Chet was an amateur for Powell Peralta who got lost in the shuffle. Powell always took forever to turn guys pro because they had the best team in skateboarding and wanted to make sure the rider deserved a board with their name on it. When the small company boom of the early 1990s hit, they lost a lot of riders who soon became big names. Chet should have had a deck with his name on it sooner than he did.
He wound up turning pro for Eddie Reategui's Public, a short lived venture backed by Alva/New School. He won some contests and got the cover of Thrasher during this time. Since Public didn't last, Chet switched to Santa Cruz before riding for Channel One for much of the 1990s. Then at the end of the decade, Rodney Mullen put together the A - Team with Chet, Marc Johnson, Gershon Mosley and Dave Mayhew. The A - Team wasn't around long and Chet started Darkstar within the Dwindle Distribution empire.
Chet has paced himself well for his career. He killed all manner of mini ramps during the 1990s and probably still does today. I think he doesn't get some of the respect he is due because of Darkstar. The company gets a lot of hate on the internet. While I'm not a fan and find Darkstar somewhat uninteresting, I don't hate the brand either. I could see the 15 year old me liking the company a little. It's not really my thing. It seems to have worked out for Chet.
Bones Brigade Intelligence Report - June 1989 Volume 3 Number 1
1 comment:
I remember when Chet quit Public for Santa Cruz. Reportedly he quit because he was breaking up to five boards a day; this was when board quality was really bad and you would break them landing pressure flips on flatground.
Darkstar is one of those companies that really don't have an brand image; they're kinda like Think skateboards, in that respect. All I know of their riders is they all are Canadians (except Adam Dyet). And aside from Paul Machnau, most of the riders all are a bunch of dudes in ghetto gowns, a matching fitted cap, and big puffy shoes. They look like they are interchangeable with the DGK team.
— Rikku Markka
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