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.
64 comments
Brad
I got to know Charles Nash through my brother who was a close friend of his. He was a very nice man. Unfortunately he passed away in 2015. Here is a copy of his obituary. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dfw/name/charles-nash-obituary?pid=175682890
Scott Bowers
What is a Nash: Nightmare III skateboard worth
Kilwag
No Nash Skateboard from the 80’s is worth anything.
Lance
My first board was a nash locals only, I loved that board and didnt care about the haters cause I was usually a better skater. Graduated to a Hosoi hammerhead, but the Nash was my baby
Josh
I just picked up a Nash Goofy Foot Sidewalk Surfboard 7 for 8 bucks the other day. Has original trucks and clay wheels as well. Pretty cool find.
Rodney
I have a Nash Sidewalk Surfboard. All I can find on the internet is the “shark” and “goofy foot” from this era. I believe it is from the early ’60’s. It is a “pirate” and has a skull and cross bones on it, with a dagger at the nose and a dagger at the tail. It says “pirate” on one of the bones, along with a number 1 in a circle. ANY info on this board would be greatly appreciated!
Kilwag
Check Art of Skateboarding web site. I believe that’s in the second Disposable too, possibly.
Stephen
My first board was a Variflex, only slightly higher in quality than a Nash, but I remember several Nash boards around. We didn’t have a skateshop, so we would scavenge them for hardware, kingpins, axle nuts, etc. They had weird bearings with built-in spacers that were junk. My parents also won a Dr. Pepper skateboard in a drawing at our local convenience store. I am almost certain it was made by Nash, as Dr. Pepper was based in Texas. I think they still have it somewhere.
David
how do I figure out what my 1983 nash skateboard is called? It says catch it behind the back wheels. great conditio0n. Must not have ever been used
evan
yeah i looked at most of the boards from even the 60s that only sell for 5 bucks. i did buy a board from a friend a while ago that ended up being worth like 4000$ but it was an old dogtown board
evan
i recently found a nash skateboard in someones garbage and i cant find anything on this board ive seen one thats really close to it but not the same shape its a flourecent orange board that says kona and has a volcano exploding anyone know what its worth??
kilwag
Really? Nash boards from this era are garbage, Not worth anything really. So many out there…
kilwag
What makes you think it was a re-issue made in 2009? Send a picture!
bob
Had been reading this thread recently and happened to come across a remake of a Nash Executioner while shopping in a modell’s store. Has the classic graphic and sawblade logo, solid black grip that is different than reg grip and feels oh so Nashy. Wheels, trucks, and deck have all been modernized. Deck is 7 ply maple with wheel cutouts that are improperly located lol. Board was on sale for $20 bucks for a complete, but i got it down to $10. So nostalgic, i had to bring it home with me. its 9 inches wide has 58mm yellow wheels w/green sawblades on them, and has “Rampage” trucks that i dont know much about. Board is surprisingly fast and for some reason is just fun to ride. I’ll probobly thro some indy 139s on there and take it to a ramp to see how it goes.
was made in 2009, still has that dumb warning sticker about standing on the board with one foot.
Nash still exists and is selling to the same type of markets which are not real skateshops
john calhoun
I have a early 60s model nash 15 toes sidewalk surfboard that I am trying to sale. It is in really good shape and has been put up at my mothers house for 18 yrs. If anyone is interrested please contact me ————– thanks all.
kilwag
Awesome, but this isn’t eBay or Craigslist.
Carlos De Leon
Man! how come I didnt hear any mention of the best nash deck “outerlimits”?I had the florecent orange with blue skulls,That deck was rad!!!
Ner Doubt
Oh, and one of the ballsiest things I’ve seen in skating was someone successfully, and repeatedly, rolling in over coping into an 8′ deep end with a skinny board that same length that had steel wheels.
Ner Doubt
My favorite Nash is the Dozer (still available, probably) with real replacement trucks and spf 54’s. I’m 5’18”, so I can barely fit two feet on the 18″ long (but quite wide) thing, but I’ve managed to work my way up to single backside grinds on a 6′ mini. Shorter friends have gone off on the thing, but with some brutal spills, but I’ve made it a little less tippy since then by moving the front truck up a half inch.
Ryan Heckler
dear laura, depending on the car it was in, it could very well be more valuable than the car it was in.
Laura
Hi, My husband just came across a Nash Spinal Tap Skateboard in a old car he bought. It’s got a cool design of a skeleton bull head. Anyone know anything about it? My husband wants to sell it and I think it’d look awesome mounted on my teenage sons wall.
Decals are in great condition, any ideas if it’s worth anything?
