport.

The company’s boards are always stunning, featuring punk-style illustrations and photography in vivid colors, and fall in line with the long tradition in skateboarding of not giving a single fuck. Add a line of graphic tees that are bold but understated, and you get a brand that skateboarding is lucky to have in this day and age.

Roots: Founded by Joe Castrucci in 2000

Habitat proved itself as a power player in skateboarding when it survived the downfall of its parent company that owned and killed Alien Workshop, persevering and even naming new pros throughout the whole restructuring. The brand moved their products under Tum Yeto Collective, the parent company/distribution house of other powerhouse skateboard brands like Toy Machine, and things are back to where they were before. If you have any doubts about why Habitat is on this list, just watch Mark Suciu’s 2014 part in Search The Horizon and never question it again.

Roots: Founded by Jason Celaya in 2009

Welcome runs counter to the typical skateboard company processes. With its first full-length video premiering years after the company was founded, and with no pros to name, but a full roster of official riders, Welcome is as unorthodox of a skate company as it gets. Their fanbase loves them for pushing goofy, but fun skating that in reality is heavier and rawer than most realize, and their board graphics and T-shirts feature art from their riders in striking colorways. Their product immediately stands out among the bunch at any shop where it’s stocked.

Roots: Founded by Lev Tanju in 2010

Palace is one of the best out there that does the whole “streetwear or skate brand?” thing, and it holds a unique place on this list for being one of the few brands not based or started in the U.S. The Palace Wayward Boys Choir, like many before them, turned their group of friends into a successful crew of respected pros. They are unabashedly all about London. The self-aware attitude they carry shines through in the contagious and hilarious product copy on their website. Everyone from A$AP Rocky to Drake has been seen rocking the gear, and it’s not surprising why. Palace’s design team, which includes Fergus Purcell of Marc Jacobs, has created an image that’s been exclusive and covetable from its inception, and they’ve yet to break the streak. What other brand have both a dope Adidas collaboration and excellent pair of penny loafers to its name?

Roots: Founded by Julien Stanger in 1995

Antihero has made some moves in the 2000's that have shown they’re not a bunch of old hesh dudes. Instead, they're a stronghold of guys who are all about tattoos and brews that shows their roots. They collabed with Supreme and had one of their legends, Andy Roy, model the lookbook, and also put out Destination Unknown, a full video about their vagabond travels in the hunt for anything to skate. Most recently, they released What’s Up Monkey?, an all-iPhone, full-length video shot across the world. The legacy of Antihero will live on because of its dedication to the DNA that created the brand in the first place.

Roots: Founded by James Jebbia in 1994

Supreme isn’t included just to keep the hypebeasts satisfied. Over the past few years, what was previously dismissed as a brand that catered mostly to resellers has once again gained a spot at the forefront of what is important in skateboarding today. With the release of Cherry in 2014, Supreme reminded us that they will always be a skateboard company first and foremost. They have continued to ride that wave over the past year, continuously putting out great edits, following Cherry up with Sickness, Red Devil, Joyride, and Swoosh, all in collaboration with Cherry’s Bill Strobeck. In the fashion world, the brand continues to carry an unmatched clout with it, putting out fire gear with every new season and drop and even recently opened a location in Paris, bringing the brand even more further than it already was.

Roots: Founded by Pryce Holmes in 2013

Alltimers may be best known for their series of uniquely shaped boards, but the brand also keeps a fresh line of T-shirts, hoodies, and hats rolling year round, as well, pairing perfectly with the Lamborghini-shaped boards, or the Gucci bag boards, or that stacks-of-money-shaped board. Alltimers definitely knows how to not take themselves so seriously and have fun with the lucky position of running a hit board company.

Roots: Began as a skate crew making videos founded by Antoine Asselin and Phil Lavoie in Montreal

What started off as a crew of Montreal skaters filming full videos featured on SLAP magazine has turned into one of the highest quality apparel brands in skating today. With small product releases that typically sell out and regular collaborations with Vans, Dime keeps clean silhouettes and instant classics on deck. Aside from keeping the more fashion-oriented side of skateboarding placated with ultrasoft crewnecks and clean 6-panel caps, Dime keeps its skating focused on actual footage and hijinks fed through their Instagram and Snapchat accounts, where they post footage of their sessions and do what skateboarders do best: have fun with their friends.

Roots: Founded by Alex Olson in 2014

Alex Olson’s Bianca Chandôn has quickly blurred and crossed back and forth between the line that currently divides fashion and skateboarding, pushing an aesthetic inspired by looks found in Tom Bianchi’s Polaroid book Fire Island Pines. Olson has turned what started off as an idea for a small board company into a brand that has found success around the world.

Bianca Chandôn’s offerings can be found in high-end shops like Trés Bien and Supply, while Call Me 917, the sister company focused on producing skateboards and its skate team, is found mostly at select skate shops, such as New York’s Labor Skateshop. It's also stocked at elite retailers like Dover Street Market. This duality allows Olson the freedom to explore new fields like cut-and-sew and womenswear with Bianca, while staying true to skateboarding with Call Me 917. It's the best of both skate worlds.