Torey Pudwill & Thank You Skateboards

In 2018, Torey Pudwill joined forces with Daewon Song to start Thank You Skateboards out of a warehouse in Simi Valley, CA. Five years later, business is booming and we're seeing that happy cloud logo show up at every skatepark in the country (often paired with some Grizzly Griptape too, another one of Torey's successful business ventures).

T-Puds invited us in for an exclusive look at how things run at Thank You for this first episode of our new series — skater owned and skater operated, this is GOOD WORK.

Lisa Whitaker & Meow Skateboards

In 2012, Lisa Whitaker created Meow Skateboards to fill a void in the skate industry — she and her crew saw little-to-no support for women's skateboarding. Now, 10 years later here in 2022, Lisa and Meow have a team of more than a dozen top talents in skateboarding reppin' the boards and the brand's mission every time they put wheels to concrete.

That's only the scratching the surface of Lisa's skateboarding story, one that goes back 25+ years now and includes life as a sponsored skater, early contest circuits both in front and behind the camera, decades of filming skating, and the founding of the Girls Skate Network website in 2003. (That's pre-YouTube!)

With top pros like Vanessa Torres, Mariah Duran and Kristin Ebeling on the roster, Lisa and the Meow Skateboards team practice what they preach and continue to stack clips and change the face of skateboarding from the inside out, day in and day out. Skater owned and skater operated, this is GOOD WORK.

Alphonzo Rawls and #EVERYBODYSKATES

Alphonzo "Alf" Rawls is best known for bringing a silky smooth street style to the vert during his career as a pro skater, an all terrain vehicle and a pioneer in skateboarding in more ways than one. From there, Alf switched lanes and dropped in on his passion for design, and that's where the stories of his two owned brands #EVERYBODYSKATES and Savalé Footwear begin.

Alf welcomed us behind the scenes of both #EVERYBODYSKATES and Savalé Footwear for the second episode of our new series — skater owned and skater operated, this is GOOD WORK.