Twenty-fine years of Independent Truck Company constitutes an anniversary that demands both respect and introspection. The contemporary tendency is to envelop history in an impenetrable containment sphere of numeric details. The human relevance of occurrences and entities becomes lost in a blizzard of data. What real consequence do computations of ballistic rounds expended, X billion burgers served, acres burned. number of units produced, pool size of participants, topographical chart coordinates, revenues generated, reentry duration times, calories used, et cetera, have? What stats could convey the impact of 25 years of Independent Trucks?
The value of Independent far exceeds its performance as a business entity. Granted, Independent Trucks are the de facto standard of contemporary skateboard truck design. Virtually all legendary riders have been associated with Independent Trucks in some way at some time. No professional skateboarder or company owner exists who is not aware of the Independent hegemony. Nevertheless, the true accomplishment here is about people and their discovery of a workable way to live out their lives. Whatever success they ultimately garnered is incidental to that first pure impulse. Independent is proof that the hectic will inevitably push out the hype. The Independent Trucks cartel is very much a family. Once you are in, you are never out.
Every person in this narrative is more or less connected to the others. That interrelation and the expectation of excellence are the primary mechanisms that drive the beast known as independent. It has always been about the truck.
Webster’s Dictionary describes the skateboard truck as “a wheeled vehicle consisting of a frame with a pair of wheels to carry and guide one end of a vehicle in turning sharp turns.” Independent is defined as “not dependent: not subject to control by others. not affiliated: not looking to others for one’s opinions or for guidance in conduct.
Independent Trucks have been around for many years. I have been riding them since I was 12 and I will not switch. I guess my slogan on this list would be Built To Grind. Here is a list of Independent Truck Slogans that have been used in ad campaigns over the last 25 years. Of course the most popular and the one that is my favorite is Built To Grind.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Independent Trucks totally ROCK! COngrats on 25 years!
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
July 19th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
The ratio of useful information to the number of words in this article approaches zero. You fail at writing
July 19th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
oddly enough even though i skated since 1987 i always had different brands….the first was gullwing super pro III..the ones with the plastic base….always hated independent’s metal…
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
The only truck that matters I have mounted, purchased, grind, overhauled, landed with but never broken. oh sure ground into oblivion. never had one fail of say 45 or 50 sets over them 25
years. first on the block to have a pair \
board to death
July 25th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Independent trucks are hands down the best. Never skated using anything else.
There is a reason they have had such a presence in the skateboarding world for 20 years.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Indy tossed me a free dozen of their very first trucks 25 years ago, and I’ve never bought another brand since.
Ride many; buy Indy.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I remember my first independent trucks. I paired ‘em with acid rain wheels and german ball-bearings.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
That interrelation and the expectation of excellence are the primary mechanisms that drive the beast known as independent. It has always been about the truck.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I only owned one set, I never rode them because they were heavy as hell. digg me down assholes, you have obviously never rode a skateboard or you would know they are one heavy fucking truck. Personally I was a Venture fan and liked Gullwings back in the day. They are burying you as much for your attitude as for the lameness of your comments. You’re welcome. I _buried_ you because not only do you have a bad attitude, but you’re wrong. I’ve always loved Independent trucks. They were the only trucks that stood up to acid dropping off the 10 foot ledge back home.. dang, I miss those days =[ I always thought that Gullwing trucks were very heavy, and the shape of the hangers were not suitable for street skating at all and Ventures seemed a bit fragile. Indy’s were always my first choice. I never card for tracker, or z-roller, or thunder trucks. 2 cents.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Man I do need to switch back to Indy’s, I think I’m going to try out the new Stage 10’s that just came out. I stopped riding them 7 years ago because I thought they were too heavy. Nothing matches up to them though, nothing.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:44 am
The company was co-founded by Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, Fausto Vitello, and Eric Swenson in 1978, and the first set of trucks to make a public appearance was the Stage 1 on May 23, 1978 in Newark CA…….
i am no math wiz, but isn’t that 30 years?