Jamie Thomas gave himself a deck/tee. Tommy Sandoval still rides for Zero, is having serious health issues and only got a deck. Jon Allie and Jame Brockman likely live under a hot, dusty rock somewhere—clueless as to what the fuck is going on and stoked on a check. Each got a deck. In typical Jamie fashion though, the Brockman graphic was used for a tee as well, without James' name on it. Less for Jamie to pay out in royalties!
Jamie probably had to suck Ellington’s balls and offer the most SKUs (board, tee, jacket) to nab him. OG Zero rider, Adrian Lopez, got a deck/tee.
Erik is owner and founder of Baker Boys Distribution, Deathwish skateboards, Easy Does It non-alcoholic beer and Human Recreational Services. It should be noted that despite being now-sober, and nearly ending up in jail for a brawl in a bar where he broke glass over a man's head and face, Erik finds it necessary to still market, promote and profit from drinking. He's spent his entire career doing so.
As if skateboarding's history isn't rife with addiction and deaths related to alcohol, and Erik doesn't have enough money and businesses to run, he felt it necessary to add another drinking-related product to the marketplace to shill to skateboarders.
Adrian is founder and owner of Loser Machine and Dark Seas. He was the first Circa rider after Muska. He’s had a wildly popular signature shoe since 2001. We're talking Osiris D3 numbers ...
Successful, wealthy men in their 40s with families, re-aligning with Jamie long after their pro careers ended. Fully aware Jamie sexually harassed Cody Davis, having a hand in destroying his career. Fully aware Jamie knowingly employed a violent spousal abuser (Chris Cole) and a serial child predator (Dane Burman) who was grooming minors for explicit photos and meet-ups. Fully aware Jamie, also a husband and father, did nothing about either while ignoring a woman’s plea to protect her children. Fully aware Jamie used white supremacist iconography and imagery of rapist Mike Tyson to promote his brands.
Erik has a daughter. Adrian has two boys. Both have multiple businesses, positions of power and influence. They still chose to do the reissues. How fucking embarrassing.
Garrett Hill got a deck. He currently serves as World Skate Head Street Skateboarding Judge, overseeing street skateboarding evaluations, scoring and course guidelines. He sits on World Skate’s Judging Commission and creates educational content for them. He officiated the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.
Should someone with a long-running, public Zero affiliation be a judge for the highest-profile international co-ed sporting event on Earth? Regarding Jamie, Hill’s judgment is weak at best.
Garrett is also partially responsible for getting Corey Duffel his job as a judge for World Skate and the Olympics. Corey Duffel is the ex-pro most known for his racist and homophobic interview in Big Brother magazine where used a bevy of racial slurs and discussed wanting to stab a gay man. We will explore the Duffel situation in another piece.
When do these guys have enough? The choice to be a role model who stands against abuse and sex crimes—in solidarity with women and children—rather than shameless exposure and profit, seems to be no choice at all. Money and bros, dude!
All this amid the Cornell 7 and an all-out war on women.
Everything’s fine, folks. Look the other way and get yours, just like the pros do.