FRENCHKISS RECORDS — Syd Butler 

More than any other industry, the music business draws the most parallels to the skate world. Getting signed to a label mirrors the exact same process as getting sponsored by a board brand. And then once you finally do get signed, the similarities draw even closer: nonstop life on the road, perpetually working towards putting out new albums every year or two (sound familiar to filming for a video part?), self promotion, trying to get media coverage, the list goes on and on. Syd Butler, bass player of famed NYC band Les Savy Fav, created Frenchkiss Records back in 1999 as a way to put out his band’s records in between writing and touring. Eventually, Syd started putting out his friend’s records, some of those bands happened to blow up, and Frenchkiss quickly became one of the most well-respected and prestigious indie labels in the world—now home to a roster of albums by Passion Pit, The Hold Steady, Local Natives, The Drums, The Antlers, and more. If there was ever such a thing as “skater-owned” in the music world, Frenchkiss would be it.