This video tour of the Dwindle wood shop narrated by Rodney Mullen is fascinating on several levels. I’ll start with the elephant in the room, the factory location. Sure, the wood comes from Canada, but the labor appears to mostly be comprised of girls just old enough to compete on the Chinese gymnastics team. Next, there’s the joyless, dry narration by Rodney himself. In the first few minutes of the video it’s hard to tell if this is going to be a parody of corporate industrial films or a bona fide video. Lastly, there’s the technological innovation in board manufacturing. These guys have figured out how to make boards seemingly identical to one another. A big part of that would be the fact that only one board gets pressed in one mold at a time, although the molds are stacked on top of each other. To hear Rodney talk, they have a bunch of prima donnas really picky pros who would reject up to 80% of decks from a run because they weren’t up to their critical standards. I know people who are hyper aware of the physical characteristics of the deck they are riding, but most of us can make due with a deck off the shelf as long as it’s a model we like. For those of you who can’t, Dwindle has the solution for you, as long as it’s a 7.5 inch popsicle stick. Just kidding. Whether you are pro or anti (take your pick: Dwindle-Mullen-China), or even ambivalent, the video is worth checking out, assuming you have at least a passing interest in how skateboards are made, or the skateboard industry, even if you’ve already seen a few.
– Thanks to sk8Norcal for the tip.
38 comments
BlahBlahBlah
Nationalism and lame brand identities aside, I like the shape and consistency of DSM wood. After Girl/Chocolate went and messed up their wood/shapes the only company to even remotely come close to filling the flat board/small tail void was DSM.
marc
the main reason to go to china or third world countries is profit. its not quality and definitely not some sense for third world development.
this profit is mostly the result of cheap human resources working for minimum wages in shitty working conditions. there is no union to orginize workers and no environmental rules. it is that simple.
and dwindle don’t even make cheaper boards. so paying the same for more profit at dwindle is just silly. or good marketing?
there are many options, like jim grays abc in the usa http://abcboards.com/content/blogcategory/70/81/ or jart in europe.
these woodshops produce for many big brands, so we have options.
most dwindle brands suck anyway.
btw. compare the jart woodshop with the dwindle china hut.
it’s a joke what rodney sells hight technology environment compared to jarts factory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkqGxyq1SxM
Larry
ha ha benny, was just kidding, i would have mentioned spaten optimator but not too many people drink that stuff.
benny b bones
How can you mentuion PBR and Samuel Adams in the same senctence? That makes no sense at all. Sam Adams is a decent brew, if I an trying to get drunk. PBR on the other hand is the nectar of the gods; pure flavor in a can.
Larry
just had to throw in the blue velvet ref.
Kilwag
Pabst Blue Ribbon!!!!
(sucks)
Larry
the same ol’ argument continues. as long as the chinese can put out a product for a fraction of what american labor would be, they will always have business. it doesnt matter if the product is crap, which it usually is (example: tire valve stems that weren’t uv protected and split, forcing a huge recall), or poisonous (pet food, toothpaste, the tired jokes about lead paint, and even baby formula as of late). i haven’t ever had a problem with those dwindle boards, it’s just that there are so many better products out there made here. we readers of sna mostly know that, so why worry? let the kids buy that stuff and someday hopefully theyll become connaisseurs (spelling?) and buy the good stuff. i liken it to enjoying meister brau or burgie as a teen and then graduating to samuel adams or PBR.
Ryan Heckler
When is Bacon buying their own press? I know they have a few team riders that would work for minimum wage to crank out those boards. ???????
Ryan Heckler
seems like it would be a better practice to import the timber to America and pay Americans to run those machines and process boards. We all know the reason for Chinese manufacturing,it is purely profit driven.
colin
I’m not sure people are saying fuck those big companies because of their growth or success but more towards their business practices.
