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Alien Workshop
Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team rider Rob Dyrdek in 2012, the company was acquired by Pacific Vector Holdings in October 2013. Alien Workshop produced skateboard decks, wheels, apparel, and other skateboard accessories prior to its closure in May 2014. In 2015, Alien Workshop was revived with an all-amateur team and distribution through Tum Yeto. They released a series of new skate decks and Bunker Down, the brand's sixth video. As of 2016, Alien Workshop, led by Mike Hill phased out working with Tum-Yeto and moved all operations back to the Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio. After a tumultuous ownership history they have returned to operations as an independent company.
Carter, Hill and Blender decided to form a company based in Dayton, Ohio, United States (U.S.), at a time when the skateboard industry's core was located in California. Early team rider Duane Pitre recalls attending a meeting in California and feeling excited about the concept of an innovative Midwestern company, which initially adapted the logo of the eatery that the Californian meeting occurred in. The nascent company's first video was titled Memory Screen (1991), and featured a team that consisted of Dyrdek, Pitre, Bo Turner, John Drake, John Pryor, Scott Conklin, Steve Claar and Thomas Morgan.
Following the release of Memory Screen, the company's focus on video production was equivalent to the products it was producing and Timecode was released in 1997, featuring new team riders Josh Kalis—who would remain with the brand for over 10 years—Lenny Kirk and Fred Gall, who would later ride for Habitat. While Memory Screen was 41 minutes-long, Timecode's duration was only 21 minutes and consisted of full parts from three out of the nine skateboarders in the video.
Around the year 2000, the company hired Joe Castrucci to oversee the production of the Photosynthesis video—Castrucci would later oversee the development of the Habitat skateboard deck brand, which joined Alien Workshop under the DNA Distribution parent company that was created internally, and enlisted Alien Workshop riders, such as Kerry Getz and Danny Garcia, for the new brand. DNA Distribution, also known as the "Sovereign Sect," also consisted of the Reflex (bearings) brand—Guy Mariano and Kareem Campbell are two professional skateboarders who were sponsored by Reflex.
Photosynthesis was the first video in which Jason Dill and Anthony van Engelen, two team riders who would become foremost figures of the company, appeared. Dill's part in the video was the closing section and is accompanied by the Radiohead song "Polyethylene."
Dill explained in June 2014, during a narration to the video part, that he consumed "a lot" of crack cocaine during the filming of Photosynthesis and his part included his own footage, as well as footage shot by founder Hill. Dill revealed that the telephone conversation that occurs at the beginning of his part, between himself and Carter, was part of a collection of recordings that the company had of telephone conversations with Dill over a two-year period. At the commencement of his narration, Dill stated that he did not wish to partake in the exercise and felt on the verge of crying.
The video was also the first DNA Distribution video to feature Danny Way, who would later revive Plan B Skateboards; Anthony Pappalardo, who was recruited by the Chocolate and Lakai Limited Footwear companies afterwards; and Brian Wenning, who would join the revived Plan B team. Pappalardo later stated that hearing a message from Dyrdek on his answering machine and officially becoming an amateur rider for Alien Workshop—an occasion accompanied by a Castrucci-made commercial—were two experiences that has made him "proud, honored" and maybe led to "a sense of achievement from skateboarding".
DNA Distribution was acquired by Burton Snowboards on February 5, 2008 and several months later, on May 2, 2008, the Flip Skateboards company announced that its long-term team member Arto Saari had relocated to Alien Workshop—the announcement was a shock to members of the skateboarding media. In 2012, Saari provided further insight into his decision to leave Flip, citing the death of former teammate Shane Cross as an underpinning factor: "It wasn't, like, a easy thing to do, but, at the time, I knew I had to do it ... for the reasons that happened, you know? And that's why I decided that it's better off for me to leave Flip than, just, go my own way and, just, do that." Professional skateboarder, Ed Templeton, stated in a 2012 interview: "I mean I was completely shocked when he left Flip ... it didn't make sense."
