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thought-starters & perspectives.
THE JMA DISPATCH
September 9, 2024
Skaters say no to the Olympics
'The disconnect between skate brands and the games spotlights what happens when a subculture becomes mainstream. At the Olympics, the laissez-faire attitude of skateboarding must abide by complicated rules for Olympic kits, skate around larger country-team sponsorships by major brands and consider the audience that Olympic skating is even for. That may not be the same audience these brands try to serve.
“As far as our demographic, I think most of our fans probably lean into the Olympics as something over here that they’ll probably pay a little bit of attention to, but it’s not their main focus,” says Damon Thorley, a brand manager for Spitfire and Thunder Trucks at the heritage skateboard company Deluxe Distribution. “What they’re into is smaller, local scenes, and what’s going in Thrasher magazine on Monday is maybe more important to them or more interesting."
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