Brand History - Heroin Skateboards

Find out everything there is to know about the world's most addictive skate brand, Heroin Skateboards, including their history, team and wide selection of weird and wonderful wood.

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Known for their quirky graphics and even quirkier shapes, Heroin Skateboards is one of the UK's most popular skate brands with a cult-like following around the world that borders on addiction. With the name referencing their obsessive love of skating alongside their signature tagline: 'Fuck drugs, let's skate', there are few brands that embody that pure, child-like love for skateboarding as much as Heroin. The brand has been around for over 25 years now, which is no mean feat in itself, and they've more than earned their place among the greats, with the brand even being referenced in a Saturday Night Live sketch. Have a read below to find out more about what makes this legendary brand so great!

HEROIN SKATEBOARDS HISTORY

Heroin Skateboards was founded in 1998 by UK-based skateboarder and artist, Mark 'Fos' Foster, while he was stuck in hospital after breaking his wrist at BaySixty6 (back when it was still Playstation Park). After working at Slam Distribution in London and getting to know the skate industry, Fos got sick of the stranglehold US skateboarding had on everything, and the subsequent lack of support for UK riders, so decided to take matters into his own hands by starting Heroin Skateboards.

While the name might seem to be glorifying opioids, Fos is actually strongly anti-drugs, with the name instead playing upon his addiction to skateboarding - although this has kinda backfired since Instagram doesn't get the joke and the brand now gets censored on social media... Despite the risqué name making some shops reluctant to stock the brand, Heroin Skateboards quickly grew to become one of the UK's most popular brands thanks to their fun-filled video offerings and Fos' distinctive artwork.

After gaining popularity in the UK, Heroin Skateboards made several attempts at breaking into the US market with varying degrees of success until the brand was eventually picked up by Baker Boys Distribution in 2011, helping them to firmly establish a foothold in the States. Fast forward to today and much of the Heroin Skateboards team is based out of the US with Fos himself even relocating over there - presumably to make use of their impressive variety of curb spots - where he continues to run Heroin alongside his other brand, Landscape (with the help of Joe Gavin), and various other artistic endeavours.

HEROIN SKATEBOARDS TEAM

Given how long Heroin Skateboards has been around the team has changed a fair bit over the years with various legends coming and going, although they've always managed to maintain a strong selection of weirdos from across the globe, with riders based in the UK, USA, Canada and Japan. Most recently, Heroin have welcomed Swampy, Nolan Houghton and Charlie Gush to the squad who've helped bring some fresh flavour to the squad while still embodying that signature Heroin weirdness. Today, the Heroin Skateboards team features Chris Pulman, Lee Yankou, Tom Day, Craig 'Questions' Scott, Aaron Wilson, Dead Dave, Chopper, Dalton Dern, Nolan Houghton, Charlie Gush and Swampy with countless others in their extended family.

HEROIN SKATEBOARDS VIDEOS

Over the course of their lifetime, Heroin Skateboards have come through with countless top-tier skate videos, all of which showcase the brand's uniquely creative approach and sheer love of riding a wooden plank. Right from their first video, 'Good Shit', released in 1999, Heroin proved they don't take themselves too seriously with dirt hillbombs, treerides and plenty of tomfoolery, shenanigans and general silliness.

Since then, Heroin Skateboards have kept the good vibes flowing in all of their videos, from their iconic 2006 full-length, 'Magic Sticky Hand', right up to their more recent bangers like 'Earth Goblin' and 'Swolan'. The team, camera technology and deck shapes might have changed but the vibes remain the same and every Heroin Skateboards offering is like an intravenous injection of pure hype.

HEROIN SKATEBOARDS DECKS

Although Heroin Skateboards produce a wide selection of goodies, including T-shirts, hoods, caps, beanies, accessories and more, they're probably best known for their range of weird and wonderful decks. Given Fos' artistic background, the vast majority of Heroin decks feature artwork by the man himself with Fos' distinctive, scratchy style becoming synonymous with the brand's aesthetic.

It's not strictly a one-man operation however as Heroin Skateboards also regularly team up with other artists, including fellow UK legend, Funeral French, as well as international artists like Charles Forsman, Hirotton, Todd Bratrud and many more. Adding to their popular appeal, Heroin Skateboards also frequently draw inspiration from popular culture with graphics based on cult horror films like 'Alien', 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Friday The 13th', 'Halloween', 'Mandy' and more, as well as a series of decks based on The Smiths lyrics for the music lovers.

But it's not just the graphics that have captured the hearts of skaters around the world as Heroin are also equally creative when it comes to their shapes, with the brand boasting one of the most impressive selections of oddly shaped wood out of any skate brand in the known universe. Ranging from classic Shovel shapes to outlandish Mutants and of course their iconic Curb Crusher decks, Heroin Skateboards firmly dominate the shaped deck game with their one-of-a-kind wood. But we all know there's one shape that rules them all: the Heroin Skateboards Egg.

HEROIN EGGS

Last but definitely not least, we can't forget about their most iconic product: the Heroin Egg Deck. First hatched in 2016, the original Heroin Egg was conceived after team rider Daniel Shimizu requested a 90s football-shaped deck. Since then, the Heroin Skateboards Egg has absolutely exploded in popularity becoming one of the brand's best-selling products with a cult-like following around the world.

There are now countless different iterations on the Heroin Egg, ranging from Mini Eggs to Eggzillas with Symmetrical Eggs, Razor Eggs, Wide Boy Eggs, Guest Eggs, Golden Eggs, Movie-themed Eggs and countless others in between. The Heroin Egg has also transcended its original wooden format appearing as T-shirts, wax, plush toys, slippers and even landing its very own eS collab with the incredible eS x Heroin Eggcel skate shoe.

We're always stocking up on new Heroin Egg decks so keep your eyes peeled for when the latest Heroin goodies land in store and make sure you subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know - you'll also get 10% off your first order with us!

That's enough chit-chat though. Head to the shop to browse the full Heroin Skateboards range and buy now from CSC. Or, find out more about your favourite skate brands on the CSC Blog. Safe.