Deathwish

Deathwish is Baker’s darker sister. Jim Greco and Erik Ellington started it around 2007-2008 (sources disagree on the exact year, but the brand went public in 2008) under the Baker Boys Distribution umbrella the two of them set up with Andrew Reynolds. The plan was simple: take the Baker street ethos and push it somewhere rawer, heshier and more openly punk. This isn’t an entry-level label. It’s a rider-owned core-shop brand, made by skaters for skaters.

History

Deathwish grew straight out of Baker as a sister company and got introduced to the public in 2008 through a promo video. Baker Boys Distribution was set up by Greco, Reynolds and Ellington to distribute both Baker and Deathwish, a move that picked up steam especially after Reynolds left Blitz Distribution in 2011. From there the brand stacked up a heavy video legacy, from brand full-lengths to standout rider parts, and it became a fixture of the modern hesh era. The whole operation runs out of the North Hollywood and Los Angeles area of California, in the same house that also handles the accessory brand Shake Junt.

Where the name comes from

The whole thing is lifted from Charles Bronson’s vigilante film series. The original “Death Wish” is from 1974, and the brand’s “Gang Logo,” that hand gang-sign mark, is taken directly from the gang in “Death Wish 3” (1985). The other signature graphic is the “Deathspray,” a spray-paint motif that looks like it was hit with a rattle can. It’s a look built to sit on a shop wall and read as trouble from across the room.

The team

Founders Greco and Ellington are the OG names of the house. The original historic roster ran hesh figures like Lizard King (Mike Plumb), Antwuan Dixon, Slash (Brian Hansen) and Furby (Ramiro Salcedo), the skaters who set the wild tone in the early years. The modern face is Jamie Foy: he came up through King of the Road in 2016, turned pro in 2017 and took Thrasher’s Skater of the Year that same year, one of the biggest honors going. The current lineup rounds out with Neen Williams, Jon Dickson, Pedro Delfino, Taylor Kirby and Jake Hayes.

Setups, collabs and who it’s for

Completes get commonly spec’d with Independent trucks and Spitfire wheels, and it’s Spitfire that Deathwish teamed with on the “Burn Forever” collab. In-house, the ties with Shake Junt (grip, hardware and accessories) close the Baker Boys circle. If you want a deck with genuine street pedigree, a hesh look and a graphic anyone recognizes at the park, Deathwish fits. Construction is the standard 7-ply maple and pricing sits in normal pro territory. Line it up against the rest in the deck catalog.