Chris Haslam Launches BrainChild Skateboards
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Chris Haslam, one of the most inventive skateboarders ever, has officially launched his new brand BrainChild. The first batch of boards will be available for sale in the U.S. only, and the decks’ colorful graphics are strikingly symbolic. For example, the “Swing” deck illustrates themes of isolation and mental illness. Haslam explains this in his site’s product description:
“With this graphic I was hoping to bring attention to the fact that we need to look out for one another. This year has been a rough one, we keep losing people in our lives because of what seems like an inability to find any sort of guidance in dealing with mental illness. Whether it’s from loneliness, depression, anxiety or one of a variety of other reasons, these issues are so common these days, so we need to help our friends and loved ones feel comfortable enough to open up about what they’re going through.”
Mental illness is a subject near and dear to Haslam’s heart, and he has pledged to donate a portion of the deck sale proceeds (no word on an actual percentage) to Project Semicolon, a nonprofit dedicated to presenting hope & love to those who struggle with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury.
Haslam announced that BrainChild is open for business this morning on the brand’s Instagram feed. Here’s the caption:
“Friends… this moment has felt like it’s been a decade in the making buuuut boards are finally in. Limited run of each graphic and I will be donating portions of the proceeds to Project Semicolon.
“My apologies to all my international friends, things will change but until I can figure out a more cost efficient method I have to relegate the sales to US only. thanks for being patient friends.”
As the winner of our 2018 2up contest—one of the most physically and emotionally grueling projects we’ve ever masterminded—we already know that Haslam is a persistent dude. When you consider that he nearly died after a long, dehydrated sesh at The Berrics (too much cheese and crackers, not enough water) years ago and he still kept coming back, we already know that he has the mental fortitude and perseverance to make BrainChild a success. Order your BrainChild decks here.
Check out some of Haslam’s work with us over the years, including his winning 2018 2up edit, below:
