PSYOP SKATEBOARDS
‘Ultimately Psyop represents taking things into your own hands and doing something.’
Aaron Robinette
Psyop Skateboards
August 2025
Can you tell us something about Texas that no one knows?
Not many people know that Texas was once a leading manufacturer of skateboards. I believe it held over 50% of the market at one point. My memory is foggy on the exact percentage, as it has been a while since I read that, but I believe I learned that in the Texas Skateboard Museum when it was still in operation.
You started skating in the 90ies and in 2018 you started your own board company. What happened in between?
So much! (Laughing) We moved from Pflugerville, Texas (a suburb of Austin), to a small town called Ranger in 2000. At this point I had been skateboarding for three or four years. Ranger was an oil boom town in 1917. Once the oil dried up, the town still existed as a ghost of its former glory. There was nothing to skate there but a three stair and brick roads. I skated anyway! Sadly, my progression became stagnant. I eventually met one of my best friends, Jerm Brister. He was into skateboarding, and he was a musician. Jerm then introduced me to Punk music. I believe the first vinyl I had ever heard was D.I. I was hooked!
Shortly after that, we started a band. From there we toured Texas and the US. I worked at a mobile home factory (and a few other gigs) making horrible wages when I was not playing shows. We got to open for Duane Peters and the Hunns and even Agent Orange in Abilene, Texas. I eventually met my wife at these shows. I soon found out that the road is a tough place. Living in a van with a bunch of stinky dudes and eating day old doughnuts from behind Jack ‘n Jill’s Doughnut Shop was not for me. I left the band and married my wife, Emily, a couple years later. I was doing electrical work and other construction. It became common that I would get laid off every winter when the amount of work decreased. I finally had a turning point when I broke a bone doing an invert over a spine at Primal Skateshop. We were already struggling financially, and that was the final straw. Once I healed, I decided to put myself through college. I took a break from skateboarding altogether and went to a trade school. I acquired an associate degree and finally got a job with benefits. Big win, now I can get back on my board! That is when I decided I was just going to do what I had wanted to do for some time–make skateboards and skate whenever possible.
Any special meaning behind the name ‘Psyop’?
Psyop is short for Psychological Operation. I believe it was coined by a branch of the US Military. They had teams of soldiers in war time who would go into countries and subvert the leaders and population. The first time I heard the name was on one of those conspiracy theory internet forums–like, “This is all a psyop.” I liked the word and honestly felt it was fitting with everything going on, especially in the skateboarding industry.
What is going on in the skateboarding industry?
We have new generations coming up that have no idea what a lot of people went through for there to be skateparks popping up everywhere. A lot of us in these small towns had to defend ourselves just for being skateboarders. A lot of noncompliance went down on the streets to get to this point. That punk rock attitude of seek and destroy that made skateboarding rad can easily be lost in the sea of doom scrolling, politically correct, Nike Dunk-collecting swag kids. On the other side, there are a lot of older skaters who complain about the decline in culture and do nothing to change it. Ultimately Psyop represents taking things into your own hands and doing something. Steering the ship ourselves. DIY or DIE!
Proudest moment so far?
Any time a kid I never met is riding something I worked on, that is definitely a proud moment. It has happened a couple of times and it just blows my mind. We are a small operation and largely a one-man band. Yeah, I think those are my proudest moments. I don’t care if Psyop becomes a national brand or anything like that. If a kid learns to ollie or kickflip on one of my boards, I am stoked for that.
Most embarrassing or funny that you can share?
I am a bit socially awkward. The last slalom race I was in, someone mistook me for another racer, and I just went along with it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was confused. He seemed really stoked that his friend was there! (laughing).
Did you sign his shirt?
Ha! No, I should have told the guy. He was an older dude too. I am still a bit embarrassed about that. (laughing) What a kook!
‘There are a lot of older skaters who complain about the decline in culture and do nothing to change it’
Which city would you consider the skate capital of Texas?
Oh hell, you don’t even know. It isn’t like when I was a kid. Parks everywhere! I am fond of that park in Pflugerville, Texas. I think Austin has too many spots and parks for me to count. I don’t know that there is a capital, though. Texas is so massive that it’s hard to say. Where I live, you can drive 7 hours in any direction and still be in Texas.
Which part of Texas are you representing and what is the local skate scene like?
West Texas! My closest park is in Abilene. Our parks are rough and in disrepair. We like cold beers and fast music! Got a tight group of homies I ride with when I am not pressing decks. We just built a ramp at my buddy Dylan’s house. Mike finally got his inverts and laybacks down again. I am doing the same five or ten tricks I did last year. (laughing).
You press your own boards, which is very cool. What is the most challenging part during the process?
Thank you! Pressing boards gets pretty streamlined once you figure it out. The early stages were tough, though. I blew up my first press in such a way that if my head was over, it when it happened, it would have knocked it clean off! The steel beam shot up, fell through my shop rafters, and put a good gash in my scalp instead. I ended up with staples that night! (laughing). Redneck engineering won’t work for these presses, kids! I think you learn little details that make the process faster and safer the longer you do it, though. The challenging part is the glue’s hardening time. I don’t have a roll coating machine. I hand roll each deck. You have to go fast or face delamination of the plies. Pressure, humidity, glue time, cure time–these are important to figure out. I do share a lot of information, but I think this is something makers should learn on their own. It will build character.
Let’s say you can sign any pro, who would it be and why?
It would be like maybe Ben Raybourne. I believe he is a working-class guy. I think he stays in Texas now. He would probably mesh better with my crew. He is also a ripper. That being said. I am more interested in people that are unknown. You can go to a music fest like say King Fest in Texas or to a DIY and find so much untapped talent there.
Despite your frustration with the direction the quality of skateboards has gone with outsourced products, is there still a board company that inspires you?
Oh yeah, man, absolutely, my friend Tyler at Pyrate Planx puts out some crazy shapes. My buddy who runs Texas Skate Shop–shout out to Brad Robertson–he does Fun-Key Laminates. I have been racing with some of the Sk8 King crew. I tend to gravitate to others who are doing much of what I am doing, or who cover a niche. Guapo Skateshop may or may not have some decks on their way. I don’t know if I am at liberty to discuss that yet. (laughing). We got Cherries Wheels and Grackle Skateboards. Embassy skate team is next level. Liljawns has some sick plastics. I am sure I am missing a few. When I first started pressing, it was me and maybe two other people in Texas making them. It seems through the internet and the free flow of information that EVERYONE is doing it now. That inspires me. It isn’t easy work. Good to see people are taking the DIY ethos into their own hands and making things the way they want them instead of relying on an industry that is largely made up of people and corporations that don’t even skate.
Last Question. If you could interview any person in the world?
That is a good question. I could never do your job. It takes a lot of interpersonal skills that I lack. I am more of a “sit by a fire and have a beer and a conversation” type of person. I have had a lot of those “never meet your heroes” moments in my life. I think for that reason it would be a historical figure, like James Bowie. It would be interesting to see a Texas folk hero’s perspective on modern society. Plus, I think I would be able to convince him to drop in.