The 25 Best Skateboard Decks From the '80s

While the '70s hosted some minimal art on skateboards, it was really the '80s that brought the use of the skateboard deck as a graphic medium into play. We decided to take a look back and determine The 25 Best Skateboard Decks From the '80s. This is obviously a subjective matter and your local 40-year-old fully-padded park dad will probably complain about why the boards he had growing up are not on it. I am sure they are on other’s top 25 lists, but we took a look at the best (graphically), not necessarily the most iconic. Many of these graphics were so far ahead of their time that they could hold their own weight today as great designs amongst the current trend of recycled concepts and logo boards. The '90s pushed the envelope with controversy and trademark infringements, but the '80s defined the culture and gave people something tangible to rally around. Hop in the Delorean and let’s take you back to the '80s.

We would like to give a shout out to Sean Cliver and his book Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art. If you like these decks, we recommend you pick up that book for tons of other great images from skateboarding's past.

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Illustrator Or Designer: Justin Forbes
Year: 1988
Skater: Monty Nolder

There was no shortage of Native American imagery in the '80s, but this arrowhead is one of the best uses, even to this day. This graphic is not typical of most Hosoi graphics too, which is a plus.

Illustrator Or Designer: Wylie Singer
Year: 1989
Skater: N/A

Somebody had to hold it down for the East Coast and that is where Shut came in. While their graphics were very graffiti influenced, it was mostly corny graffiti styling, like their Assault Vehicle, Street Posse, and Zoo York graphics, but the Shut Shark was by far their best (minus the lettering). It is a great graphic, with the perfect addition of sharks teeth bordering the nose.

Illustrator Or Designer: Tom Groholski & Bernie Tostenson
Year: 1984
Skater: Tom Groholski

This graphic almost didn't get made because it was so badly drawn by Tom Groholski himself. And that is why we love it so much. He had to fight to get them to make it, getting them to concede with a little touching up by Tostenson. It is terribly amazing.

Illustrator Or Designer: Dave Bergthold & Ron Cameron
Year: 1986
Skater: N/A

Again, simple effective graphics are sometimes the best. This use of reflective imagery helps balance this graphic out a lot.

Illustrator Or Designer: Unknown
Year: 1983
Skater: Mike Folmer

Simple can be the best route sometimes. In this case, a nicely balanced UFO attack. Skateboarders have always been skeptical of the ways of the world, so conspiracy theories and the extraterrestrial were always appropriate.

Illustrator Or Designer: V. Courtlandt Johnson
Year: 1986
Skater: Kevin Harris

Here is another instance of VCJ using humor in his otherwise straightforward graphics. Again, it is through ethnic stereotypes. You can't get more Canadian than a mountie using a beaver as a telephone…

Illustrator Or Designer: Bernie Tostenson
Year: 1983
Skater: N/A

This graphic straddles both sides of skateboarding graphics from the 80s: neon fun and grim destruction.

Illustrator Or Designer: Pushead
Year: 1986
Skater: Craig Johnson

More death and destruction from Pushead. His art lead the way for Thrasher and the anti-system, pro-destruction mindset of rebel skateboarders.

Illustrator Or Designer: Unknown
Year: 1987
Skater: Christian Seewaldt

This is where skateboard art started leveraging pop culture. While that become much more standard in the 90s, this use of Silver Surfer doing pogos was a sign of things to come.

Illustrator Or Designer: Jim Phillips
Year: 1986
Skater: Jeff Kendall

Inspired by the novel Brave New World, this graphic is supposed to represent the hands of technology ripping apart the world. The novel is from 1932, this graphic is from 1986, yet it all is still relevant in 2012.

Illustrator Or Designer: Sean Cliver
Year: 1989
Skater: Steve Saiz

Native American art in skateboarding graphics has been done many times, but as one of the earlier instances, this is one of the best. The feathers really make this graphic.

