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Vintage Old School Skateboard Decks from the 80's

Ranked #142 in Sports & Recreation, #6,843 overall

Vintage Skateboards

Skateboarding in the 80's rocked.

Whether you were a hardcore skater, a rampside watcher, or even a board collector ...

If you want to get back into skating but find that new boards are just to narrow and you can't tell the difference between the nose and tail ...

If you want to find that favorite old school deck and hang it on your wall ...

If you want to find out about great 8o's deck manufacturers, like Powell and Peralta, Alva, SkullSkates, Vision, Santa Cruz, G&S, and the pros who rode them ...

Or if you just want to stroll down memory lane and see some of the classic skateboard decks from the 80's ...

Then you are in the right place

This just in ... It's been 20 years and Animal Chin has just been reported missing again, see if you can find him here and drop a line in the guestbook.

What's here

Here you will find vintage skateboard decks from the 80's, including pictures, old school skateboard companies and skaters, and of course where you can still find some vintage decks or reissued versions of the classic skateboards.

Attention - read first

While many of the vintage skateboards and reissued classic decks shown here can be purchased, even the new reissued decks are released in limited quantities and sell out very quickly. If you notice the deck you are looking for is not here or sold out, drop us a line in the guestbook.

Re-released old school skateboards

Now sold out!

curated content from Flickr

Powell and Peralta

Vintage Powell and Peralta

Powell and Peralta is probably the most famous of the 80's skateboard manufacturers, having the single most famous skater ever, Tony Hawk, a member of the Powell Bones Brigade, riding for them.

George Powell, the Godfather of skateboard manufacturing and Stacy Peralta, skateboarding legend/film producer, both founders of Powell and Peralta, have recently re-joined forces once again in an effort to re-relase many vintage skateboards and other merhcandise.
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Powell and Peralta Reissued Decks

These are re-issued to be exact replicas of the original skateboard decks. Even though they have been reissued they are produced in limited quanties and still sell out very quickly, chances are if think about it too long or come back to this later, the vintage deck will be sold out.
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Vision Re-issued Skateboard Decks

These are exact replicas of the original 80's Vision Skateboards. They are reproduced in limited quanitites.
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Oldschool Vision Skateboards on the Auction Block

These sell out quickly and may never be back.

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Alva



One of my personal favorite of all skateboard manufacturers is Alva due to their cutting edge deck design and graphics, not to mention they just skated great.My first ever PRO Skateboard deck was a Bill Danforth made by Alva. (pictured on the left)


Alva was founded by Tony Alva in 1977. Alva's company was the first company ever run and owned by a skateboarder as well as being one of the first to use layered maple plywood for their skate decks.

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Vintage Alva Decks Reissued

These are re-issued to be exact replicas of the original skateboard decks. Even though they have been reissued they are produced in limited quanties and still sell out very quickly, chances are if think about it and come to this later, the vintage deck will be sold out. Click the images to get a better look.

Alva Skateboards BDABL Alva Blak Lepoard Re-issue 10x34

Alva Skateboards BDATLR Alva 79 Tri-Logo Reissue 10x30 with grip

Zorlac

Zorlac was probably my all time favorite of skateboards made in the eighties. Many Zorlac boards featured art by Pushead , a favorite of mine, as well unique deck cutouts, which I enjoyed more than the basic cutout. Zorlac was started in a two-car garage some 30 years ago and is probably most famous for the Metallica Skateboard, one I am still fortunate enough to still own and has become quite the collectors item now.

Zorlac Metallica Board

and other great oldschool decks by Zorlac

Original Zorlac Metallica Skateboard

The Metallica Skateboard by Zorlac is one of the most sought after vintage skateboard decks from the 80's. It has seen to fetch as much as $400 dollars from popular auction sites such as eBay. It's fame is partially due to the great recent demand of oldschool skateboard collecting but mostly due to the huge success of the band Metallica. At the time the skateboard was released Metallica, just on the rise, actually was pretty heavy into skating and before their great fame if they weren't rocking out or guzzling imported beer they were skateboarding. James Hetfield actually broke his arm skateboarding in 1986 while touring with Ozzy and their record label then forced them to sign a "No Skateboarding Contract".
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Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Sreaming Hand Logo
Santa Crux began in 1973 and was started by Richard Novak. Today Santa Cruz, still located in Santa Cruz, California, manufactures skateboards and wheels and have added snowboards, surfing, and a complete line of gear for any type of boarding. Like most other vintage skateboard manufacturers Santa Cruz has began re-releasing old school decks by such famous Pro Skateboarders as Corey O'Brian, Rob Roskopp, and Jason Jessee.
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Santa Cruz Re-issued Vintage Skateboard Decks

