• Interview
• Video

Bear Walker Industries on pop culture skateboard design, collabs & growing the business

From reforming his company several times to gaining licensed collaborations to Pokemon, Bear Walker shared his journey in custom skateboard design.

TJ Denzer

January 4, 2023 4:40 PM

1

Skateboarding has ebbed and flowed in popularity over the years, but never truly gone away. Perhaps no one knows this better than custom board designer Bear Walker of Bear Walker Industries. As the golden age of Tony Hawk passed and new skaters grew up to join him in the shred, so too has board design evolved, and Bear Walker has worked tirelessly to make his name known as both a solid designer and deliverer of pop culture skateboards to suit every taste. We got to talk with Walker about how his business has come together, the evolution and demand of his designs, and more.

According to Bear, it was tough starting out. Bear Walker Industries actually took about three tries to get off the ground, and the last attempt was quite a Hail Mary of a business play. Walker had worked on building houses with his father that led to an understanding of handywork with tools, and he earned a graphic design degree to help develop his product style.

After that, Walker took a shot in the dark with his love for Pokemon to reach out to the company and show them his first custom Pikachu board. Two weeks later, the Pokemon Company called Walker to order the design of a Pokemon skateboard collection.

From there, Bear Walker’s designs have picked up popularity as he’s worked on collections and collaborations, as well as custom boards here and there. Walker doesn’t even mind if you ride his work. Actually, he takes pride in the idea that people love his boards so much they actually ride them and break them in.

You can learn more at the Bear Walker Industries website. Want more videos like this Bear Walker Industries skateboard interview? Be sure to follow our YouTube channels at Shacknews and GamerHubTV for all of the latest video interviews, reviews, gameplay, and more on the latest video games, technology, and toys.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.