Illustrator Or Designer: Craig Stecyk III
Year: 1989
Skater: Steve Caballero

This tribal mask drawn in a technical, yet cartoon-ish fashion may not be one of Steve Caballero's best selling graphics, but it is easily one of the most aesthetically superior ones he's put out to date.

Illustrator Or Designer: Greg Evans
Year: 1986
Skater: Jeff Phillips

Another "that's so 80s" graphic. While there have been many color ways of this graphic, our favorite is the one that utilizes stained wood grain as the negative space.

Illustrator Or Designer: Garry S. Davis
Year: 1988
Skater: Garry Davis

While simple in subject matter, GSD's rendering of a fish for his own board graphic turned out amazing aesthetically. It was done in a way that (unknowingly) it could be from any decade of skateboard, including the present.

Illustrator Or Designer: Jim Phillips
Year: 1986
Skater: N/A

In a head nod to Ed Roth's Rat Fink, Jim Phillip's Slasher graphic for Santa Cruz was the Rat Fink for us skateboarders.

Illustrator Or Designer: V. Courtlandt Johnson
Year: 1984
Skater: Per Welinder

VCJ made so many amazing graphics for Powell in the 80s and was probably the most influential skateboard artist of the decade. This Viking skull he did for a Per Welinder graphic was our favorite for his rare comedic application (in this case the ethnic stereotyping).

Illustrator Or Designer: Tom Groholski & Marty Jimenez
Year: 1986
Skater: Tom Groholski

Graphically, this is all over the place, but as with the Brand-X Weirdo graphic, it just works…especially for the 80s. If all-over-print shirts come back in fashion, could someone go ahead and make this into one?

Illustrator Or Designer: Chri Buchinsky
Year: 1987
Skater: Natas Kaupas

There were many memorable Natas graphics in the '80s (and even '90s), but this was done so classy and bowie-esque that it stands out amongst the rest.

Illustrator Or Designer: Garry S. Davis
Year: 1986
Skater: Dan Wilkes

A skateboarding raptor?! This is the wet dream of any 3rd grader, and the 3rd grader in all of us not-so-3rd-graders. GSD was killing the graphic game.

Illustrator Or Designer: Bernie Tostenson
Year: 1984
Skater: N/A

Brand-X rarely missed the mark with graphics, mostly due to Bernie Tostenson being on board (so to speak). This graphic is almost as 80s as you can get with so much going on, that it just works.

Illustrator Or Designer: Glenn Danzig
Year: 1986
Skater: N/A

While it isn't hard to find coffin shaped boards these days, this was an early creative approach to experimenting with shapes to compliment graphics. Even though many other bands (Suicide Tendencies, Metallica, Black Flag, JFA, etc.) were also putting out band board, this Misfits graphic was the best of them all.

Illustrator Or Designer: Jimbo Phillips
Year: 1989
Skater: Natas Kaupas

The Natas panther graphic has had many reimaginations. Originally created by Kevin Ancell in 1985, he did some updated version, then Jim Phillips did a couple versions, but our favorite was done by Jim's son, Jimbo Phillips. He was ahead of the kitty curve, cute-ifying the graphic 20 years before kitties were all the rage.

Illustrator Or Designer: Pushead, Tim Kerr, & Randy "Biscuit" Turner
Year: 1984
Skater: N/A

On the flipside of all the happy, neon, party-esque graphics that defined the 80s, there was Pushead. He was holding down the dark side with macabre imagery such as this epic two-headed kid skeleton.

Illustrator Or Designer: Jim Phillips
Year: 1984
Skater: Rob Roskopp

This is one of the most iconic skateboard graphics of all time and one of our all time favorites. With Jim Phillips cartoon/comic style, this graphic turned into a series with 7 progressions of the monster coming out of the target.

Illustrator Or Designer: Andy Takakjian
Year: 1987
Skater: N/A

While this board may not have the celebrity status of some of the others on this list, it is our favorite for pure execution. This looks like something that could be made today and still hold it's weight. Great illustration and complimentary board shape.