sketchythedawg is the real deal:

The secret to being a good designer, is to get really good at copying those who came before you

Protip: The more obscure the reference, the more original the idea seams ;)

The personal collection of sketchythedawg

These are either a really strange bootleg, or one of the first ever samples of the eS Koston 1. Pictured with the shoes are some of the original drawings by Don brown. In the bottom drawing, he alludes to a ‘mesh sample’ which is to be made using mesh on the toe box and in-between the mud guard and ‘E’ panel. He also lists a few other ‘changes’ to be made such as; ‘corner-to-corner stitching’, which I can only assume is referring to the ‘X’ stitch pattern in the ollie area that is clearly NOT corner to corner on this pair, but ended up being so on the final production. The ‘mesh sample’ drawing is dated February 1996, which leads me to believe this pair was made sometime in late 1995. Being that this could be the sample before the ‘mesh samples, I have dubbed them the ‘pre-mesh’ sample. Is this skate footwear history, or dirty, expensive *trash*? The world may never know…

*Emerica Reynolds 1, along side the infamous ‘G’ stickers and a ‘Summer 2000’ ccs catalog featuring the shoes*

The iconic eS Koston 1 in the legendary navy/white/yellow colorway along side a ‘back to school 1997’ ccs catalog featuring the shoes — *The iconic eS Koston 1 in the legendary navy/white/yellow colorway, along side a ‘Back To School 1997’ CCS catalog featuring the shoes*

1978 Hobie high top. The tongue tag on the inside reads, “FOR SKATEBOARD USE ONLY NOT DESIGNED FOR OTHER ACTIVITIES”. Amazing. Pictured along with the shoes is the ‘made for skate’ book featuring some early advertisements for the shoes.

Official t-shirt from Baker skateboards first ever tour. Maybe I’m wrong, (I was only 6-7 years old in 2001) but I feel like the baker summer tour was the last thing to come out of the ‘golden era’ of skateboarding. The passing of 90’s skate legend, Keenan Milton, in July of 2001 was the beginning of the end, and then as soon as 9/11 went down, (just over two weeks after this tour ended) the fun, carefree, and optimistic vibe of the 90’s was gone for good. — Official t-shirt from Baker skateboards first ever tour. I feel like the ‘2001 baker summer tour’ may or may not be the last piece of media to come out of the ‘golden era’ of skateboarding. The passing of 90’s skate legend, Keenan Milton, in July of 2001 was the beginning of the end, and then as soon as 9/11 went down, (just over two weeks after this tour ended) the fun, candid, and blissfully-naïve vibe of the 90’s had come to an end. Its a subtle difference, but if you compare skateboarding from 99/2000 to post 2001- you can tell that the culture kind of lost that unique flavor that made it its own thing separate from the rest of the world.

The legendary emerica marc johnson pro alongside a summer 2000 CCS catalog featuring the shoes. One of the best skateboard footwear designs of all time. A giant ‘M’ on the side of a skate shoe has no right to look this good.

A deadstock pair of the Makaha Radial from 1976 with the original box and tissue paper. In the context of the history of skateboard footwear, this is a ‘Smithsonian’ level artifact. Disclaimer: referring to your nerdy collectables as ‘Smithsonian level artifacts’ is the fastest way to never get laid again 8-) — A deadstock pair of the Makaha Radial from 1976 with the original box and tissue paper. A ‘Smithsonian level’ artifact of skateboard footwear history. Disclaimer: referring to your nerdy collectables as ‘Smithsonian level artifacts’ is the fastest way to never get laid again 8-)

*A pair of minty fresh Airwalk Prototype 600F “Torch” straight from 1989*

1999 Birdhouse Andrew Reynolds “skull”/”biohazard”. Reynolds in ‘99 is to skateboarding what Michael Jordan is to 90’s basketball. I spent WAY too much money on this.. but how else am I supposed to prove that I am DOWN with this sh*t?! — 1999 Birdhouse Andrew Reynolds “skull”/”biohazard”. Reynolds in ‘99 is to skateboarding what Michael Jordan is to 90’s basketball. People like to say that Eric Koston is the MJ of skateboarding, but this graphic is good evidence of why I would argue otherwise - Both Andrew and Eric were in their prime, and at the top of the game during the ‘golden era’ of skateboarding. They were both featured in Tony Hawks Pro skater, they each had pro model shoes which many would consider among the greatest skate footwear designs of all time, but Eric never had any good board graphics during his prime. Everything with his name on it was a forgettable logo board. Andrew’s graphics on the other hand, are iconic and heavily sought after pieces of skateboard graphic history. To be considered the goat, you have to cover all the bases.

A pair of brand-spankin fresh pair of the etnies Senix from 1991 (sales sample) along side a range of California Cheap Skates (CCS) catalogs ranging from 1987- 1993. The ‘winter 91-92’ catalog is open to show the shoes available for purchase.

Original 1987 Vision/Schmidt Stix ‘Ripsaw’ t shirt along side a 1987 CCs catalog showing the shirt for purchase.

