Mail order skateshops are nothing new. During the early 80’s it was the only way a lot of kids were able to get decent skateboards in remote skate outposts like the Midwest. California Cheap Skates has been around for a long time. At some point in the 90’s (I think) they revamped the “brand” into CCS. They are a pretty big player in the mail order skate business. A couple of days ago, Skate Daily reported that CCS is being bought by the straight sports apparel company Foot Locker for $102 million. Think global, buy local! The old California Cheap Skates advert in the background is courtesy of the print gallery at The Skateboard Archives. TSA has some of the 80’s era California Cheap Skates ads, and Rotten Apple Media has a gallery of complete catalogs from the 90’s. I like looking through those old ads and catalogs to see the old boards.
15 comments
Larry
foot locker skate shop, bitches
bailgun
they were owned by dellas before.
i see no real difference.
zed-word
I have nothing against the actual shoe; my buddy reluctantly bought a pair and now that is all he wants to skate. I just hate how Nike and Adidas bought their way in. Sure, they’ll suppport skaters while it is hot, but once the market goes away they will move on. Vans, Etnies, Ipath, Emerica, they have alot riding on skateboarding(play-on-words). Me, I prefer the good old Vans slip-ons. You can really feel your board and you look fuckin wicked.
nweyesk8
Ross has skate shoes for 15-30$ all the time. I don’t care what brand as long as they are cheap and they feel good when i try em on. Skate shoe manufacturers could build better shoes that stand up to the wear and tear of skateboarding, but it isn’t in their financial interest to do so.
Larry
nikes are actually very good shoes. the zoom tres will lose the sole before you ever get an ollie hole. to me, 100 bucks for a pair is alot, but seeing as how they last twice as long as a regular shoe, they are actually a good investment. my p-rod 2s are actually pretty durable too!
zed-word
ssk…
Yeah, that sucks. With big names like Nike and Adidas pumping millions into the skate market, what did you expect. There will be/has been may more casualties of this new corporate explosion.
I, for one, will continue to skate Vans slip-ons, no longer for the idealism that this once classic skate shoe company stood for, but for the simple fact that they fit my feet like a glove.
In the end, isn’t that all that matters?
zed-word
ftlmgr…
You’re kidding, right? I mean seriously.
ftlmgr
Foot Locker unrelated?!?!? We are a athletic footwear and clothing company. We actually already carry skate shoes…so, the only thing that ccs has that we haven’t sold before would be boards.
CirqueDaddy
When I think about branding I shed a tear for those poor steers. Getting branded has to be like eating shit on the mega ramp at the xgames.
ssk
Footlocker a skate company? I’ve never bought from CCS, but whenever unrelated corporations try buy their way in by buying skate brands; I’m pretty much not interested in those companies any more. I’m brand fatigued anyway, but what makes me care about a brand at all is if I know something about the sincerity of the people behind it.
Here’s why Vans can pretty much kiss my ass
http://www.vfc.com/
Livmo
In the 80’s we used to look back at the old 70’s Val Surf and Kanoa Surf ads that were in Skateboarder and in Wild World of Skateboarding. The game was to pick the “best” setup (to actually ride, not to collect) if you could only choose what was shown in the ad… and you couldn’t take what someone else had already chosen.
You’d end up with something like a G&S Teamrider with Rebound trucks and UFO saucers.
nweyesk8
I lived in Vicksburg, along the MS river. Vicksburg is built on a series of bluffs rising from the river, so we had a mini San Fransico. I graduated high school in 92 and mostly skated Jackson or Vicksburg at the time.
Larry
yeah, ccs has really gotten shitty over the years. Most of the catalog is crap clothes and snowboard gear. The decks are way overpriced at 54.99 and up for name brand, and then the trucks and wheels are high too. they seem to promote shecks and duffel alot. it’s a good read on the crapper still, but after a once over i just throw it out. i love the old ads they used to have in thrasher though (any deck any truck any wheel)
brad
nweyesk8: Mississippi? I went MSU in the late ’90s and loved it…great bands like The Grumpies and The Comas were happening…ever skate the “White Power” fullpipes around Columbus?
nweyesk8
growing up in Mississippi, I got most of my boards through CCS. I still have and use my old ‘California Cheap Skates’ Skate bag that I got in 1989.