SLIP SKATEBOARDS – TAKING SA SK8BOARDING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Author: Kevin Du Toit

I am so devoted to skateboarding in South Africa that having to wait in anticipation to hear back from Alwyn Van Niekerk (founder of Slip Skate Co.), so that SK8Africa could make the announcement about the NEW line of Slip Skateboard Decks, Trucks and Wheels was killing me.  This is what I expect to see from SA Skaters, their own brands because nothing happens until somebody brands something, and who knows this better than the Americans.

Now South Africans like, Alwyn Van Niekerk, are building their own quality brand, Slip Skateboards, that carries with it a true persona, and the beliefs and experiences similar to those in the United States and that is why Slip Skateboards is rising to a new level.  Slip Skateboard decks, trucks and wheels aren’t just another product – but a brand, and that is something to be proudly South African about.

KDT:  Keeping at the forefront by checking in with Alwyn on the launch date of Slip Skate Co. new decks, trucks and wheel, also gave me the insight into Alwyn’s consistent message about the value in building a solid and strong brand;

ALWYN: While we were planning our next product range we realized that we had a great opportunity to build a strong brand for Slip Skate Co and it’s products.  We started off by completely redesigning the official company logo to move away from the death and macabre feel of the first range, and to create a unique logo that better suits the overall feel and direction of the company.

When our designer, Hein Kotze, showed me the first version of the black & white barcoded logo I really didnt buy into it at all, as it was completely different from the initial ideas I had for our logo and the next range, but that logo quickly grew on all of us and it became our official company logo and ultimately set the tone for the designs for the entire product range.

“Branded” was the first deck design inspired by the new logo and it got an immediate “sick dude!” reaction all round. The black & white colours and deck-sized logo has a minimalistic boldness that just completely gets in your face while looking great as well.

“Aspire” was the next piece of sheer genius from Hein. When we initially chatted about it I really pictured something completely different, but that design really just speaks volumes when you look at it. Once again the black & white colour scheme really sets it apart from anything else out there, and those hands…

“Razed” was to be something completely different from Branded and Aspire. It has such an unexpected natural balance brought about by the centerpiece logo with the chaotic, hard lines on the nose and the smooth, curvy trails coming off the company name onto the tail of the deck.

We reused the barcode logo on the wheels and truck designs in a discreet, complimentary manner that wouldn’t detract from the awesome deck decsigns, while still fulfilling our branding requirements.

The vision with this product range was to establish Slip Skate Co as a strong brand in the SA skating industry with some of the most innovative and creative designs to compliment the proven quality of our products. We really feel that we’ve created a complete product range which is not only awesome enough to stick on your wall as a design masterpiece, but also has all the hardcore qualities skaters demand.

- – - – - – - – - – - -

Now that is what I’m talking about, Alwyn has set the standards high for Slip Skate Co and created quality with excellence.  Slip Skate Co has also kicked up the website a notch @ http://slipskateco.com/

Slip Skate Co product pricing:

Decks (incl grip) R 300
Wheels (53mm 100A) R 120 per set
Bearings (ABEC 7) R 60 a set
Trucks R 200 a set
Completes R 650

They deliver anywhere in South Africa