SUPER 8 SKATEBOARD CO
‘Texans are generally proud to be Texans and in Skateboarding it’s no different.’
Chad Rollins
Super 8 Skateboard Company
September 2025
Can you tell us something about Texas that no one knows?
Texas has always been a contender in the skateboard scene. The first skateboard distributor in the United States called Donel Distribution was based in Dallas TX. And one of the first Urethane skateboard wheels was created in conjunction with Braniff Airlines in the 70’s as a collab between Sims and Braniff to create the first automated baggage handling system in the world. That collab led to the designer of the baggage system to create Donel Distribution. As result a young Stuart Singer started skating and worked his way up to World Champion in the late 70’s riding for Sims Skateboards.
Where does this pride for Texas come from?
I would have to say that during the 80’s we were so separated from the scenes on the west coast and east coast and had to do something to make our mark. We had plenty of coverage in the mags in the 80’s and produced World Class riders. Texans are generally proud to be Texans and in Skateboarding it’s no different.
What triggered the idea to start your own skateboard company?
I was filming and taking pics of a local shop and their team on a Skate Trip and the owners of the shop told me that I should start my own company. It was something I had thought about for a while because of my kid’s involvement in the local skate scene but at the time I couldn’t come up with a name and while shooting the team at one of the biggest skate parks in the USA I looked at the Beaulieu 4008 Super 8 camera in my hands and said to myself why not Super 8 Skates? Which Tim Baron later talked me into changing to Super 8 Skateboard Company.
Why did the shop owner think you should start your own company?
At that point I was already involved in helping to organize local contests and skate swap meets and they knew that I was a shop helper for Nash Skateboards in the 80’s that was literally down the street from my childhood home and where Super 8 decks are produced now. I’m a huge skateboard collector especially Zorlac decks and had just recently sold off some of my more common decks to donate the money to Skateistan.
Any special meaning behind the name ‘Super8’?
Absolutely. For my 4th birthday back in 1978, I got two gifts from my parents: my first Skateboard, a Hobie Woody Weaver skateboard, and a Chinon Super 8 Camera and Projector to film my brother’s birth that was coming up in a couple months. Ever since then, I became a designated family videographer, and my passion for all things film continued to grow. Combining my two biggest passions from childhood (skate and fill-ins) into the name of my brand seemed like a no-brainer.
Can you tell us something about yourself?
I’m a skater, skate photographer and filmer that has been in love with skateboarding for over 4 decades. I grew up in a rural town in Texas where skaters weren’t that popular with the local residents. Despite that we had a pretty decent size crew and had access to a closed down community pool, halfpipe, a few mini ramps, and some great ditches. Other than skateboarding and horror movies I have traveled around the world shooting stock photography and food photography and learning all the local recipes along the way.
How were you able to reel in Tim Baron for the board artwork?
Tim and I both grew up with the same comic books, horror toys and, overall, we speak the same language. When I reached out to him at the very beginning of Super 8 Skates, I thought it was a pretty long shot, but I went for it. At the time, he had only worked with Creature. I think my ideas for Classic Monster graphics really resonated with his passion for horror toys making. He took a pencil to the first batch of characters, and there was immediate chemistry between my ideas and his execution. 20+ characters in, we continue to collaborate and I’m now producing the decks for his own label.
‘Will is very well liked and travels everywhere to compete and train other Olympic Teams.’
What other board company inspires you?
From the past it would be the original Texas Zorlac because of Pushead’s Artwork and how hardcore their riders were on and off the board. Also loved brands like Town & Country that was produced by Vision in the mid 80’s, my first modern pro model deck was a Johnee Kop. I was actually able to find a mint condition Kop a few years back after 10 years of searching for one. As far as modern deck companies brands like Scum Co & Son’s and Strangelove whose decks are immediately collectable are the ones really drives me to push the designs of Super 8.
Proudest moment so far?
When we started the company it was mainly just to teach our kids on how to run a business and it quickly grew to a point where we had people specifically buying our decks to hang in collections on their walls which is crazy to me. But the proudest moment would have to be when my kid’s trainer that was already on Team Mexico for 2020 Olympics told me he was leaving his current sponsor and wanted to join our team.
So, you have pro riders in your team?
Will Cortez is our only pro rider at the moment, and we recently released two versions of his Pro Model. One he directly collaborated with Tim Baron for the graphic of him as a pirate and we call that version the “Deeds not Word’s edition”. As soon as Tim was done, I secretly had Tim do a version that was more in line with the rest of the Super 8 graphics which is a skeleton version of the same graphic that I call the Momento Mori version. Both are selling really well and already going in to reprint. Will is very well liked and travels everywhere to compete and train other Olympic Teams. He is on Team Mexico and trains their riders as well as the Russian Olympic Team and riders that are part of Fed Skate Russia and heading there soon to work with them and help build a huge vert ramp over there. We are working right now to add more riders and more pro riders and offer one of the best royalty programs in the industry due to our business model.
Which city would you consider the skate capital of Texas?
Without a doubt that would be Houston. They have some of the biggest parks, The Houston Vert Ramp, tons of Skate shops, tons of top-notch riders like Adam Wiggins, The Embassy Skate Crew, and the Pre-teen Twins Jayden and Jaxon which are the ones to be on the lookout for.
What is the Texas skate community most proud of?
Mostly that we have always been a player in the Pro skate scene. Since the 70’s we have had guys like Stuart Singer, John Gibson, Craig Johnson, Dan Wilkes, and most importantly Jeff Phillips, who gave Tony Hawk and other top pros a run for the money throughout the 80’s and all the way up until his tragic death in 1993. We continue to celebrate Jeff with annual Jeff Phillips Vert Jams and have riders that still emulate his Texas Style.
Who do you consider the godfather of Texas skateboarding?
We have a couple: Jeff Newton, who started Zorlac Skateboards in the late 70’s; Jeff Bower, who was a personal friend of Jeff Phillips (So many Jeff’s); but to me, and many others, it would have to be Al Coker. He has been flying the flag for Texas skateboarding since the mid 60’s. He gave the name Zorlac to Jeff Newton for one of their first decks, opened one of the first skate shops in Texas, and was the founder of Guapo Skatepark and the Texas Skateboarding Museum.
If you could sign up any skater for Super8, who would it be and why?
It would have to be Keefer Wilson from Australia or Reef Orlando from Florida; I had a chance to shoot both recently and they are both pushing Vert Riding to the extreme. I have known Reef since he was 12yrs old and he just continues to get better and better rivaling some of the biggest Vert Skaters around.
Last Question. If you could interview any person in the world, who would it be?
As a skate photographer and filmer, I have met most of my childhood heroes in the skate scene, but the two people who have been very elusive are Rodney Mullen and Natas Kaupas. They are the ones that really pushed skateboarding in the late 80’s and their skating led to what we consider modern street skating.
‘We continue to celebrate Jeff with annual Jeff Phillips Vert Jams and have riders that still emulate his Texas Style.’