Never “Keep Politics Out of Skateboarding,” According to Skate OG | “I got a physical death threat mailed to me”
Jim Thiebaud is the OG behind Real skateboards and much more. He knows that in messed up times skateboarding cannot remain silent. Whether it’s battling government administration or the KKK, Jim ain’t afraid to promote what’s right. Even when it ends up with personal death threats. Here’s a great interview with Solo….
Sample:
And how do you see the current state of the whole US compared to back in the days when your Hanging Klansman board was released?
Well, it is sad that 25-30 years later a graphic like my first is still as relevant than it was back when we first did it. I would have hoped that things would have changed more. But with the new climate, with Trump sort of silently supporting questionable beliefs, it is just as relevant as it was and it is sad to see. It sucks. I caught a lot of hate personally when we did that board. I got a physical death threat mailed to me. I caught a lot of hate when we first did it and I catch a lot of hate when we do political things here at DLX. I get text messages and comments about, “You are ruining skateboarding!” or “Keep politics out of skateboarding!” I fully don’t understand that. When we started Real, it was to try and do really great shit with and for skateboarding. And it was always acknowledging the fact that this platform of skateboarding gives you this really loud voice to try and do great shit, to try and help people, to try and change the world, to try and express yourself, and that is why my very first board was that Hanging Klansman. And fast-forwarded to today, when somebody like Trump gets voted into the White House or you see some injustice, you wanna make a graphic with the funds going to someone beneficial and get called a kook for doing that. It is like I remember going to a Dead Kennedys show and hearing somebody in the audience yelling at Jello Biafra, “Keep politics out of punk!” or listening to Public Enemy and someone yells, “Keep politics out of rap!” and I think it is complete horseshit, especially when it comes to skateboarding, that this is a vehicle that we have to express ourselves. And since day one it was always about trying to make a message. And I get a shit-ton of fucking hate, “We will never support your company!“ – okay, so be it . Who you get the hate from? Not skateshops, I hope. *** It’s not from shops and I am not gonna say the one single persons. I get a lot of hate for it that I don’t quite understand and it seems to me that maybe the people haven’t been following what we have been doing the past 27 years.
I think it’s crazy to say, “Keep politics out of skateboarding!” I mean, you don’t have to have a political message as a skate brand, but if you want to, you have all the right to do it.
I think we are supposed to. We do a lot of work here at DLX to try and do good shit. We make mistakes, we do dumb stuff, we do bad stuff at times but underline we try to do really good shit. And I feel like you are supposed to do that stuff to raise money for different organizations. You are supposed to take a fucking stance. I read in an article that you supported a skateshop when they asked if they could print your Klansman graphic on shirts to mobilize people against a KKK rally. *** There was a rally going on in the South and I have a friend who works at a skateshop and he asked if I could make shirts they could wear and I said, “Fuck no, you just go and make the shirts,” and I can’t remember if I said just give them out for free. I just let them make the shirt, so they had a message. I mean, every time we’ve done something with the graphic, the money has gone to different foundations.
And you really got a death threat for that graphic?
Yes, printed letters back in the days. When we first released it, Tommy and I thought it was funny to do a tour to the Deep South in the US right when it came out. So our first tour was to put it right into their faces. I am not saying everyone from the South is racist. You just go where you think it is kind of hot.
Click to SOLO SKATE MAG for the interview with skateboard og Jim Thiebaud
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