*Birdhouse, Bucky Lasek ‘Eatin’ Bird’ - 2000*

Osiris Ruckus from spring 2000 along side an official osiris dealer catalog for that season. This is a Chad Fernandez pro model, but I will always attribute them to Daxter Lussier who wears them in the entirety of his part in Maple ‘Black Cat’. Its one of my favorite parts in the video.

Birdhouse, Steve Berra ‘Racin’ duck’ - 1998

*eS Koston 1. Spring 2000. Arto Saari. Menikmati. Nuff said.*

*Birdhouse, Jeremy Klein ‘Driller Killer’ - 2000*

There was a moment in time where nike and the Air Jordan 1 were the official shoes of skateboarding. However, this was only because there was no brand that was making footwear specialized for the new age of skateboarding (and you could buy AJ1s at sporting goods stores for super cheap). Vans was around, but they were basic vulcanized shoes that offered no skate specific features (gimmicks). Then Airwalk (and etnies) hit the scene in 1986-87 as an official skateboard footwear brand, and all that nike nonsense was officially deemed 'weak as f*ck’

A pair of Airwalk Prototype 600F in the “fire'“ colorway. 1989

From left to right: 2000 Birdhouse Tony Hawk “Full Skull”, 1998-99 Birdhouse Jeremy Klein “Fred”, Zero “Bloody Nose” reissue, 2001 Maple Daxter Lusier “Halloween”, original 1997-98 World Industries “Devil man” - All sitting atop a Bootleg 3000 promo deck signed by Scott Kane (!!!) — From left to right: 2000 Birdhouse Tony Hawk “Full Skull”, 1998-99 Birdhouse Jeremy Klein “Fred”, Zero “Bloody Nose” reissue, 2001 Maple Daxter Lusier “Halloween”, original 1997-98 World Industries “Devil man” - All sitting atop a Bootleg 3000 team deck signed by Scott Kane (!!!)

Osiris and maple go together like bread and butter. t-shirts from 1998-2000.

1997 DVS Daewon Song signature series. These are so sick! super nimble and highly stylish. I’m a huge fan of late 90s DVS. Everything after 2000 is disgusting worthless trash.

*Birdhouse, Bucky Lasek ‘Flame Bird’ - 1997*

The illusive Red/Bling ‘limited edition’ Reynolds 1’s. Ridiculous, but they get a pass for being Reynolds 1’s :p — *The illusive Red/Bling ‘limited edition’ Reynolds 1’s.*

*Birdhouse, Andrew Reynolds ‘skull 2’ -2000*

*White/Bling Emerica Reynolds 1. Gasoline*

1999 Maple skateboards t-shirt alongside our original copy of ‘Black Cat’ (censored version). Black cat was the first skate video we ever owned as kids. My brother got a Maple ‘matchhead’ complete from a CCS catalog sometime around 2001, and at the time they were including a copy of the Black Cat video as a promotion for all Maple completes ordered through CCS. It was so hype. I still watch it all the time. It’s one of the best videos to come out of the golden era imo. The opening montage perfectly captures the essence of that time period in skateboarding. Highly highly underrated video and brand.

1991 Airwalk prototype 540 in the ‘White hot’ colorway. As worn by Brian Lotti during the earliest known documentation of the now legendary ‘Backside Nosegrind Pop-out’, featured in planet earth’s ‘Now and Later’ skateboard video circa ‘91

Emerica Templton 1 from Fall 1998. The Templeton 1 might be my all time favorite footwear design. It’s hard for me to put into words how unbelievable stylish and sophisticated the harmony of this design really is. The way this par is yellowed adds to them imo. fine wine.

World Industries Mike Crum ‘Gunslinger’ 1999-2000. This was my older brothers first ever ‘real’ skateboard. Its’s crazy to think that him getting this thing would kind of define the trajectory of my life. This is a really random and obscure graphic from world industries so I was super hyped when I finally hunted one down. I gifted it to my brother for his 30th birthday. He’s not really sentimental about stuff like I am though (because he’s a normal, productive member of society) so I’m keeping it safe for now. — World Industries Mike Crum ‘Gunslinger’ 1999-2000. This was my older brothers first ever ‘real’ skateboard. Its’s crazy to think that him getting this thing would kind of define the trajectory of my life. This is a really random and obscure graphic from world industries so I was super hyped when I finally hunted one down. I gifted it to my brother for his 30th birthday.

Osiris ‘T-sport’ - Tyrone Olson’s 3rd signature shoe from Osiris. This pair is presented alongside a spring 2000 Osiris dealer catalog and one of Tyrone’s pro model decks from Arcade skateboards dating from 1999-2000.

