Usually a skate manufacturer expands into fashion as a natural consequence of branding success. Companies like Elemental and Vans find that their popular logos look as good on the skaters as the boards, and develop a supporting line of merchandise to supply the demand. The story of Zero Skateboards is a little different; so successful was the original clothing merchandise that the company took a sideways step to center stage to become one of the world’s premier producer of skateboard decks and equipment.

In 1996 Anthony Freiberg, a professional skater for the already popular skate company, Toy Machine, started Zero clothing company. The past decade has seen the evolution of the brand into a fully functional, well-respected skateboard company, with many designs and products under the umbrella of Black Box Distribution. Zero became a force to be reckoned with when Jamie “The Chief” Thomas, left Toy Machine in to become Zero’s mascot.

Jamie Thomas is one of the most recognizable names in skating, known primarily for his death-defying attempt to complete the “Leap of Faith.” Although he broke both of his legs ollying from a 18+ foot stairwell at a Southern California high school, the painful footage entered the annals of slam video history and brought Zero Skateboard with him.

The Chief started skating in Dothan, Alabama in 1985, when he was eleven years old. First sponsored by San Francisco-based Real Skateboards, he performed regularly and was finally signed as a pro skater for the struggling and underdeveloped Experience Skateboards. His skating skills finally began to attract large-scale attention when he started skating for Invisible Skateboards, a company that was also pioneering filmed skating at the time. After signing on with Toy Machine, he received large scale exposure and the opportunity to combine forces with Anthony Freiberg as Zero Skateboard’s first sponsored skateboard pro.

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins brought the logo to the world stage, rarely being spotted without a black Zero shirt at the height of the band’s popularity. Millions of Pumpinheads joined their hero, running out to get matching shirts and hoodies after the band debuted the hit single, Zero, in 1996.

In 2003, Jamie Thomas, along with Adrian Lopez and some of the other skaters for Zero, went on to create Mystery Skateboards, also under Black Box Distribution, which has since become an umbrella for a wide variety of urban skate gear, including wheels, decks, and of course some of the phattest threads on the scene.

From the beginning, Zero Skateboard has embodied the bad-boy streetlaw ethic, fitting their loyalists’ preference for finding skate surfaces wherever they may be and conquering them.

Known for light, but fragile decks, with amazing designs, Zero boards are most popular among street skaters, who can be spotted across the skate park sporting some of the wildest graphics in the industry. Most of Zero’s designs feature a skeleton theme, highlighting their fans’ preference for heavy metal, grunge, and punk music, although recent years have seen a shifting away from the classic black to include psychedelic and Gothic fonts as well.