A love of skateboarding inspired me to create Sucks Skateboards, a complete online retail environment and skateboarding community. Sucks was founded on the belief that skateboarding is not an act of vandalism, but a profound form of artistic self-expression. I developed and ran everything Sucks: naming, online retail portal, sales literature, products, videos, manufacturing, trade shows, sales reps, pro sponsorships and brand communications. Winner of the AIGA Graphic Excellence Award.
Sucks.com did more than provide an online retail portal for the brand. It was a destination that allowed skaters to come together online. There, they could share skate spots, chat, and upload skate photos
and video.
The “All Balls No Brains” Sticker Contest invited Sucks fans to put Sucks logo stickers in unlikely and ridiculous places (billboards, police cars, street signs, etc) around their hood, then snap digital photos of their craftsmanship and upload to sucks.com for monthly judging. Winners got a free Sucks deck and tee.
The Sucks mini catalogue was used for trade shows, mailers and skate events and featured the Sucks Manifesto, decks, tee designs, and sticker packs. The aesthetic was inspired by idealist 50’s family imagery that we repurposed to create Sucks ironic style.