More Makaha’s from 1976-. These shoes are so sick. There are many things which I love about them, but one of my favorite qualities is the branding placed in the center of the ‘eye’ on the quarter panel. These may be the first example of a skate shoe using this style of logo placement. This formula of creating an ellipse-style shape with the use of paneling or cutouts in the center of the quarter panel, them placing the logo within that shape, is a definitive aesthetic of skateboard footwear. This was a formula which was HEAVILY used in the late 90s, when skateboard footwear brands were defining the aesthetic of urban-casual-streetstyle-athletic footwear, which would go on to influence ALL of footwear design for the rest of time. It all started with the makaha radial in 1976…

*Yet another pair of eS Koston 1’s slowly losing their battle against time. Spring 2002 colorway*

This is an Emerica shirt from 1998-99 that was made to coincide with the release Andrew Reynolds’ first signature shoe, featuring art by J.Strickland. All the dudes who rode for Emerica at the time had shirts come out as promotions for their pro-model shoes. This is a special piece for me considering how important the Reynolds 1 is in terms of my journey as a footwear designer, and because I am a huge fan of J.Strickland’s creative direction. That whole era of Reynolds and Strickland - 1998-2001, Huntington Beach, birdhouse, early baker, OG emerica… This shirt represents a lot of things which define my tastes as a designer and archivist. — This is an Emerica shirt from 1998-99 that was made to coincide with the release Andrew Reynolds’ first signature shoe, featuring art by J.Strickland. This is a special piece for me considering that the Reynolds 1 is the shoe that sparked my interest in footwear design, and because I am a huge fan of J.Strickland’s creative direction. That whole era of Reynolds and Strickland - 1998-2001, Huntington Beach, blitz, OG emerica… This shirt represents a lot of things which define my tastes as a designer and archivist.

Vision Street Wear kicks from the late 80s, or, a poor man’s off-white chuck 70’s :) — *Vision Street Wear kicks from the late 80s*

Osiris Targa from summer 2000. One of the best ever. This is a super original design with a fantastic material composition and finish. Jerry Hsu can be seen wearing these in maple’s ‘Black cat’ video wearing baggy black jeans, a studded belt, and skating to ‘virginia reel around the fountain’ by the halo benders. I love the juxtaposition of these insanely gangster looking shoes being offset by mildly punk accessories and melancholy indie rock music. Its beautiful.

DC Relay, Fall 1999. Again, the play money, but this time, I decided to get fancy and throw in a dried-out leaf for atmospheric purposes. — *DC Relay, Fall 1999.*

*Blitz catalogs #15 (1998), #16 (1998), and #20 (1999). The kind of things you hope to see on the antique roadshow.*

*A very dusty pair of eS Tribo from Fall 2001.*

Flip, ‘Start Logo’ - 2000

The original Airwalk Prototype from 1987, this time given a very lazy “off-white” treatment as an attempt to go ‘viral’ on Instagram so someone who matters would find my work and bless me with an opportunity to prove myself. Things didn’t play out how I thought they would, but that’s probably for the best ;) — *The original Airwalk Prototype from 1987, this time given a very lazy “off-white” treatment.*

*The slightly less beloved and more obscure eS Koston 2. Featuring a nubuck upper slowly flaking into oblivion. Colorway from Summer 2000*

A collection of over 60 different CCS catalogs ranging from 1993-2003. These are an amazing reference to find out what year and season certain shoes, colorways, board graphics, t shirts, etc. first became available. Every time I come up on a new piece for my archive, I always try to locate it in the catalogs so I can place it in time and speak about it more accurately.

eS Koston 3. Obnoxious or awesome? Probably a bit of both.. Spring 2002 colorway — *eS Koston 3- Spring 2002 colorway*

A tastefully UV damaged pair of Osiris Defcon 2’s from 2001 surrounded by a bunch of fake money. Why? because success is all about perception ;) — Osiris Defcon 2’s from 2001, surrounded by a bunch of fake money to signify some of the funny business going on behind the scenes at Osiris during this time. and because success is all about perception ;-)

*A collection of Osiris dealer catalogs ranging from Spring 1998 to Summer 2000. Lots of cool and obnoxious stuff in these. The ‘T-sport’ in the upper right is in my top 10 footwear designs ever.*

*1996 Flip Geoff Rowley ‘strawberry’ - Shout-out to @decksandtees on instagram for the info on this one.*

*Baby sized Reynolds 1s. Top notch quality and details for shrimps.*

1998 DC Mantis a.k.a. Rob Dyrdek’s 4th signature shoe for DC. The best part about this particular pair is the price tag sticker on the box with a date of 9/10/98. I’m a sucker for time stamps.. Along side the shoes is a Holiday 1998 CCS catalog featuring the shoes

2001 Baker Andrew Reynolds ‘Boss 2’ t-shirt alongside the legendary 2001 summer tour vhs. Great video. That first season of Baker (2000-2001) was the best the brand ever had imo. Unfortunately. the brand lost that unique flavor once J.Strickland left around 2002. His creative vision made the brand what it was. The art direction, the music used in the videos, the raw street/graffiti aesthetic. Sick. A lot of people would consider Baker 3 (2005) the best full-length skate video of contemporary street skateboarding, and while I wouldn’t entirely disagree, I would say its not a true ‘Baker’ video.

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sketchythedawg is the real deal: