Black Label

Black Label is John Lucero’s company, and probably the most stubbornly independent deck brand in the United States. Lucero was already a pro in the 80s — the 1984 Bondage Chick graphic is his, and Variflex ended up pulling it for being offensive — and he started his own operation at the end of that decade. It has never had outside partners or investors since: as he told Jenkem, “Black Label has never been financed by anyone other than my wallet.”

History

The origin is Lucero Skateboards: the ads run in Thrasher from October 1988 through 1990. The Black Label name settles in around 1990 — Jenkem states plainly that Lucero has run the company 100% independently since that year — and ads under that name become regular in Thrasher from 1992 on. The brand still plays with those dates: the catalog includes graphics called “Welcome to 1988” and “Thumbhead 1988.”

Along the way it went through distributors: Giant first, then Blitz. In the early 2010s Lucero lost much of his team over money, and around 2014 he pulled out of Blitz and took the company back home, literally. The video run marks the eras: Label Kills (2001), Blackout (2003), Back in Black (2006) and God Save the Label (2009). Recent years have brought premieres back: Light the Match (2024) and In Nothing We Trust (2025), where Nick Peterson turned pro.

One detail explains the whole house: Lucero refuses to make the “cold call” — phoning riders on other companies to poach them. He was the first to sponsor Gino Iannucci, made John Cardiel’s first pro boards, and had a young Jason Dill on the team.

The team

The current riders with their own models are Jason Adams, Omar Hassan, Elijah Akerley, Jake Reuter, Nick Peterson and Patrick Ryan, with Lucero himself still holding boards in the catalog. The house list also includes Jeff Grosso, Matt Hensley, Riky Barnes, Kristian Svitak, Matt Mumford, Ben Gilley, Vince Del Valle, Shuriken Shannon, Franky Villani and Auby Taylor. Hensley and Barnes have legend models, and in Barnes’ case a shape named after him.

The boards

This is where Black Label genuinely differs. Seven-ply maple, widths from 8.0” all the way to 10.25”, and above all shapes almost nobody else makes: Custom Egg, Tugboat, Black Widow, Jumbotron, Cross and Curb Surfer, alongside regular popsicles. Many models come with stained veneers and double-drilled wheelbases (15.5” or 16”). It’s gear built for bowls, pools, transition and curb skating, not for the lightest possible street deck.

Who it’s for

If you skate ramps and pools, or you want a wide, old-shape deck, Black Label is one of the few brands that offers it as standard stock rather than a limited drop. If you want a standard 8.0” popsicle and a cover-star street team, there are more obvious options. If you’re unsure about width, check the deck size guide and compare in the deck catalog.