Shut NYC
Frustration has a lot to do with Skateboarding. It is the very womb in which Skateboarding was created. Surfers, frustrated without waves, were driven to fabricate the first Skateboards out of old Roller-skate wheels and a 2x4. Modern skateboarding, as we know it, was created out of the Venice Dog Town and Z-Boys era. Poor street kids, frustrated with their dilapidated surroundings, used their skateboards as tools to transform their world of Urban Decay into a playground. And Shut Skates is no different.
Rodney Smith and Bruno Musso were two of the East Coasts early Skateboard pioneers. As they grew up and ventured forth to the Skateboard Mecca of the West Coast, it became clear that this game was to be played by their rules. Any dreams of building a life around their love of Skateboarding would have to be left behind when they had to venture back home.
This frustration only further festered as the two comrades watched Skater after Skater, all amazing in their own right, fall to the wayside due to their homes on the East Coast. This frustration finally forced Rodney and Bruno to do something about it. Started literally out of a garage, Shut was created in 1986. It was the original New York City Skateboard Company.
Utilizing their frustration, their ignored talent, and a completely fresh perspective, Shut quickly grew into an underground sensation. The rumors of the unstoppable Shut skateboard team struck fear into much of the California Pro/Am Skateboard circuit. Spearheaded by a gang of unknowns like Jefferson Pang, Sean Sheffey, Coco Santiago, Chris Pastras, Barker Barret, and Felix Arguelles, the Shut Skates Team terrorized the burgeoning Street Skate scene.
It wasn't long before California got Shut's message. They got it loud and clear. Eventually, the Shut team members were drawn to California by the skateboard establishment. End Act I. Begin Intermission.
Now, celebrating its twentieth anniversary: Begin Act II - Shut is at it again. With Rodney Smith leading the charge, Shut is back to do the same shit they did then. Flanked by his partners from Zoo York, Adam Schatz and Eli Morgan Gesner, and with the support of the surviving Shut Skates team members, you can be sure to expect a different aspect on the Skateboard game. A hard edged, street smart, original New York City point of view. There have been many others who were born out of Shut, but even today, there is still only one. The immortal archetype. Shut Skates. NYC.
