After adding the first issue of 312 zine from 1990 to the zine gallery, a reader sent in some pictures and details about a Welfare Skateboards deck he bought from Sluggo. There’s an ad for Welfare in that issue, so that definitely tracks. Check out some early 90’s Chicago skateboarding ephemera from Matt S.
From Matt:
I grew up in Chicago and skated during the eighties. A friend of mine was close to Captain Sluggo and I was a friend of his too. He was a good guy. Circa 1990 or 1991 I purchased a skateboard from Capt. Sluggo. He and my friend delivered it to me in the suburbs late one night and also brought me a bottle of [sic], because I was not yet 21. He added to my invoice, LOL. Brand was called Welfare Skateboards. I was told it was a New Deal blank cut out on a custom saw that he made to cut the shapes consistently and quickly. The Team Shirts that we had were white with black block lettering on the front with this saying on them: “I’M PROUD TO BE ON WELFARE.” I was given a Chicago flag patch to sew on the sleeve, but never did.
Still have the board and flag patch. Here is a picture of the board. Still in great shape. Independent replaced the cracked hangar from one of the 80’s trucks last year. They sent me two new ones, no charge. Lifetime guarantee and they still honored it.
Here’s a picture of the deck and a closeup of the graphic. It’s small and undersized compared to the deck and I suspect that’s because Sluggo was still in the process of learning how to screen print on skateboards. It’s not as easy as printing on shirts and those who knew were notoriously protective of the lore. A lot of screen printers were like that in general, let alone with specialty processes. In the days before the Internet it was difficult if not impossible to pry those secrets out. A nod to the “Department of Aggroculture” reference.
Here’s the ad from 312 zine #1.
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