Most readers of Concrete Wave are somewhat familiar with the history of the longboard companies that are featured in the magazine. What many people may not be aware of is that back in the 1980’s, the Swiss skate scene was into carving and slalom skating long after everyone had turned to ollies and rails. Over the course of the next several issues, the goal is to showcase some of this history to give you a sense of just how deep the roots go.
First off is Christoph Peller of Indiana Skateboards
What was the skate scene like in the 1980’s?
The skateboard scene in the early 80’s in Switzerland was made up of a number of small brands. We had PC Slalom boards, Cem, Radical and Hooger Booger. There was a famous old school skater named Heini Temperli and all the fast slalom riders were on his team.
Why do you think the Swiss kept up with downhill and slalom (and skyhooks!) when most of the skate world moved on?
I think we live in the “asphalt paradise.” Switzerland is truly the Hawaii for skaters. We have good public transportation, and a fast skateboard brings you happily to the bus station. When it comes to slalom, we have a big history. There were so many good riders in the 1970’s and 80’s. Of course, we Swiss have a culture and history of racing. One example; Andreas Pfander was wining the Red Bull Downhill Contest in Rio Brazil in the early 90`s.
How did you get you get into skateboard manufacturing?
It was 1987 and I was in school. One to the projects I worked on was a snowboard. This was the first time I got in contact with wood, fiberglass and epoxy and I got hooked.
What led to the creation of Indiana?
After my experience with making the snowboard, Hooger Booger stopped making skateboards and concentrated their efforts on snowboards. So at 19 years of age, I decided to start up Indiana in 1989 in my parents garage. At that time you could not find nice products in the skateshops for alternative skateboarding, so I felt that it was a good time to get into it. You don’t need much money to do it. The adventure can start just next to your house. You can ride your local hill. This, to me, is still the message.
What are some of the things you’ve experimented with when it comes to manufacturing?
We’ve used a lot of different materials: wood, fiberglass, carbon titanal. I think Indiana was one of the first companies to have snowboard with a wood core. This means not a plywood construction, but a vertical laminate.
Can you believe that Indiana has been around for 25 years? What are some of your favorite memories?
Indiana was like my family. The relationship with my workers and team riders was like that. I was also very young and had no experience in business and how to make a nice product for skateboarding. We built up our own woodshop and used a lot of material from the ski and snowboard industries. The business has changed a lot in 25 years. We were winning many slalom skateboard events all over the world with riders like Maurus Strobel, Noemi Reichel (we always supported women in skateboarding) and Luca Giammarco. These were top athletes and they dominated.
One of my favorite memories is a series we first called Rollerball. It eventually turned into the Burning Wheels Tour. It was a Boarder Cross Series for skaters and it was a lot of fun, but to much work for a small company like us, but we were always very creative. In 2000, Indiana won the ISPO Brand New Awards with our skateboards and longboards with flex. To be perfectly honest, I think we were too early with our style of riding.
What are three very important things that you’d like the skate world to know about the Swiss skate scene?
I think the whole Swiss skate scene was very strong and unique. Our problem was always that our products were quite expensive to export. Finally, our country is very small, but it is beautiful.