These are re-issued to be exact replicas of the original skateboard decks. Even though they have been reissued they are produced in limited quanties and still sell out very quickly, chances are if think about it and come to this later, the vintage deck will be sold out.
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Dogtown

Dogtown has been in existstance since the early 1970's. It was founded in the birthplace of progressive skateboarding, Santa Monica and Venice, California by Jim Muir, a rebellious teen looking for an outlet for aggression. For nearly 40 years Dogtown Skateboards has been synonymous with hardcore skateboarding and has a hardcore loyal following.

Suicidal Tendencies- Possessed to Skate

Skateboarding Anthem from the Eighties


This is the original video by Suicidal Tendencies for their song Possessed to Skate featuring some classic skateboard tricks and their own Suicidal Deck.
Suicidal Tendencies were from Venice Beach and their own band skateboard was manufactured by DogTown.
Suicidal Tendencies - Possessed to Skate
by wedidthetango | video info

3,291 ratings | 1,300,391 views
curated content from YouTube

Vintage and reissued Dogtown Skateboards

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Madrid Skateboards

Jerry Madrid started out shaping surfboards in his parents' garage in Norwalk California. To a surfer, Skateboarding is the next best thing when the waves weren't good, so Jerry enjoyed riding the streets instead of the water. With his passion for shaping boards, it is no surprise that his shaping surfboards turned into shaping skateboards. Jerry Madrid started making skateboards out of fiberglass in the late 1960's. He developed different types of laminations, shapes, and dimensions. Using the knowledge gained from making surfboards, Jerry Madrid turned to making skateboards for friends and laminating anything from stickers, magazine covers, or posters onto the decks. In the early 70's Jerry brought his brother Jeff Madrid into the picture to help with new designs.
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Reissued Madrid Decks

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Skull Skates

Skullskates


Skull Skates was founded in 1976 and began mass producing skateboards, clothing, and accessories in 1978. It was founded by the Ducommun Brothers, Rick and Peter. The Most memorable skull skate deck to me is the "Dead Guys", which was coffin shaped and featured John Belushi, Elvis, Sid Vicious, James Dean, Jimmi Hendrix, and Albert Eisnstein, painted on the bottom, but the Skull Skate Logo is as unforgettable and timeless as skateboarding itself.
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Remember the Search for Animal Chin?

2 DVD disks, jam packed with special features, original, never before seen footage, outtakes, music, special events and extras.
Search For Animal Chin Special Edition

Search For Animal Chin Special Edition

Amazon Price: $44.95 (as of 02/14/2012)Buy Now

Twenty Years Since the original release... The Search for Animal Chin has been remastered and re-released in this special edition version with the original Bones Brigade, Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain. This special release includes Includes the original version of The Search for Animal Chin,
A full length Brigade audio commentary version of The Search for Animal Chin, featuring Stacy and the full brigade, the entertaining new 44 Minute Documentary The Making of Animal Chin, produced and directed by Don Hoffman in collaboration with Stacy Peralta.
Plus, an audio section featuring Bones Brigade video tunes with an Easter egg full of surprise additions. Video coverage of a special presentation honoring Steve Caballeros 25th Anniversary with Powell Skateboards at ASR,
A complete scene selection menu with Easter egg featuring the never before seen, Johnny Rad dressing room scene,
Hilarious, never before seen outtakes and bloopers,
Video trailers of other Bones Brigade videos and
"A Have You Seen Him?" sticker.

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P.S.

I know I could never document all old decks, companies, or skaters here. I will keep adding to this so keep checking back. If you have any request just let me know in the guestbook.

Also I am looking for old school decks, no, not ones in mint condition that you would want a mint for, I just want them to hang in my garage regardless of condition to remind me of years past. Drop me a line if you have one laying around in your garage or basement that you'd just assume throw out than keep around. - thanks

If you like vintage skateboard decks you might also enjoy these tunes for skating.

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Randell

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