Friday, May 4, 2012

How it All Started...


I’ve been getting a lot of emails from people asking me about the true history of Sacrifice Skateboards and how it all started. So in the interest of truth, justice and the skateboard way here it is (as best I can remember):


In mid 1999 after a 7 year hiatus from skating I decided to get “get back into it”.  At the time skateboarding was still dead and I found it really hard to find any type of “big boy” skate to ride. So I started making my own boards. It was not easy and I only made a couple here and there, selling to just a few of the homeboys. After a while I ran into my good friend Lupe from Traffic Board Shop in East L.A. From there she introduced me to my compadre Mario and with both their help I started my first skate company.  That was in 2000. It started with blanks that were 8.5x32 with a 15” wheel base and stickers or stencils to place on the bottom as graphics. That went for a while and then I met my brother and best friend Mike Mckinnis. He was the first guy I ever sponsored and he did some killer graphics for me as well.  Around that time I met two of the biggest influences on me, Jeff Greenwood from Concrete Disciples and Bart Saric. They helped me develop my website, take photos, make ads and skate for me as well; two true renaissance men! During that time I was approached to sell off the name of the company, not by choice. After it was all said and done I had more monies to invest in a company that had no name and no direction, things sat in limbo for some time.  Enter Richard Sanchez. One day in early 2001 Richard and I were eating burritos after a skate session courtesy of my wife. As we babbled about this and that I said, “It takes a lot of sacrifice to do what we do at our age.” Then like a lightning bolt Richard says “Dude, Sacrificio Skates”.  I replied “Sacrifice Skateboards”. He drew the very fisrt Sacrifice graphic right there on my kitchen table on a napkin.

The rest is history...

In the decade plus I have been doing this I have met some of the greatest people in my life. I have mingled with skate legends and heroes from my youth. I have provided for my family and enjoyed life, all because of skateboarding.  Skateboarding owes me nothing and I owe everything to skateboarding.  There is a lot more to the story than this, but in the interest of time I have tried to keep it short and sweet. There are a few people I need to acknowledge from both past and present. Without these people Sacrifice would not be where it is today. So to the following, thank you for everything you have done and continue doing to help me keep this dream alive:

Keith Moser, Tom Ledin, Dave Deluna, Casey Mcmaugh, Chris Thatcher (R.I.P), Billy Deans, Nick Gates, Brant Austin, Hippy Shannon, Seffites, Jeff Roe (Fish Egg Films), “Fozzy” Mayfield, Dan Levy at JUICE, Mike Battle, Brent Callahan, Ken Hada, Jon Jarvis, Kilwag, Yunker, Darren Clum,  The Fresno Crew (Nate Malo, Josh “Peacock”), Mike Hamerla, Kyle Mitchell, All the Vegas Crew(Les, Brain, Kirk, Troy Lurker, Jensen, Paul Stanley, Pilot, Carl …),  Mike Carlson, Neil Heddings, Brock Essick, Ben Butler, East Coast Aholics, LOWCARD, Jolly Roger Skates, Show Me Pools, Dave Nelson, Jonny Manak, Pete Rodriguez, Eddie Alarcon, Typical Culture, Scooter, Concussion, Red Curbs, Confusion, Eddie Hadvina, Eric Dressen, Bar Fly, Eric Salazar, Dirty Sanchez, Joey Young, MRZ, Will Rise Tattoo, my man BJ Morrill, Matt Jenkins,  Brendan Klein, Eddie Hadvina, Joe Eale, PapaSmurf, Lake Owen Skate Camp, Chris Farrell, Chris Kelly, New Mexico Abe T,SLEESTAK, Serna Skate Clan,  AZPX, Gobber and all the Arizona crew, Cholo from SCUM, The homies from MSK, Rockabilly Willie, Andrew Quinonez, My wife (thanks for putting up with all the skateboard craziness), all my familia, all the team riders past and present and Jesus Christ my lord and savior whom without nothing is possible! To anyone whom I forgot, sorry!

Now Go Skate,

Rene “The Walrus” Morales