Almost

Almost is an American street brand founded in 2003 by Rodney Mullen and Daewon Song, two of the most technical skaters the sport has ever produced. Mullen, widely regarded as the father of modern street flip tricks, had just left enjoi; Song, a manual and ledge virtuoso, arrived after his short-lived brand Artafact folded. They set it up under Dwindle Distribution in El Segundo, California. From day one Almost paired two things that rarely go together: absurdly high technical skating and an accessible, pop-graphic image built around boards made to survive. For nearly two decades it was one of the most visible brands on the mainstream circuit.

History

The original team was Cooper Wilt, Chris Haslam, Ryan Sheckler and Greg Lutzka, and the brand launched with its first full-length in 2004. In 2006 it introduced Lewis Marnell, one of its most beloved riders, who died in January 2013 from diabetes-related complications. For its tenth anniversary in 2014 it landed one of its most memorable tie-ins, with DC Comics. Co-founder Daewon Song left in late 2018 to start Thank You Skateboards, and Chris Haslam had gone a year earlier. The real damage came from above: Dwindle, owned by Globe, was sold in 2019 to Highline Industries (Bravo Sports), and under financial ownership the distributor steadily decayed until it collapsed in 2023. With Dwindle gone, Almost effectively stopped operating; 2024 and 2025 saw only old stock cleared out, and as of mid-2026 there is no confirmed relaunch.

Team

The constant at the top was Rodney Mullen, on board until the very end. The final pro roster before the collapse included Youness Amrani, Yuri Facchini, Max Geronzi, Tyson Bowerbank and John Dilo. The historical list carries real weight: alongside Daewon Song, the brand hosted Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Chris Haslam, Torey Pudwill, Mitchie Brusco, Cooper Wilt and Sky Brown. A steady run of full-lengths through the 2000s and a later web series documented each era.

Boards and construction

If Almost is remembered for anything, it is its obsession with construction. Standard boards use 7 or 8 plies of maple bonded with epoxy resin, but the brand popularized a whole menu of technologies: Impact Support, with carbon-fiber discs at the truck holes to fight breakage; Uber Light, with a foam core and carbon to cut weight; and Double Impact, which merged both ideas. Graphically it always played the pop card, the DC Comics collaboration being the clearest example. If you want technical boards with that DNA, you can compare the decks on offer.