Nash: A true innovator
June 26th, 2008 by Kilwag
When you think of skateboard companies based in Texas, one word comes to mind. Zorlac…. oh wait. Did you know Nash had it’s manufacturing plant in Fort Worth Texas? I would have guessed China, if anything. In 2006 there was a fire at Nash Manufacturing that destroyed the facility. The cause was said to be under investigation, but nothing ever surfaced, at least not on the Interwebs™. I’m going to make a case for industrial espionage and sabotage, because Nash is a true industry innovator. Proof after the jump.
Nash Manufacturing: True Skateboard innovators.
This is the Nash Heat Zone skateboard, which ties in nicely with the whole fire theme. It’s beautiful. Click to believe.
Innovation #1: Built-in Saftey. Check out the graphic.
Notice anything unusual? Let’s zoom in. Operators manual printed on the board! “You must read the caution sticker prior to use!” Ralph Nader would be so proud. Even more so if the caution sticker said “Caution: This is not a real skateboard.” Unfortunately, the caution sticker on this particular board is illegible.
Innovation #2: Grip tape technologies. Click the pic to get a better look at that fancy die cut.
Except that’s not die cut grip tape at all. It appears as if they screen printed some glue on top of the deck and then dipped it grit.
Innovation #3: Plastic truck hangers.
Sure, companies like Gullwing had production magnesium trucks, G&S had stamped and formed aluminum hangers and Tracker even went as far as to use nylon baseplates, but nobody had the balls to make a completely plastic truck (axle excluded) until Nash. Now, some 12 years or more later, a company in Brazil called Up Trucks is making performance trucks out of urethane.
So what’s the word with Nash skateboards today? I can’t find any mention of the aftermath of the fire. After the Fire? Ask Der Kommisar. The web site seems dead past the front page. They make wakeboards and own the Hobie brand as well. I guess we’ll have to wait to learn.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
my first skate was a Nash Nightmare II. I’ve searched and searched for a pic on the intertubes … anyone got one?
I found pics of the Nightmare and Nightmare III … but everyone knows the Nightmare II was the shittz.
Since the local skater gang beat me up for riding it, I soon upgraded to a Rob Roskop.
June 26th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
My first was a Nash Fifteen Toes model- solid wood board with metal wheels. Mine is long gone, but a friend found another for me for a dollar at a yard sale. I told him it wasn’t really worth a whole dollar except for sentimental reasons…
June 26th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I’ll buy that for a dollar…
June 26th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I remember all of those Nash boards everywhere. Seemed like there was a sun bleached, delaminated “Exacutioner” rotting in every back yard across America.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
What about those Nash Snoopy boards? I had one of those for a minute.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Nash had some heavy-ass aluminum trucks, XR-IIs I think. This begs the question, were there XR-Is? They were mounted to like 1″ baseplates and had super long mounting hardware. The plastic trucks must be a late 80s, early 90s development by the boys in the Nash R&D Dept.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I found my “EX” just the other day and yes it is sun bleached and delaminated.
LINK
June 26th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Ratz! My link bombed. Anyway…That Heat Zone is in great shape. Did ya score it on ebay?
June 26th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I fixed the link. The Heat Zone is actually delamming on the side. Something I couldn’t see from the picture when I… err, bought it on eBay… same eBay hangover from the last time. The upside was it was a package deal with another Nash board from the 60’s - the 15 toes. Cool deck, but it’s not in the best shape.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:22 am
my first board was the nash nightmare… I got made fun of by all the “cool” skateboarders but i loved that board.. and i’m the only out of all the “cool” skatebaorders still skateboarding 25 years later …
June 27th, 2008 at 7:03 am
XR-2 Trucks, bitches.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:20 am
I Switched out the Riser pads, rails nose protector and tail when I first got the “EX”. About a year later I put the old stuff back on and gave the board to my step dad. He later gave it to my little brother who pulled all the plastic and rode it down dirt trails in the the mountains where they lived. The other day my brother gave it back to me. I can’t believe no one ever did a board slide on it! Kilwag, Thanks for fixing the link. do you have pics of your whole collection anywhere on SandA?
June 27th, 2008 at 7:24 am
YARD SALE-ing TOMORROW! YA! Everyone go look for a deal! Whoever comes back with the best piece of skate history wins!
hahaha
June 27th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Kilwag, Is that grip “TAPE” on the Heat Zone?… Or is it that old glued on stuff? Where did that old iconic Saw blade / Sun graphic originate from anyway?
June 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
It’s not tape, ahem. I think I mentioned that.
No collection pics. I don’t have much of a collection, just a few boards. Nothing very notable.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
i had a LOCALS ONLY board with xr-2 truck wheels half black half purple.
a local company based here in the south of brazil named TRUCK BODE (goat) did like 100 pair of 100% plastic trucks ultra super hyper light and every single truck broke in the first ride ! i rode some as a test.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
UP TRUCKS ARE RAD !!!!! a friend of mine showed up one day with that trucks…no words…why people waste time and money doing this INNOVATTIVEEEE things ?
June 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Actually I have a set of D-Beam trucks from around 1978 that are nylon. I’ve been thinking of selling them on Ebay but I’m too lazy to actually do it so far.
July 1st, 2008 at 2:04 am
Seems like my post here never made it up. I was saying that there’s a company in New York that makes a 33″ deck with graphics meant to mimic the Executioner, although they seem different enough to avoid copyright stuff. I don’t know anything about the quality of the deck, but personally I’d love to get something modern that mimicked the Valterra Splatter graphics, which is what I putted around Battle Ground on back in 1985/86, before there was even the idea of a skatepark in such an assbackward redneck town.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
omg i have a 1990s nash board and those types of skateboards are excellent for landing tricks, i just landed my firsts kickflips on it, and the deck says wizard lol
October 6th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Where does one go to establish the value of a slightly used “Executioner” board of my son’s from the 80′ that I just uncovered in my garage?
October 6th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Right here. Value=next to nothing, maybe $20 if someone is in the right mood.