Some people like to geek out on skateboard paraphernalia, while others like to geek out on intellectual property rights. Our worlds have collided. If you know Zorlac you probably know it was sold some time in the late 80’s, with Jeff Newton remaining on in some capacity, but the company definitely had an altered vibe. Some time in the next decade the brand ceased to exist for all intents and purposes. Some time after the millennium Jeff started up Gringo skateboards, using some similar imagery and marketing, and then suddenly Zorlac reappeare, but with Newton at the helm again. I wondered how he gained control of the trademark, or if he was just barging it since no one else seemed to be using it. Back in 2000 Rob Mertz was quoted in Transworld Business (summarized here) about the apparent retiring of the Zorlac brand, right about the same time all the old school guys and collectors were coming out of the woodwork. The phrase “Smooth move Ex-Lax” seemed appropriate at the time, but eventually Syndrome wasn’t going to take it, ahem, sitting down. Property, intangible has an interesting piece on the battle for the Zorlac trademark that Newton apparently lost.…

Never fails. In the months to follow the publication of Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art there were a number of decks that I’d failed to find after years of searching that suddenly surfaced out of the dusty blue. Fortunately, I was able to go back and make a few of these key additions with subsequent reprints, but this time around with The Disposable Skateboard Bible there will be no such editorial shenanigans (well, aside from the one previously noted here).