The skateboarding subculture has long thrived on it rebellious inclinations. Quite like graffiti and punk rock subcultures, skateboarding held an anti-establishment sensibility derived from pure instinct. In the late 80s - 90s, when the popularity of vert skating was on the decline, many skaters turned to street skating as a means of accessibility to complex spots. Of course, this shift was met with resistance due to its utilization and reliance on public and private property as substitutes for skatepark staples like ramps, handrails, stairs, etc.

In recent times, the modern perception of skateboarding has changed drastically. Skateboard decks are now seen as genuine art pieces, and even designed by revered artists, designer fashion houses, and collected in mass with brands like Supreme at the forefront of the revolution. The mass commercial appeal of skate culture has done wonders to promote the sport and has simultaneously polished aspects of the grit and griminess, for better and for worse.

Bear Walker is an artisan using the classic skateboard as a medium. He creates custom boards by incorporating intricate carving techniques, encompassing aspects of art and functionality. For every board sold, the Bear Walker brand plants two trees. In addition, they’ve also partnered with Shazam’s Zachary Levi to help create a limited edition run of skateboards that were auctioned off with all proceeds going to Covenant House. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Bear Walker and his beautiful boards.

Where are you based?
Daphne, AL

Skateboarding has always been a sport and subculture associated with California, in part due to its origin and its close connection with surf. What is the skate scene like in Alabama?
There’s a surprisingly large surf/skate community here that I feel is untapped due to stigma. It’s a very artistic and open-minded community. I’m very fortunate to have found my way here, and I’m striving to become a force to be reckoned with in my new home.

How did you get interested in skateboard culture?
I grew up a surfer. As life went on and I got further away from the ocean, and different places that I’ve lived, I really started getting more into cruising. And more than anything, my favorite thing about skateboarding is that it’s a blank canvas. Not only is the riding aspect a supplemental thing for surfing, but it was a really good creative outlet for doing design work.

Do you remember the first custom board that you'd ever made? What inspired you to create these boards?
I had a comic book shop order custom Justice League boards and until that point I didn’t make pop culture stuff, so that inspired the path of the company. It got such a good response, and pop culture is something that I am passionate about, so to see that it actually resonated with people and be able to continue that path was awesome.

A lot of your custom boards are inspired by pop culture references. What has been your favorite custom project thus far? What made it special?
I’ll have to say the Lost in Space collaboration we did. It was my first official collaboration with a production studio. One of my other big passions is space, so the marketing and promotion we did was that we put that board on a weather balloon and launched it up into the atmosphere and got GoPro footage of the board floating on the edge of space. I got to geek out multiple times between working with a big studio, making an official licensed skateboard, and then also being able to send it into space and retrieve the footage. There were a bunch learning curves and a couple of passion projects rolled into one.

All your boards are so beautiful. I personally would just hang them on my wall. How do you protect them so they can be used? Or do most people just put them up as art?
It's half and half. I put as much detail into the function of the board as I do into the artwork. I spent years fine tuning the structure of the wood and then actually started my own wheel company so it complemented the board perfectly. I take a lot of pride in them being beautiful pieces of art, but I take just as much pride in them being the smoothest boards in the market.

You've partnered with Shazam’s Zachary Levi to help create a limited edition run of skateboards that were auctioned off with all proceeds going to Covenant House. What inspired you to partner up with this cause?
I actually saw Zach do a post about Covenant House and raising money for it. We share a mutual friend and I had them connect us. I was inspired by him raising money for this and saw an opportunity where I could help out with it, so we pitched it to him and he felt the same way, and we made it happen.

It is inspiring that more brands incorporate giving back as crucial aspects of their business. Can you talk about your tree planting initiative and how that came about?
I’ve always felt a big connection with nature and I thought it was a pretty easy thing to do, to help replenish, as you can get hundreds of boards out of a tree, so planting a tree for every board is tipping things in the right direction. Beyond that, we use our byproduct, like our sawdust, to help grow local food which in turn creates compost that we can use to fertilize other crops. So beyond planting trees, we’re also helping grow local food now as well.We’re constantly trying to find ways to give back more and become more sustainable.

We have a local farm that grows mushrooms and uses sawdust as nitrates in the soil and then the mushrooms actually create compost out of the sawdust that you can use for other crops. I’m actually talking to the city about using the compost to start a botanical garden with a pump track around it so we can have class field trips there, or kids can just go there to learn about plants and skate around the pump track and grow the skate culture here and get kids out in nature a little more.

It's wonderful that a brand primarily known for handcrafted boards can also contribute and assist with the PPE shortage amongst healthcare professionals. Can you briefly talk about the manufacturing process behind your mask production? Are these still available?
There was a growing need for them, and the people who make our apparel basically shut down the apparel side of things to make masks, so I saw it as an opportunity to help with the shortage and medical personnel as well. For every single one that's purchased, we donate one to the medical personnel. We get to make a cool, on brand bear jaw mask, and then also do some good with it. They’re all handcrafted in New Jersey and are still available on the site.

What is your motto in life?
Creating space for opportunity.
What that means is that a lot of opportunities only come around once, as far as having an organic flow to things, so you have to be ready for when they show up — having production at a good point where you can grow responsibility, being prepared with knowing your numbers and what you do well enough so that when a good opportunity comes around, you’re ready to strike.

To lean more about Bear Walker, please follow him via the platforms below:
Website: https://bearwalker.com/
Instagram: bearwalkerofficial
Facebook: bearwalkerofficial

Photography copyright Bear Walker.

Bear Walker: The Skateboard Craftsman