FOREWORD
This year, Madrid Skateboards celebrates its 40th year as a skateboard manufacturer and brand. In an environment as unpredictable as the skateboard industry, strong leadership is essential if a company wants to stay around, and owner Jerry Madrid’s leadership has allowed Madrid to weather the industry’s booms and busts over four decades. Fueled by his passion for skating and surfing since day one, Jerry and his company have remained committed to supporting skateboarders every step of the way.
THE MAN
In 1965, while in high school, Jerry Madrid started a small surfboard company. Working out of his parents’ garage in Norwalk, California, Jerry began shaping and fiberglassing surfboards for himself and his friends.
At first it was more of a hobby than a sustainable career, so Jerry took on some additional jobs to sustain his surfing habits and go on more surf trips. After working at a dairy store, Jerry was hired as a journeyman mechanic for Volkswagen in the early 1970s. Working at Volkswagen expanded his technical skills in a way that would later translate to his board manufacturing. 
When Jerry and his friends were just beginning to skateboard, surfing was still paramount, and they thought of skateboarding as a way to stay in shape for surfing when the waves weren’t good. While working at a surf shop that made fins, Jerry made his first skateboard out of fiberglass. He continued to cut out small, surf-inspired boards to be mounted with metal or clay wheels and whatever other components he could find.
That was until 1973, when Frank Nasworthy introduced the first urethane skateboard wheels. Nasworthy’s Cadillac wheels were dramatically faster, more durable and smoother over uneven pavement than clay or metal wheels, and urethane quickly became the standard. The wheels’ increased performance helped skaters push their limits, which in turn drove changes in board design.
“At the time [we were doing] downhill, skating banks and ditches and pool riding,” Jerry says. “As those types of skating demanded different types of boards, we began experimenting with the skateboards we were making. We used various laminations of fiberglass, Baltic birch and maple to get boards to the right level of stiffness or flex for specific styles of riding. At the time, nobody was manufacturing molds designed for skateboard lamination. I had to design molds and build presses to accommodate the various blanks we wanted to laminate.”
To help support his board making, Jerry began working as a firefighter in Anaheim in January 1975. He had to put the skate company aside during his probationary first year as a firefighter, but on Jan. 6, 1976, he was able to officially start his skateboard company, Madrid Skateboards. Jerry continued working for the Anaheim Fire Department until retiring in December 2005.
“THE FARM TEAM”
To promote the brand, Madrid often sponsored small contests around the country. It was a grassroots approach, targeted to smaller events like 
backyard ramp and pool sessions. Sponsoring these contests attracted new team riders, and the Madrid brand began to grow. Some (but not all) of the early Madrid team riders include: Mike Smith, John Lucero, Bryce Kanights, Bob Schmelzer, Beau Brown, Bill Danforth, Eddie Elguera, Gary Sanderson, Ken Park, Steve Douglas, Rob Roskopp and Roger Hickey. In certain circles, the Madrid team got the nickname “The Farm Team” because so many riders went on from Madrid to ride for other major brands.
By the late 1970s, the Madrid name and reputation had attracted the attention of some of the top skate companies, which looked to Madrid to manufacture their boards. Jerry began making boards and molds for Santa Cruz, Sims, Variflex, Alva, Vision, Hosoi and others. Pro riders from these brands would come in to the Madrid factory to work on their shapes and test out new prototypes.
THE INNOVATION
During this era in the late ’70s, a manufacturing error at the Madrid factory changed skateboard design forever. When a few boards were mistakenly pressed without any layers of cross-grain veneer, the blanks began to warp after they were removed from the presses. Jerry decided to cut out the boards anyway to see how they would ride. Without the cross-grain plies, the boards lacked strength and stiffness, but their concave surface felt great. Jerry then set out to make the first production molds with concave.
One of the very first of these molds was sold to Santa Cruz, and Madrid put out its own production board with concave in 1979. The Madrid 36” and 40” Longboards were the first longboards to feature concaves, and the Roger Hickey Downhill Pro Model was the first downhill-specific board with concave. Jerry continued to refine his concave molds and incorporate new features. The M-Tech mold in the early ’80s was one of the first to have an upturned nose and became a staple of the Madrid lineup.
THE FIRST GRIP TAPE BRAND
In 1983, Madrid employee and team manager Beau Brown started punching fly-shaped cut-outs in the grip tape that the Madrid factory was supplying to riders. That way everyone who saw the fly would know the board came from the Madrid factory, even if it was produced for another brand. In doing so, Beau created the first skate-company grip tape brand, Flypaper, which is still made in the USA and trusted by skaters of all disciplines.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In the summer of 1985, crowds of families flocked to theaters to watch what would become one of the decade’s most popular movies, Back to the Future. Before production, Universal Studios approached Jerry with an offer to include Madrid product placement in the movie for $50,000. Jerry split the cost with Valterra Skateboards. He produced the boards for the movie with Valterra graphics, but was allowed to add Madrid stickers, and astute observers noticed the Madrid logos showing on main character Marty McFly’s skateboard. Jerry also connected Universal with the stunt riders for the movie (Bob Schmelzer and Per Welinder) and charged Universal $25,000 for props and services. So in the end, Jerry paid nothing out of pocket, and Madrid got a boost in brand recognition. In 2015, Madrid commemorated the film’s 30th anniversary by reissuing a limited run of Marty McFly Valterra skateboards.
VANS X MADRID SHOE COLLAB
In 1987 Vans and Madrid teamed up to offer Vans’ first collaboration shoe with a skateboard brand, the Madrid Fly shoe. Images of flies covered the side panels of the high-top shoe, and a large rubber toe cap made the shoes a favorite of the Madrid team. In 2016, Vans will reissue a limited run of the Madrid Fly shoes to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
JERRY MADRID VS. GENERAL MOTORS
By 1983, Frank Nasworthy’s original trademark for Cadillac Wheels had lapsed. Jerry began producing Cadillac skate trucks and attempted to trademark the Cadillac name for sporting goods. However, General Motors opposed the trademark; the auto maker had plans to produce a Cadillac SUV that could technically qualify as a “sporting good.” Jerry and his attorney were in a classic David vs. Goliath situation but did not back down from the legal battle. Jerry says GM kept postponing the trademark hearings as long as possible to try to drain him of his legal funds. However, after GM missed a filing deadline to postpone a hearing, Jerry was granted the trademark and the right to make Cadillac skate gear. Cadillac Wheels are still poured in the USA and are stock equipment on the majority of Madrid complete setups.
2016 AND BEYOND
Madrid boards are still being pressed daily at the Madrid Skateboards factory, now located in Huntington Beach, and the company still has a knack for finding talented riders – among them Madrid pros Zak Maytum, Max Dubler and Justin Rouleau, who recently returned from a trip to Europe to skate and film on some gorgeous mountain passes.
Jerry says Madrid will continue to focus on offering a wide variety of skateboards for multiple disciplines and styles. Watch for some limited-edition reissues of classic Madrid boards in 2016, along with a full range of new graphics and shapes.
After 40 years in business, Jerry Madrid is still at the helm and optimistic about the opportunities to come. When asked about what the future holds, Jerry says, “We will keep having fun and try to stay ahead of the industry trends and movements – but most of all, we’ll continue to support skateboarders who are committed to growing the scene.”
Jerry
Thankyou to Michael Brooke and Concrete Wave Magazine