When Graphics Became Identity
The 1980s weren’t just a boom time for skateboarding — they were a battleground for visual dominance. As skate brands fought for attention in magazines, skate shops, and on the streets, stickers became their frontline weapons. These weren’t just logos — they were flags, badges, and propaganda. And three brands stood out as the most iconic, most collected, and most slapped: Zorlac, Powell Peralta, and Santa Cruz.
This was the era of sticker wars — a time when your choice of graphic said everything about your style, your crew, and your attitude.
🧠 Powell Peralta: Precision, Prestige, and the Bones Brigade
Powell Peralta didn’t just make stickers — they made mythology. With Vernon Courtlandt Johnson (VCJ) behind the pen, their graphics became legendary. The Ripper, Skull and Sword, Rat Bones — each design was loaded with symbolism, detail, and mystique.
Their stickers were clean, bold, and instantly recognizable. They carried prestige. If you rode Powell, you were part of something bigger — the Bones Brigade, a movement that blended technical mastery with visual storytelling. Their stickers weren’t just cool — they were sacred.
🧨 Santa Cruz: Chaos, Color, and the Screaming Hand
Santa Cruz took a different route — loud, chaotic, and dripping with energy. Jim Phillips’ Screaming Hand became the brand’s visual anthem, a raw burst of emotion that captured the spirit of skateboarding in a single image.
Santa Cruz stickers were colorful, surreal, and often unsettling. They didn’t whisper — they shouted. From the Slime Balls logo to the Rob Roskopp face series, their designs were made to stand out on decks, walls, and shop windows. They were the visual equivalent of a frontside slash — aggressive, stylish, and unforgettable.
🦇 Zorlac: Horrorcore, Metal, and the Underground
Zorlac Skateboards brought darkness to the sticker game. Their graphics leaned into horror, heavy metal, and occult imagery — skulls, bats, demons, and cryptic symbols. The Pushead-designed stickers were especially iconic, blending fine art detail with punk aggression.
Zorlac’s stickers weren’t for everyone — and that was the point. They were for skaters who lived on the edge, who didn’t care about contests or clean lines. Their designs were raw, rebellious, and deeply personal. Slapping a Zorlac sticker on your deck was a statement: “I ride for the underground.”
🧃 The Sticker Arms Race
As these brands grew in popularity, so did their sticker output. New graphics dropped regularly, often tied to pro models, video releases, or team tours. Skaters collected them like trading cards, trading doubles, hoarding rare designs, and plastering them across every surface they could find.
Skate shops became sticker battlegrounds — walls covered in layers of Powell, Santa Cruz, and Zorlac, each fighting for visual dominance. Your sticker choices said everything about your taste, your influences, and your crew.
🛹 Beyond the Big Three: A Wider War
While Powell, Santa Cruz, and Zorlac led the charge, other brands joined the fray. Vision, Sims, Alva, and Madrid all released iconic sticker designs during the ’80s, each with their own aesthetic and attitude. UK brands like Benjyboards and Alpine Sports also contributed to the scene, offering British skaters a homegrown alternative to the American giants.
The sticker war wasn’t just about art — it was about identity. And every brand brought something different to the fight.
🧩 Why These Stickers Still Matter
Decades later, these stickers remain some of the most sought-after collectibles in skate history. They represent a time when skateboarding was exploding — visually, culturally, and emotionally. They’re not just graphics — they’re memories. They remind us of the first deck we ever bought, the first crew we ever joined, the first time we felt like we belonged.
In the sticker wars of the ’80s, every slap was a statement. And those statements still echo today.
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