Blast Skates

posted by Mel Luff November 10, 2014

With the inspiration behind the brand put plain and simply as – ‘seeing boring crap on boards and people still buying it’, Blast Skates, founded by freelance illustrator and keen skater Matthew Bromley launched earlier this year. Based in Brixton, South London the Independent Skate brand has commissioned deck doodlers – James Jarvis, Jon Boam and Marcus Oakley for the first theme in their ‘Chronological Board Series’. Harking back to the prehistoric ages, they really do start at the beginning of time with their first collection of board visuals revolving around the theme ‘Dinosaurs’.

Matthew’s illustrative drive and artistic inspiration is influenced by the raw nature of Mark Gonzales’ sketches, seeing the beauty in his eccentric, sporadic scribbles. However it all started with a book called ‘All About Scabs’ a childhood science book by Genichiro Yagyu and his appreciation for children’s book illustration is evident in his designs. The simplistic yet happy yellow character being symbolic of the moment you ‘don’t fall off and eat shit’ embodying the joy that comes with mastering the art of skateboarding.

The series launched in March of this year with an accompanying Zine by Kyle Platts. Each board is custom made in England, with no re runs – so keep an eye out.

www.blastskates.com