The Rise & Fall of Welcome Skateboards

Welcome changed the game, but the game has changed since then.

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[AlejandroGomez-hbup]

Is me or did Zack just gloss over the fact that Nora Vasconcellos had been with Welcome since beginning from packing decks in the garage in the early days of the company after she rode for hoopla to then being asked to be a team rider in contest. To me when people think of Welcome skateboards they first think of shaped deck and Nora .

[travisfrey]

Welcome has been slowly building one of the most underrated teams imo, they have some super sick young guys and girls and I bet their next video surprises a lot of people who haven’t been paying attention

[NB]

Welcome has better art than supreme, fucking awesome, and hockey combined

[KavaKavana]

While everyone else seemed to forget what made skateboarding awesome Welcome remembered. Their shape guide and art and riders are awesome. I got their pugs cruiser wheels on a Nora 8.6 with Indy’s and some juice bars plus a custom grip job and loving it for drainage ditches and rough streets and super smooth transitions. Nora is one of their epic riders and I’ve noticed her purple color and her cat are a recurring theme in the artwork on a lot of their decks and merchandise. Love Welcome.

[edwarddelacruz]

I'd personally disagree with you on this Zack. Welcome did revolutionize the skate industry world by introducing the functional shaped deck. At the time, 'old school' and cruiser boards didn't have the proper concave and rocker that traditional Popsicle decks have today, when Welcome came into the scene they made a deck that at it's very core is a pop shape but it just has the flavor of a shaped deck as a detail.

The other companies that you have mentioned, Polar, Krooked, FuckingAwesome, they all have shaped boards too but what really separates Welcome from them is again, the concave, rocker and even wheelbases. While yes the graphics are off putting (Believe me, I used to hate Welcome decks for how bland the theme of supernatural and magic can be repetitive.) But honestly at the end of the day, that graphic will get scratched off and it won't be that recognizable anymore (Hell, even with my Welcome decks, I too sand off the graphic and throw my own artwork on it.)

As for Nolan, from what is known he left the Welcome brand years ago and even after forming Scram, Welcome was still at the top of it's game. Sure he was a piece of the brand to help it, but as we can see he wasn't all necessary.

For Powell, I do like that they have reissued some of their decks, but my biggest gripe with that is they use a numbering label system that becomes confusing as all hell and doesn't have clear cut answers unless you buy the deck (Which the Powell reissues are expensive AF!) For Welcome, they have a unique system of names to better recognize which shape, concave and wheelbase to choose from (Even if the names are corny!)

Honestly, I'd say, it's not the 'Rise and fall of Welcome Skateboards' but rather, the 'Rise and decline of popularity of Welcome Skateboards'. They never really fell, they are still well.

[Koletrain]

Currently riding an 10” shaped Winkowski board and a 9.5” symmetrical tail egg shape because i do a lot of slappies and prefer a bigger board with wider trucks for better truck-to-curb contact, but will ride an 8-8.25” for more tech style skating

[rulehardgarage]

I love skating Welcome shapes and follow the brand. In my opinion they are the only company making highly functional fun shaped decks.

[beemelonhead]

Your video title scared the crap outta me Dowdy 😆 I thought Welcome was going out of business and I was about to have to go to my local shop and buy em out. Been on a board daily since 99 and all I ride now is Welcome.

[thomevans]

While I agree that welcome have more competition now they’re still the leader as far as highly functional shaped decks go, at the skateshop where I work we’re all either on Hockey’s or Welcome’s, and we sell them just as equally

[danhabu]

alot of us old skaters were using shaped decks from Anti Hero, Pocket Pistols and Black Label long before Welcome.

[bushhippie]

I was a Label guy for decades but I got one Welcome on a whim and absolutely love their decks. Just solid all around.

[eggboye]

Nolan named it scram bc it’s the opposite of welcome, mango and jalba started frog. Clearly the best parts of old welcome started two far superior companies. Welcome was cool with the first wave. Everything after that was a mockery. Great video per usual bud.

[Jonz]

I've been riding the catblood shape for over 6 yrs on transition and love it.

[kristopherkrueger]

Pronunciation. Suh-layah. Bass--ill-isk. No shade on you but you make me feel so articulate & literate!

[marty]

As someone who was once a early welcome fan the whole resurgence of shaped boards is due to probably nolan johnson

[alexpedroza]

Dowdy you really forgot BLACK LABEL? Black label was doing the shape thing before everyone everybody fell asleep. Welcome did not change or bring back the shape gimmick.

[caseylewis]

Im not sure why but Welcome and Foundation boards seem to perform better for me than others.

[franckbabou]

In France we love welcome deck ! I have 4 welcome and it make me happy ! 😁

[tumelo]

@1:11 is what we call a happy mistake:), love your videos Zack, awesome subject matter as always!

[veganshawn]

Nolan Johnson was responsible for Welcome doing the shaped decks and when he left the company (money issues) he started Scram Earth Skis.