Original V
My first skateboard was a Nash Heat Zone also, but it looked a little different than yours. It was the same pink and blue colors, but it had a chain link back ground, and the words “Heat Zone” looked spray painted with drip marks. I took it with me to the movies to see Thrashin’ and they wouldn’t let me in with it.
btw, Yabo G’s board was not a Nash. It was a Vision Gator. My first “pro” board was a Vision Punk Skulls, I sold it to buy the last Tony Hawk made by Powell Peralta. Wish I had that one now. They sell for quite a bit on ebay.
jKP
Nobody wants to buy that thing, except maybe Kilwag, and it looks like he’s got one already.
Charlie
i would like to know how much these sell for. If u could give me an answer that would be great thanks.
Another Wes
Just wanted to link a story up about skateboarding being outlawed in Alabama.
http://www.hbtv.us/NEWS/2009/City%20Council/April/040609/index.html
My response to the story…
http://www.mynwapaper.com/Editorial.htm
I’m 39 now, and my boarding years are behing me. I use to ride a gigantic orange Nash with my buddies. I just wanted you guys to know, we all do what we can.
Kilwag
It’s a prop I bought at a yard sale fro Grover to use in GVK..
kvon
Kilwag, what’s the story with the movie slate board off to the left side in the pics… do tell.
yabo G
me and my friend both got nash’s back in the mid late 80’s, he had the red and i had the green, they were diff then ones in these pics though, not sure what model. they had like checkerboard griptape and like a vision logo bite with spiraling swerving checkerboard graphics, i need a pic of that thing to bring back the memories sound familiar to anyone?
curtis
any wheels would work, but you should really try to get Nash wheels off ebay or a garage sale. otherwise you won’t get the true nash “feel”.
OlderThanDirt
Would that be the “way too heavy, slow and poorly designed to get off the ground” feel?
Alex
I have an 80’s NASH Night Mare in Orange that I just started riding again. Surprisingly it has held up rather well even after all these years. It has the XR-2 trucks. I am looking to get new wheels for it though as the front right one is starting to crack. Anyone know what size wheels these boards take?
curtis
gosh now I’m realizing how different my life could have been If my parents bought me a Nash instead of a Powell Peralta. I recently saw a “weird”, small (smaller than the choke punk ramp), “toy” skateboard. it also had a sticker instructing you push with your back foot. but it also warned against having both feet on the board at the same time!!
Kilwag
Was your friend trying to be funny or was he serious? Either way, great story.
skaterdave
True confession : a similar safety sticker is the reason I quit riding shit-footed…after my Nash board got left out in the weather and the bearings rusted, there were a couple boardless years prior to the urethane wheel revolution (pun intended). When I was 13, all my friends except me got skateboards. I asked a friend at school to let me ride his – as soon as I put a foot on it he yells “wait stop, you’re doing it wrong!” I asked him what he was talking about and he flipped it over to show the sticker that said to start with one foot on the FRONT…he wouldn’t let me ride it unless I followed the instructions. Years later when I first met Bill Danforth I thought ” this dude’s a real rebel, he ignored the sticker!”
Zed-word
No, the board is definitely not worth anything. sorryy to let you down. If you’d like, I’ll take it off your hands for you.
Scott
I just uncovered my original skateboard that I won on a TV kid’s show back around 1958 or so. It must be the original 15 toes model by Nash Manufacturing. Wood board, steel wheels, 22′ long. I live in the Dallas area and noticed that it was produced by Nash Manufacturing in Ft Worth. I wanted to see if Nash wanted it back when i read that the business burned down in 2006. Are those guys still around and do you know if the board is worth anything?
Kilwag
Right here. Value=next to nothing, maybe $20 if someone is in the right mood.
OlderThanDirt
you are WAY too kind Kilwag, or you meant to hit
Gary Murphy
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?
Andres
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
Carroll13
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.
Tim
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.
Dan S
Tim, I’d be interested in your D-Beams if you’re thinking about selling them. Email me at dtsolATyahooDOTcom
spk
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 ?
spk
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.
Kilwag
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.
kvon
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?
kvon
YARD SALE-ing TOMORROW! YA! Everyone go look for a deal! Whoever comes back with the best piece of skate history wins! 🙂 hahaha
kvon
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?
Larry
XR-2 Trucks, bitches.
jt
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 …
Niceguy
Right on brother, I’m sitting in same boat. It seems that it didn’t matter what we road, we did it because we loved it.
Kilwag
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.
kvon
Ratz! My link bombed. Anyway…That Heat Zone is in great shape. Did ya score it on ebay?
kvon
I found my “EX” just the other day and yes it is sun bleached and delaminated.
🙂
LINK
Prickly Pete
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.
SB
What about those Nash Snoopy boards? I had one of those for a minute.
ssk
I remember all of those Nash boards everywhere. Seemed like there was a sun bleached, delaminated “Exacutioner” rotting in every back yard across America.