Blankets.
Consolidated was never afraid of running text only ads offering their 2¢ on a matter. I don't think that still happens because we simply hash things out on the internet these days. I can't remember the last time there was a beef between companies in print, which was a staple of skateboarding up until Instagram came along to ruin everything. Two companies need to start up an advertising fight in Closer to fully recapture the spirit of skateboarding in the 1990s. Given that this ad ran in early 2004, my guess is Consolidated was referring to the return of Stereo in 2003.
It was recently announced that Louie Barletta rescued enjoi from the grip of the venture capitalists. Bill Weiss also pulled Madness back from the same depths of despair. Louie has a fairly detailed interview at Slam City talking about what enjoi meant to him and why he wanted it back. He has a well thought out plan for the company that doesn't step on anybody's toes in the process. Louie is open about the business side of skateboarding and provides insight into the nuts and bolts of what he is doing.
In general, reboots of deceased skateboard companies seldom go well. The magic that sparked the original idea is often never rekindled. Creature is perhaps the lone example of a successful return to the land of the living. Chris Pastras and Jason Lee did get the band back together for Stereo, but the mood has never exactly felt right. It would've been better for the two to start a new project under a different name. Another reboot that probably gets overlooked is Converse. They went bankrupt until Nike stepped in to resurrect the company. If nothing else, the new Cons have way less padding and helium than the old ones so that can count as a victory of sorts.
There's also the burden that nostalgia is becoming. We don't need a reissue of every single defunct company that had a niche following, such as Popwar for example. One point I liked in the Chrome Ball interview with Louis Carlton was that he said he has no real interest in making another run of Small Room boards. That was the past and it was good, but we don't need to repeat it, we can let it be. Personally, I would be cool with a fresh batch of Small Room t-shirts since I never had one back in the day, but that's a trivial request that can go unfulfilled. You do have to take into account the circumstances that cause a company to depart. In the case of Madness and enjoi, it wasn't of their own missteps, but because of corporate ownership. It makes the return slightly different. I've seen plenty of Madness boards around so obviously Bill was doing something right. I'm curious to see where all this ends up going. I'm also curious to see when skateboarding is going to tone down celebrating its storied past as the driver for new projects. You always need a good balance of new and old to keep people interested while connecting them with history.
Sacred: Big Brother - February 2004 Number 105
Blankets: Big Brother - January 2004 Number 104
