🛹 Prime Skateboards: A Legacy of Craftsmanship and Culture

In the ever-evolving world of skateboarding, few companies can claim a lineage as rich and influential as Prime Skateboards. From humble beginnings in furniture-making to shaping the very decks that defined skateboarding’s golden era, Prime has carved out a legacy rooted in craftsmanship, innovation, and authenticity.

🏁 Origins: From Woodworking to Kicktails

Prime Skateboards traces its roots back to 1930, when Italian-American craftsman Ceasare Tuccinardi founded Prime Wood as a furniture business. Initially known for handcrafted breakfast nooks, the company pivoted in the 1960s when Ceasare and his sons—Phil, Louie, and Lorrie—began experimenting with curved plywood. By 1968, they were pressing wood for early skateboard brands like Madrid and Z Products, including the legendary Z-Boys.

This transition marked Prime as one of the earliest mass producers of skateboards, with their handmade presses producing some of the first boards with kicktails—a revolutionary design that changed how skateboards were ridden and tricked.

🌟 The Golden Era: Collaborations and Innovation

The late 1980s and early 1990s were transformative for Prime. Skateboarding icons Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen, fresh off founding World Industries, partnered with Prime to refine the modern skateboard shape. Mullen, in particular, spent countless hours at the Prime factory, shaping and tweaking designs to perfection.

During this era, Prime became the go-to manufacturer for nearly every major brand in the industry. Their production roster included:

• World Industries

• Blind

• Plan B

• 101

• Shorty’s

• Birdhouse

• Flip

• Hook-Ups

• Baker

• The Firm

At its peak, Prime Wood employed 220 people, ran 24/7, and produced a staggering 2.4 million skateboards annually. Their reputation for quality and consistency made them a backbone of the skateboarding industry.

🧢 Sponsorships and Influence

While Prime was primarily known as a manufacturer, their influence extended into sponsorships and team support. Many of the brands they produced for had stacked teams of legendary skaters, and Prime’s decks were the literal foundation beneath their feet.

Though not a traditional sponsor in the sense of running its own team, Prime’s role in shaping the boards used by top pros like Rodney Mullen, Tony Hawk, and others made them an indirect but vital supporter of skateboarding talent.

🔄 A New Chapter: Prime Today

In 2008, the Tuccinardi brothers retired and sold the company to Scott Holloway, a longtime skateboarder and musician. Holloway relocated the production facility to South Pasadena, Los Angeles County, where Prime continues to operate as Prime Wood LA.

Today, Prime is helmed by skateboarders Jacob Tillman and Chris Pastras, ensuring that every board is made by people who live and breathe skateboarding. The company focuses on handcrafted, high-quality decks, including limited-edition reissues of classic designs from the 1990s.

Their current offerings include:

• Hand-screened old-school decks

• Signature models designed by iconic skaters

• A full range of products made entirely in Los Angeles

Prime remains deeply committed to skateboarding culture, blending nostalgia with modern craftsmanship.

Prime-Five (skateboard video)