In 1985, somewhere right around my 21st birthday I launched Blockhead in my parents Nor-Cal garage with 3 models, Streetstyle, Chaos and Rebel. As a fan of old gangster and crime movies, Dick Tracy etc. I inked the Rebel graphic with the thugs in the car shouting “SKATE!” (Alan Chilton inked that first “bubble” Blockhead logo). It was one of my first experiments with graphic design and screen printing.
After the skatepark crash at the end of the 70’s/early 80’s, skateboarding was on life support. Out of the 2000 kids at my high school there were only 3-4 other skaters. We were rebels, outcasts, loners picked on by the jocks but we didn’t give a shit, we liked it that way....skateboarding was ours! With a network of like minded shredders from other Sacto suburbs and even friends we’d meet on trips to SF, Chico, Tahoe, Santa Cruz or the Central Valley we had an amazing underground scene of backyard ramps, ditches, pools and late night street spots. Some of my greatest memories of skateboarding come from that early/mid 80’s period when skateboarding was not cool at all, the Rebel board takes me right back there.
Here we have a “rider” version of the Rebel, original shape, modern holes, slightly shorter wheelbase and slightly longer nose and screaming 80’s day-glo colors. The concave is more of a late 80’s so a bit more than the original to make it a more functional rider. Perfect set-up with Indy 169’s, 60mm 95a OJ Combos and some black or white Blockhead rails.
-Dave Bergthold
Details:
- Only 48 produced
- Deck Colors: Day-glo pink or green
- Art by Dave Bergthold
- Bottom: Screen printed graphics
- Top: Screen printed graphics
- Dimensions: 10.125 x 30.5”, 6.75” T. 15.75” WB. 3.75” N.
- New school hole pattern
- Construction: 7-ply
- Manufactured by Watson Laminates, San Diego CA
- Original release date 1985, Reissue date 2021