If skateboard companies grow big and don’t take care of skateboarding as well as their bottom line, it should be frowned upon.
skaterdave
The president of Dwindle distribution is former Santa Cruz pro, Hugh “Bod” Boyle. When Bod moved here from England in the late ’80s, he learned that California isn’t where the world’s best skateboards come from…it’s where skateboard media hype comes from. Santa Cruz boards at that time were coming out of lumber mills in Wisconsin;wheels were made by a plastics firm on the east coast. Why should he care now, 20 years later, where Dwindle companies’ boards are pressed? Orezona calls Mullen a corporate shill who happens to be a good skater – I say that’s exactly backwards. Rodney shills for a company that likely wouldn’t be that big if not for his incredible skateboarding ability. Skateboarders are pretty funny sometimes…we support small companies because they are good. Our friends join in, then their friends, and next thing you know those once small brands have become mega-corporations. Then we say “Oh, Fuck those big companies”…
Kilwag
I think Duane Peters might have him beat.
houseofneil
Conahan, “A” 2008 hammerhead???? I think that Christian is actually trying to break some kind of record by having like 200 pro decks out at the same time. He has so many models out with different shapes and different graphics, that it’s almost impossible to keep up. He also has guest models out with at least 3 companies apart from his own. Some are true hammerheads, most are not.
Kilwag
I hope this doesn’t turn into Concrete Disciples where someone asks what kind of board to buy, which triggers an automatic posting of the same five or six companies by Interwebs friends of the guys who run them.
sea cliff vert ramp
If you want the best, just ride a Deckcrafters board. Their custom decks are the same price as a a shop bought one.
http://www.deckcrafters.tv
Rich
What’s up with the dove and olive branch on that board? Is Hosoi sponsored by Dove soap or is that an old testament reference? Speaking of old testament, sometimes I feel like Methusalah when I skate.
conahan
Did you see there’s a 2008 Hosoi hammerhead? I saw one at Cal Skate. Money bumps but still almost a popsicle stick or some sort of marital aid.
Kilwag
I had a Hosoi hammerhead in 1987 that felt like it was made out of plywood.
Hass
I’ve had the bad trucks holes on some MM wood in the past.
I have a MM board on my wall, never rode it, and there are cracks in the top and bottom layers, and the middle layers don’t line up evenly anymore. I don’t know if this is a common characteristic of a “new” deck that is 2 years old.
I’ve been riding Arkansas made Skatepaige boards for 3-4 years. No complaints about the product. Though it may take them 3 weeks to ship an order out.
colin
M&M is good stuff. South Central is good stuff. both are made out of wood and it’s possible that some slices are better than others to make up the deck itself. I for instance was riding a bacon today and it split in half on a disaster. I’m going to send an email to them and see if i can get a replacement – i’m sure they’ll understand.
Propinas
Bacon for the RECORD is coming out of ALABAMa from South Central manufacturing. I think that’s some nice wood and good convcave and nice kick in the tail.
Now, as for M&M I have mixed feelings. I think they have some good ones and then they have some pieces. For instance my friend got two sent to him one for himself he rode for two or three hours and was the spongiest piece of crap I couldn’t believe it was a M&M and then the other one had the truck holes off set a 1/8 inch. What kind of quality workmanship is that. A little to much huffin or what? I ride one now but will find another U.S. company to support like south central or maybe Wilson Laminates. Pound Sand you cheap ass labor whores.
Fitz
The best reason to buy local is the fact that MM boards are virtually indestructible. They remind me of old Santa Cruz wood. Rock hard, snappy, and relatively light… At least in the 8″ shapes.
nailhead
Right on Kilwag, that will be our next vehicle. Sorry benny I just get tired of old worn out invalid arguments concerning capitalism and the united states. Especially when they start to cross over into something I love as much as skating.I’ll chill. About the factory workers? they might or might not. Go ask em.
benny b bones
If you buy Chinese skateboards the terrrists already won!
benny b bones
Wow…nail head realy doesn’t like me. Why the saltiness?
