Board Dog: Code of Conduct is a series of skateboards made between 2019 and 2021. It is named after my father’s former skateboard shop: “Board Dog Skateboards”.
Board Dog Skateboards promotional flyer. Made by my father in 2002.
Board Dog was open from 2001-2003. It was a welcoming, creative and inspiring community space for the brief time it was open. Board Dog was incredibly formative for me as a young creative person. Its closure was a major loss for me, my family, and the community it supported. Board Dog: Code of Conduct takes loss for granted and attempts to make it generative.
Two-part custom press-mold used to to laminate Board Dog: Code of Conduct Skateboards
Board Dog: Code of Conduct Skateboard Decks
I approach each skateboard’s lifecycle with intention, knowing it will ultimately degrade beyond its intended use. I use the healthiest, most environmentally responsible materials and tools I can access. The skateboards are made using FSC certified Maple, formaldehyde-free wood glues and natural finishes. These materials ensure that the planet is unharmed once they inevitably return to the earth. While living in Chicago I used my old skateboards to build a public garden bed. I built the bed in my apartment’s parkway, where I grew sunflowers, marigolds and indigo.
Used Board Dog: Code of Conduct decks constructed into a garden bed
Board Dog: Code of Conduct “Skate and Restore” mini-zine
Each graphic offers a different “code of conduct”: a personal expression of my current values, aspirations, questions and/or identities. As each skateboard gets used, its code of conduct is defaced and a new code is created for the next deck.
Changing codes of conduct