this is your brain on urethane
I’ve worked in different creative jobs for years and everywhere I’ve been, I found skateboarders. Some are still pushing wood daily, others have semi-retired. There is a link between skateboarding and creativity and Woodlead attempts to examine that link by talking with skateboarders who do creative work.
Lee Eschliman is skateboarder to the core who’s been pushing since forever. He developed his creative skills and these took him into the belly of the skate industry creating graphics for Think, Lucky and others. I met Lee on the Sounds Dangerous tour and I’m stoked to share some of his story.
When did you start skating?
I knew about skateboarding and was drawing skateboarders and was way into the artwork of skateboarding for a while before I ever skated. My exact start date is fuzzy but probably 1987, that’s when I got a skateboard. Probably a similar story as many, but there was a while where I “had a skateboard” before I ever actually rode regularly or skated spots. It wasn’t until 1989, when I really figured anything out after having met some of the dudes who are now part of the core of the Sounds Dangerous crew.
What was your first skateboard?
My first skateboard was a Valtera complete bought at an Ames in Painted Post, New York. It was around twenty dollars. I remember it being in a big cardboard ‘Back to the Future’ movie display. A friend and I each got one. Eventually that was sanded, painted, and emblazoned with an exploding skull graphic with one eyeball still in a socket and the other shooting out the top. My first pro setup was a Caballero street with Tracker trucks and OJ IIs. That board also had a Caballero sticker on it for more dragon. I think I copied the placement from a photo of Steve Caballero. That board was Bonite and had rails, a nose and tail bone. I eventually took that off after learning to ollie and some heckling.
When did you stop or slow down significantly?
Time spans between sessions are ever increasing. The big shift was in 2001 when I moved from California back to my Eastern homeland. I had been slowing down for a while before that. There have been a few spikes since. I think I’m in one right now! A relative spike though. Lately, I feel like I just recently went skating, but it was actually three or four months ago. The time before that two or three more months. Woah, I don’t skate… do I? Boards are always around. I’m a fan.
What do you do for a living?
By day, I work as an art supervisor for a big healthcare focused advertising agency. Print, interactive, video, AR, VR, MR. Very science and technology but it can get pretty wild and free when it’s time to come up with concepts and campaigns. I moonlight as an illustrator/designer/musician/artist. I’m definitely not living off that last part, but it’s a big part of life.
When you are not skating, how often do you think about skateboarding?
Every day. I have decks on the walls. Stickers, photos, and zines surrounding my desk. I still identify gaps and spots as I drive, or if I’m sitting at a traffic light. Every set of stairs I see still gets sized up. I have friends who skate often and I watch everything that they’ve been documented in. I follow so many riders and companies on the socials. Always curious about new graphics, new names, new parks, new styles. Skateboarding is at an amazing place these days. I can’t believe what I see being done on a board sometimes.
How did skateboarding affect the direction of your life?
Huge impact–skateboarding drove me to pursue creating artwork and design within the industry. A childhood life goal. A quest instilled. Skateboarding and the stuff that surrounded skateboarding: the music, the art, the brands, the ads… all influential, and all still in my current life-mix to some degree.
“I was never very good
but I always had fun. Still do…”
What is the connection between skateboarding and creativity?
To me, so very connected. I don’t know anyone who uses a skateboard solely for transportation. Of the people I know, it’s interesting how many who skate or skated have a “creative” type job or are creative whether they’re designers, artists, craftsmen, idea generators, writers, musicians, sculptors, photographers, entrepreneurs. That’s in general though. Not absolutely everyone but most everyone. I love analogies so… maybe it’s like another medium? How to move through space and time and hopefully feel good doing it. I was never very good but have always had fun. Still do when I go. #thankyouskateboarding. Thank you Tails Of…
If you grew up skateboarding and work in any creative field, I’d love to add your story to the collection. Reach out we’ll set up an interview. – John Freeborn