“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.” ― Miles Davis Deep inside all of us is the desire to make things. Whether it’s a meal, a video, an origami swan, or a website, we were made to make stuff. Some are great at taking wood and crafting a table or skateboard. Some are gifted at combining words and musical notes and crafting a song that lifts the listeners’ hearts. Others are talented with numbers and code and are on their way to inventing the next software breakthrough. There are many obstacles in our way these days—actually, t ..read more

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In a faraway land called Michigan (it feels far away from us), thousands of miles from Red Panda Boards headquarters, a world-class man and Red Panda skater, Jonathon (Jonnie) Roelens, lives, skates, and touches lives. Not long ago, Jonnie joined the Red Panda family, and has been shredding (literally) our boards since then. But that isn’t why we are writing about him today. An act of deep kindness towards another skater shook us out of normal day routine and demanded that we tell everyone we know about it. On a cold (and most likely windy) night in Michigan, Jonnie was out skating his local p ..read more

We rarely see lives positively impacted by anything, let alone by a physical product…like a skateboard. But we have three stories that highlight something as simple as a skateboard warming the hearts of other human beings. This is the first story. We created the board below to honor Patrick Jones, a brave firefighter who lost his life looking to save others. We are friends with his sister, Katie Jones, and we’ll let her words speak for themselves. We love people. We love helping people. We hope this lifts your spirits today, tonight, and into the weekend.   See you all next week. Touchin ..read more

Everyone needs to move, to exercise, to experience fun things. I want to help. Being a skateboarder for most of my life, I can say without exception that skating has brought me nothing but balance and joy. Give yourself that experience and more. A Sport For Everyone Diving into anything new, let alone a new sport, can feel daunting. But the experience will be well worth it. Skateboarding is not limited to daring teens, kick-flipping down five flights of stairs, or older guys pulling off front-side ollies all over the park. It is a sport for all ages, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas. If you c ..read more

Above is our newest skateboard deck. I hope it speaks for itself. I strongly believe that we should pause and consider Artificial Intelligence and its impact on humans. If you are reading this, most likely, you are human, and just so you know, A.I. will profoundly impact your life. Why do you think artists in Hollywood took to the picket lines? They know that A.I. can replace them if they don’t make a stand now. Watch this video with one of A.I.’s most prominent proponents, Yuval Harai: You may not agree with the host of this video, but you can’t ignore what Yuval is saying. Now, he’s talking ..read more

Good stuff is happening all around us. It’s hard to see the good with the fog of fear, doubt, pain, and confusion clogging everything we watch and read. But good things are happening. Here’s something I’ve noticed about good things: they tend to unfold over time, slowly, bit by bit, unhurriedly.  Why?  Because goodness wants us to enjoy the process of something great build in our lives, so it takes it’s time; it rolls out in stages. For a momentary break in the negative news feed, let me tell you a few good things that are taking place at Red Panda Boards. First, I have a new partner ..read more

Making skateboard decks is a challenge. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fabulous work. But it’s a challenge. You design what will be printed on the skateboard decks, get the sizing right, send it off to be crafted by another company, and wait. And wait. And wait. Currently, I am waiting on six skateboard decks I ordered in November. I just got word the artwork is printing. That’s awesome. But it’s been almost three months. I have shops that want the boards but can’t get them to them fast enough. What to do? Now, these are excellent companies, by the way. They have invented new ways of producing quali ..read more

Hey all! Exciting news today. We’ve got two new skateboard decks for sale. Check them out.   “Where’s the Meat?” Red Panda Skateboard deck is a call-back to the 80’s commercial, and a spoof on the push by media, celebrities, and governments to get people eating bugs as their main food source. WTF? Kinda weird, we say. So, who better to question the powers to be than the “Where’s the Beef?” lady all us GenXer’s have etched in our brains.   Harris Hawks had at one point seemingly vanished from the deserts of my hometown, Scottsdale, Arizona. But recently, they have returned, soaring ..read more

We are eighteen days into the new year. Don’t give up on life. Why do I say this? As I listen to people around me, I hear a common theme: confusion and hopelessness. Most of it stems from a lack of something: time, money, relationship, vision. I pray that you don’t fall into this group, those who might be ready to give up on it all, strap on a V.R. headset, and vanish into the unreality. I hope you will look at the stacked decks in front of you, shake off the myriad of “no’s” that have been hurled your way, push past the lack of help (whether that be employees or friends), and keep going. It’s ..read more