New Plank

My Fickle custom has arrived! This 10" by 34" deck sports a 15.25" wheelbase with a 6.75" tail and 7" nose. The shape is a subtle fish shape that resulted from my conversation with Lew, a conversation in which I expressed my absolute love of board shapes during the period of 1989 - 1991.
So, what was happening at that time that was so important that I would want to step back 25 years to pick a shape for my newest board? Well, board shapes were changing, evolving if you will. But, while evolving, most skateboard decks still held some common characteristics. The evolution of board shapes beginning in 1989 was the result of innovation. Skaters at the time wanted a double kick board with a longer nose. Schmitt's 15 degrees was "a big kick in the nose" at the time but it was just the beginning. Boards were beginning to have 5 to 5.5 inches of nose and by 1990 and 1991 we were seeing a lot of double drilled boards being produced to give skaters the option of a few more inches of nose. It was never really advertised as a "dual wheelbase," it was all about the nose.
The other part of the shape evolution during this time is that the ever popular fish shape board started to get a little more subtle. There was still some width behind the front truck but the rails were starting to become a little more parallel. And the tails of most boards were starting to taper in as opposed to flaring back out like its predecessor.
Take a look at the early Blind boards or the Dogtown boards of this time period to get a good idea of what I'm talking about here. These were some of my favorite shapes of all times so when it came down to having a board handcrafted by someone who cares about what you ride, it was a "no brainer" that I went with a modern version of a basic shape of what I consider to be one of the most innovative periods in skateboarding in regards to board shapes and riding styles, one influencing the other and vice versa.