Yeah, you are right. Factory workers in third world countries have a similar standard of living as we do.
Kilwag
That’s why I drive a Honda.
nail head
Buying only American products is not only stupid but totally unamerican. Buying the BEST product you can find? that’s what Americanism is about. I don’t really care who presses my decks, if I like the board I buy it. And,don’t be sloppy enough to make the mistake of comparing U.S.wages to those of foreign countries, it’s purely apples and oranges and makes you sound like some high school kid in a debate class.oh…wait a minute..
benny b bones
Whatever Kilwag, this is just more of your West Coast anti-corporate propaganda. I don’t beleive it. Chris Haslam, Daewon Song, and Rodney Mullen are some of the best skaters of all-time off all time, and godammit, they are my heroes! What would they have to gain by exploiting Chinese labourers, distributing inferior products, sending jobs formerly worked by Americans to Chinese who will work longer hours for less money? I don’t believe this propaganda!
Next your going to tell me that Nike SB doesn’t really care about skateboarding; they just saw a dollar could be earned so they bought their way in. Do you think Nike makes all of their shoes in a poor, developing Asian country staffed by teenagers who get paid less in a month than the average American makes in a day too?
/MUST…OBEY…CORPORATE…MASTERS
Bjjpdx
Coldwar, M&M, Bacon, Merde, and tribute are putting out top of the line decks made right here in the NW mostly Portland area and are as good if not better than any commercial deck you can buy. I beleive they are all pressed in the area too I know coldwar and M&M are made locally from skratch. Rebel has some good boards too and are also at least pressed in the USA CAlifornia I beleive by Plan B. I would prefer to support Locals that are still skating rather than Chinese child labor or corporate CEO millionares. My opinion at least.
Jacknife
Go lead paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prickly Pete
Our hobby, their epoxy fume hell. Thanks, Rodney for that anti-chinese deck propaganda piece you did, and for boring me with your dwindling oratory.
Daewan is so into precision that he parks a car on his deck if it isn’t just so? Hardy-fuckin’-har.
Larry
yeah i havent tried those “impact circles” , “armor lights”or “eternal life” decks, but cmon, 7 ply maple is the proven way to go. it’s funny how people bill world industries as “cheap chinese crap”, but they are in fact the same deck basically as their favorites : enjoi, darkstar, blind, etc. well maybe not blind but you get the idea. i’d rather buy a west coast made deck anytime.
orezona
hmmm, Dwindle produced video… Who started (owns) Dwindle?
That guy who $ouled the world? I’m totally sure I can take anything that he’s had a hand in at face value and believe it 100%.
Rodney is a corporate shill who happens to be an amazing skater. Funny that they used the same animation style as the opening credits of Almost Round 3.
I agree though that using multiple molds to ensure the exact same shape is an innovation of sorts. Probably expensive as hell though and when most skaters can’t tell the difference between a deck pressed in the middle of a stack and one on the outside, not something most manufacturers will adopt into their factories. Right now it’s just hype to justify overpriced decks.
Buy locally and support people you know and skate with.
Larry
damn, even with the 100 dollar uber-snap decks they use heat transfers? weak. if you must buy a popsicle i recommend mini logo. they are buy far the strongest street skates i have had in a long time. girls, santa cruz,habitat etc all have snapped on me, but i wore out the mini logo tails before they broke. oh wait i havent broken one yet! cold wars are sick too, but i am talking straight popsicles. that’s for you randy.
bjjpdx
Im more impressed with the factory in this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHzllexcgM&feature=related
PRBL
this sounds like a bunch of hyped, euro-tech-bullshit…I can almost hear Rodney discussing the thread composition and micron density of Daewon’s knit caps
Concretin Nik
They don’t make whale tails… so I won’t buy one… even though I dig Rodney.
GVK.
Is all that not able to be done in the united states. You buy one of these boards the terroits win.