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“Fuck The Cops”, “For The Children”, “Frisco Taking
Control”, “For The City”... no matter what you think the
three letters of this San Francisco skateshop/brand stand for, you can
be sure that the company itself has always stood for one thing:
skateboarding.
Founded
by Kent Uyehara in 1986, not long before vert and the entire skate
industry took a massive dump, FTC helped usher in street skating and
foster a new breed of skateboarder. With the legendary EMB and the buzz
around it drawing in some of the best skaters from around the world, SF
became the undisputed skate mecca of the 90's with FTC being the
backbone of the scene and, not coincidentally, one of the most
influential skate shops ever. Pumas and shell toes? Del and
Hieroglyphics? Thank FTC for the introduction. They helped popularize
trends, promoted music and, more importantly, sponsored dozens of ams
who would later go on to become some of the most familiar names in
skateboarding today. Names like Mike Carroll, Henry Sanchez, Eric
Koston, Jovontae Turner, Marcus Mcbride, Keith Hufnagel, Mike York,
Scott Johnston, Bobby Puleo, Rick Howard, Chico Brenes and many, many
more. By the mid 90's it was hard to find a popular pro who wasn't
sponsored by them, and sure they all got free t-shirts and griptape and
the usual perks of having a shop sponsor, but FTC has always offered
more than simply tangible items to it's riders. They give back to those
who have helped make their business succeed whether it's a small loan
of product or cash, finding them housing, or getting them out of jail
if and when they get arrested. It's a comparison that's being overused
and misappropriated by a lot of companies these days but it's safe to
say that being a part of FTC Skateboarding is like being a part of a
family, for real.
It's
been more than 20 years since they first opened and they're going
stronger now than ever. They've got locations in SF, Sacramento and
Tokyo, an in house skateboard brand called Western Edition, their own
line of FTC branded streetwear that's 50 pieces deep, they're working
on their 5th video and they've got an obvious appreciation for who and
what has brought them this far. FTC Skateboarding is definitely doing
it right.
THE OLD SHRADER ST
LOCATION
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A few facts you may or may not have known about FTC Skateboarding:
- FTC has had three locations in SF: Bush Street (1986-1994), Shrader
Street (1994-2003) and Haight Street (2003-now).
- In 1991 FTC teamriders Jovontae Turner, Henry Sanchez and others were
invited to Hong Kong to be stuntmen in the Jackie Chan Movie "City
Hunter". Rick Ibaseta was Jackie's skate stunt double. The movie sucked
but Jackie went on to be a huge international star anyway.
- Jim Thiebaud was the first FTC pro teamrider. His first FTC ad was in
Poweredge mag since Thrasher wouldn't let them advertise yet. They were
told at the time that FTC wasn't core enough.
- FTC has a "loan book" that many pros and ams have been included in.
Jovontae Turner had the largest tab ever totaling over $5000 in
merchandise loans on the books.
- The original FTC team consisted of Mike Carroll, Greg Carroll, Rick
Ibaseta and Jovontae Turner. Then Jim. Then Henry Sanchez. Then the
rest!
- Del The Funky Homosapien drew the original cover artwork for the
first FTC video "Finally" that featured Mike Carroll, Keith Hufnagel,
Chico Brenes and many more.
- At Bush Street Kent starting taking collateral (cell phones, jewelry,
etc) for risky product loan applicants. Like a pawn shop, if the loan
was past due your watch or pager would be put on display for sale.
Kent's still rocking Mike Cao's Gucci watch today.
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