About Independent Truck Company

Name: Zoo York Cockroach Skateboard Sticker - 7.5cm high approx
Brand: Zoo York
SKU: zooyork3
Price: 1.22 EUR
Availability: InStock

April 29, 2023

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On May 23, 1978, in Newark, California, the company's first product, the Stage 1 model, was released thanks to the efforts of co-founders Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, Fausto Vitello, and Eric Swenson. Because there weren't any high-quality skateboard trucks available, the Independent truck (or "Indy") was created. Blackhart said that out of the two other major truck manufacturers, Bennett Trucks and Tracker Trucks, one was broken and the other didn't turn.

Independent trucks are manufactured with:

high tensile SAE 4130 Chromoly alloy steel axles with high rebound formula stock bushings of aircraft-grade T6 aluminium alloy quality.
Unveiling of Products
Stage 1 - 1978
Stage 2 - 1979
Stage 3 - 1982
Stage 4 - 1984
Stage 5 - 1986
Stage 6 - 1991
Stage 7 - 1993
Stage 8 - 1997
Stage 9 - 2003
Stage 10 - 2009
Stage 11 - 2012

Author Jim Phillips claims that the Iron Cross was the inspiration for the trucks' logo. Since the company's inception, this logo, which is based on the French Cross pattée, has served as Independent's identifying symbol.

Jim Phillips writes in his 2007 book "The Art of Jim Phillips":

...After playing around with the old 60s surfer cross and the even older biker cross, I settled on the iron, or Maltese cross. I curved it with a beam compass to give it a rounder appearance than the traditional square iron crosses. The next day, I brought my suggestion into the NHS office, and it was posted on the wall in the standard fashion. Jay and Rich looked at it for a long and agreed that it had a slightly too "Nazi" aesthetic. After having my sketches turned down, I was told to go back to the drawing board. I returned to my studio and resolved to put it to good use. I combed through old papers and files, hoping to find an explanation for why I had chosen that particular symbol. I discovered emblems from the knights' armour and Christopher Columbus' ships. Then, I located the Time magazine cover featuring Pope John Paul I from the June 18, 1979 issue under the letter P in my scrap file. It was incredible; his vestments featured a cross very similar to the one I had created. The following day, I brought the magazine to work as evidence of my credibility. A mutual expression of "Well, if the Pope has it, it must be okay!" was exchanged between them. The Independent cross was officially established at that point.

The initial company logo was a stylized cross in black, white, and red inside of a circle with the company name surrounding it. Jim Phillips created it in 1978. The iron crosses that appeared on California surfboards in the 1960s and the cross on Pope John Paul II's robes served as inspiration. The style was also reminiscent of medals like the Victoria Cross. Forty years later, though, the corporation started to worry that their emblem was starting to be connected with Nazi World War II relics. In 2021, a new logo was created in an effort to prevent any potential for controversy. The same spherical shape and colour pattern are used. But if you look closely, you can see a lozenge bearing the word "Independent" inside the circle. 'Ride the Best' appears around the outer rim of the circle, while 'Truck Company' occupies the bottom half. While many skateboarders are digging the brand new design, others are sad to see the old logo go.

A new primary logo replaced the iron cross in 2021 after many people voiced concerns that it looked too "Nazi-like."