Primitive Skateboarding

Primitive Skateboarding is the deck brand of Paul Rodriguez, one of the best-known pro skaters in the United States. It started as a clothing shop in Los Angeles and became a deck brand in 2014, when Rodriguez left Plan B. Today it has a big team, half-hour videos and collections with Dragon Ball Z, Tupac and Rick and Morty.

Here is how it started, who is behind it, what team it has, which videos are worth watching and what to expect from its decks.

How did Primitive start?

Primitive started as a shop. Around 2008 Paul Rodriguez opened a clothing and shoe store in Los Angeles with several partners, among them Andy Netkin, Heath Brinkley and Jubal Jones. Netkin was the guy who, when Rodriguez was a kid, had given him a spot on the team of a local shop called One Eighteen when he was about 14. The business came out of that relationship.

The shop did well and created its own clothing line. In time it sold online and in other countries. The decks came later.

Why Paul Rodriguez left Plan B

Rodriguez, son of the comedian of the same name, turned pro for Girl in 2002. In 2005 he moved to Plan B, which was coming back with a new team, and that same year his first shoe with Nike SB came out. At Plan B he put out a solo part in 2010. In 2013 he left the brand, after showing up at a contest with the logo on his deck covered up. At the time he explained that he saw a window of opportunity in his career and wanted to have something of his own to stay in skating once he stopped skating. He gave the example of Andrew Reynolds, who left Birdhouse to start Baker. He has also said he wanted to “be a little more his own boss”.

After leaving, he printed 500 gold decks with the Primitive name. They sold out, and that convinced him there was room for a deck brand.

On April 10, 2014, Primitive Skateboarding officially launched, after almost ten months of silence. That day the first two riders were introduced: Nick Tucker and Carlos Ribeiro, who joined Rodriguez. Heath Brinkley handles the day-to-day of the skate team. At that time Rodriguez was president and Andy Netkin CEO. The brand’s story was told in a video series called Trajectory.

Who owns Primitive?

Paul Rodriguez, together with his partners. In 2014 he was president and Andy Netkin was CEO, and Rodriguez was also an owner or investor in other small brands, like a wallet brand (Markisa) and a bearings brand (Andale). There is no record of a big company buying Primitive.

What the Primitive team is like

Every rider has their own graphic. The graphics pay tribute to skateboarding’s history and play with each rider’s personality: artists pitch ideas and Heath Brinkley also gets his hands in. One example is the Gold Bar, a deck inspired by Rodriguez himself.

Current pros: Paul Rodriguez, Carlos Ribeiro, Miles Silvas, Spencer Hamilton, Trent McClung, Wade Desarmo, Tiago Lemos, Giovanni Vianna, Tre Williams, Kyonosuke Yamashita and Filipe Mota.

Ams: Johnny Hernandez and Aimu Yamazuki.

Former riders: Shane O’Neill, Franky Villani, Devine Calloway, Nick Tucker, Bastien Salabanzi, Robert Neal, Diego Najera, JB Gillet, Marek Zaprazny and Brian Peacock.

Some stories from the team:

• Rodriguez tried to sign Carlos Ribeiro for Plan B years before he had his own brand, and came back at him when he founded Primitive.
• He met Frenchman Bastien Salabanzi in Tampa in 2001, when Bastien was 15, and it took years to get him on his team.
• Tiago Lemos came over from Boulevard.
• Shane O’Neill announced in June 2018 that he was leaving to start his own brand.
• Franky Villani turned pro in October 2018.
• Miles Silvas joined on September 17, 2019, as the 13th member of the pro team, along with Spencer Hamilton.

Primitive’s videos

Primitive puts out videos regularly, from single parts to half-hour films, almost all directed by Alan Hannon.

There is also a series of single parts called TESTING, with several installments since 2019.

Primitive collabs

The collabs are what has made the brand best known outside skating.

• Dragon Ball Z: three collections. The first came out in May 2018, with eight decks (Frieza, Kid Buu, Vegeta…) in sizes from 8.0 to 8.5 inches, plus shirts and caps. The third, in May 2019, was announced as the last one and included a deck, a shirt and a jacket.
• Tupac: a capsule in June 2022, with shirts, hoodies and decks, and with Tiago Lemos in the launch video.
• Rick and Morty and WWE: series with graphics of each character.

Primitive decks

Primitive sells decks in several sizes, from narrow 7.75-inch ones to wide ones over 8.5. The shape you usually see in the adult range is the classic popsicle. What changes most from one to another is the graphic: some are pro-model style, some are collabs and some are limited-edition series.

Primitive compared to other brands

• Versus Plan B: Rodriguez left Plan B to start Primitive. Both are deck brands with a pro team; Primitive stands out for the number of collabs.
• Versus Baker: Baker shares the idea of a founder leaving a brand to start his own, but each has its own team and aesthetic.
• Versus Polar: Polar is independent and European, and run by one person; Primitive has more team and more pull in shops.
• Versus Toy Machine: Toy Machine also plays with characters in its graphics, though its own; Primitive, on the other hand, often turns to characters from other universes.

Who is Primitive for?

For people who want a deck with an eye-catching graphic and a team that skates everything, from technical street to plazas and stairs. It works for any level, because what matters is picking the right size. If you like collabs with anime and music, it is one of the brands that puts out the most series. In shoes, Rodriguez had the first signature shoe from Nike SB in 2005.