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Alien Workshop
Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team rider Rob Dyrdek in 2012, the company was acquired by Pacific Vector Holdings in October 2013. Alien Workshop produced skateboard decks, wheels, apparel, and other skateboard accessories prior to its closure in May 2014. In 2015, Alien Workshop was revived with an all-amateur team and distribution through Tum Yeto. They released a series of new skate decks and Bunker Down, the brand's sixth video. As of 2016, Alien Workshop, led by Mike Hill phased out working with Tum-Yeto and moved all operations back to the Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio. After a tumultuous ownership history they have returned to operations as an independent company.
Carter, Hill and Blender decided to form a company based in Dayton, Ohio, United States (U.S.), at a time when the skateboard industry's core was located in California. Early team rider Duane Pitre recalls attending a meeting in California and feeling excited about the concept of an innovative Midwestern company, which initially adapted the logo of the eatery that the Californian meeting occurred in. The nascent company's first video was titled Memory Screen (1991), and featured a team that consisted of Dyrdek, Pitre, Bo Turner, John Drake, John Pryor, Scott Conklin, Steve Claar and Thomas Morgan.
Following the release of Memory Screen, the company's focus on video production was equivalent to the products it was producing and Timecode was released in 1997, featuring new team riders Josh Kalis—who would remain with the brand for over 10 years—Lenny Kirk and Fred Gall, who would later ride for Habitat. While Memory Screen was 41 minutes-long, Timecode's duration was only 21 minutes and consisted of full parts from three out of the nine skateboarders in the video.
Around the year 2000, the company hired Joe Castrucci to oversee the production of the Photosynthesis video—Castrucci would later oversee the development of the Habitat skateboard deck brand, which joined Alien Workshop under the DNA Distribution parent company that was created internally, and enlisted Alien Workshop riders, such as Kerry Getz and Danny Garcia, for the new brand. DNA Distribution, also known as the "Sovereign Sect," also consisted of the Reflex (bearings) brand—Guy Mariano and Kareem Campbell are two professional skateboarders who were sponsored by Reflex.
Photosynthesis was the first video in which Jason Dill and Anthony van Engelen, two team riders who would become foremost figures of the company, appeared. Dill's part in the video was the closing section and is accompanied by the Radiohead song "Polyethylene."
Dill explained in June 2014, during a narration to the video part, that he consumed "a lot" of crack cocaine during the filming of Photosynthesis and his part included his own footage, as well as footage shot by founder Hill. Dill revealed that the telephone conversation that occurs at the beginning of his part, between himself and Carter, was part of a collection of recordings that the company had of telephone conversations with Dill over a two-year period. At the commencement of his narration, Dill stated that he did not wish to partake in the exercise and felt on the verge of crying.
The video was also the first DNA Distribution video to feature Danny Way, who would later revive Plan B Skateboards; Anthony Pappalardo, who was recruited by the Chocolate and Lakai Limited Footwear companies afterwards; and Brian Wenning, who would join the revived Plan B team. Pappalardo later stated that hearing a message from Dyrdek on his answering machine and officially becoming an amateur rider for Alien Workshop—an occasion accompanied by a Castrucci-made commercial—were two experiences that has made him "proud, honored" and maybe led to "a sense of achievement from skateboarding".
DNA Distribution was acquired by Burton Snowboards on February 5, 2008 and several months later, on May 2, 2008, the Flip Skateboards company announced that its long-term team member Arto Saari had relocated to Alien Workshop—the announcement was a shock to members of the skateboarding media. In 2012, Saari provided further insight into his decision to leave Flip, citing the death of former teammate Shane Cross as an underpinning factor: "It wasn't, like, a easy thing to do, but, at the time, I knew I had to do it ... for the reasons that happened, you know? And that's why I decided that it's better off for me to leave Flip than, just, go my own way and, just, do that." Professional skateboarder, Ed Templeton, stated in a 2012 interview: "I mean I was completely shocked when he left Flip ... it didn't make sense."