25 Dec 3 Reasons the Return of New Deal Skateboards is so Sick!

As you’ve probably heard, New Deal Skateboards are back! 30 years after the brand’s inception by Steve Douglas, Andy Howell, and Paul (Professor) Schmitt, they’ve recently reissued a series of their most iconic decks – and more are on the way soon!

But, with all the dope reissues and brands out there today, why should you care about New Deal? Well, there’s quite a few things that make the “new” New Deal Skateboards something to get hyped about.

New Deal Skateboards have influenced more than you think

What do New Deal Skateboards and Bam Margera’s early video series CKY have in common?!

Surprisingly, New Deal founder Steve Douglas has played a role in the creation of both! However, this is just one of many connections between Steve, New Deal, and other prevalent aspects of skateboarding that exist today.

Steve has really been a force in the skate industry since the early 80’s. As a young contest ripper in England, Steve founded a skate mag (Go For It!) that released 16 issues and became quite influential in the 80’s British skate scene. He went pro for Schmitt Stix in 1987, only to start a new brand in 1990, New Deal Skateboards, with the creator of Schmitt Stix – Paul Schmitt! 

New Deal Skateboards brought a fresh style to early 90’s street skating.

With the help of New Deal pro Andy Howell, they created many iconic graffiti & street art-inspired deck graphics and designs. This style was perfectly met with the shift of interest from vert skating to street skating that the skate world was going through at the time.

Their clothing, such as the infamous ‘Big Deals’ super baggy jeans, also reflected this street style. Remember the “big pants, small wheels” era? It wouldn’t have been the same without New Deal.

The early success of New Deal Skateboards eventually led to Steve co-founding Giant Skateboard Distribution and, with the help of Paul Schmitt and Andy Howell, creating “Underworld Element” skateboards in 1992. Shortly after, Underworld Element was renamed to what we now know as Element Skateboards.

Steve also co-founded 411VM and the ON Video series, founded Destructo Trucks and became the producer of Bam’s CKY video series before Bam went on to create shows like Viva La Bam and Jackass. After working as general manager of snowboard clothing company Analog, Steve was led to his current position as Vice President of Dwindle Distribution. Ironically, Dwindle is now playing a major part in the return of New Deal Skateboards!

New Deal Skateboards have played a big part in some of your favorite pro’s lives

You just can’t reminisce on the early days of New Deal without thinking of Ed Templeton and Mike Vallely. While there were also many other legendary skaters on the team (Barajas, Knigge, and Sargent to name a few), Templeton’s place on the team led the groundwork for both his skateboarding and artistic career. 

The New Deal ‘Templeton Cat’ deck not only launched Ed’s professional skate career, but the deck graphic was totally designed by him. This pro model was sort of an ‘introduction’ of Ed’s artistic style to skateboarding, an art style that still remains incredibly prevalent today through Ed’s beloved graphics with Toy Machine skateboards. 

Who could forget Mike V’s part in the New Deal ‘1281’ video?! This part was a combination of fast, powerful skating with street technicality. It was a new era of Mike V – and street skateboarding as a whole!

In addition, many skaters associate New Deal Skateboards with the San Jose-based band “The Odd Numbers”. The Odd Numbers played the complete soundtrack of New Deal’s now legendary 15 Minute Promo video that was sent to skate shops in 1990 to introduce the company and its riders.

This also led to a spike in popularity of the band among skateboarders, gaining them many fans for life with the help of New Deal.For those interested in experiencing the full collection of early New Deal video content, be sure to check out the *Useless New Deal Video Collection DVD! It features the 15 Minute Promo, *Useless wooden toys, twelve eighty-one, plus a ton of new bonus content like new footage remixed by Socrates, The Odd Numbers live performances, interviews with the New Deal founders, and more! If you’re on the edge of picking up a copy, check out this *Useless DVD Review by Mackenzie Eisenhouron the New Deal site to learn more.

Classic graphics, original shapes, and premium deck constructions by DSM Woodshop

As of 2019 and according to Steve Douglas, the New Deal Skateboards that are currently being reissued all originate from the 1990-1992 era. So, the era of the Useless Wooden Toys promo video and the 1281 video.  The decks will feature the original shapes and be manufactured under excessive quality control measures by Dwindle’s DSM woodshop.

The decision to produce at DSM was made by Steve, as it allows them to meet international demand and supply the decks at a reasonable price to the public. In addition, New Deal clothing and apparel is planned to be released in July 2020! And yes, it should include the “Big Deal’s” pants and the classic New Deal striped polos.

Keep an eye out and be sure to follow @NewDealSkateboards and @CruisinCity to stay up to date on the latest releases! 

Text by Skatetexter