Foundation

Foundation is a San Diego company, started by Tod Swank in 1989, and one of very few 90s brands still in the hands that built it. The name isn’t a metaphor about groundwork: it comes from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels, which Swank read cover to cover, and that’s where the whole space imagery of the brand comes from. It’s distributed by Tum Yeto, Swank’s own San Diego distribution house, alongside Toy Machine and Pig Wheels.

History

The part almost nobody tells is that Foundation was born inside World Industries. Swank was a pro — he’d ridden for Sims and Skull Skates — and published Swank Zine. He called Steve Rocco to ask if he could ride for World; Rocco turned him down for being ”80s vert dirt” and then immediately offered to help him start his own company instead: print some letterhead and you’ve got a brand. Foundation’s first Thrasher ad ran in the May 1989 issue.

The first two videos come from that era: Glam Boys on Wheels: Too Cool to Skate, still with an all-vert team, and The Magic F, which Rocco bankrolled. When the second one didn’t move sales, Swank walked away from World on good terms — Rocco handed him whatever inventory was left, which fit inside a Chevy Sprint, plus a shop list — and went back to San Diego on his own with a freshly assembled street team: Ricky Higgins, Billy Bakker, Bobby Ferry and Josh Beagle. That’s where the slogan they still use comes from: Foundation Super Co. – Serious for the 90’s. Then came the era of ads mocking Rocco’s own brands and riders, and Rocco’s revenge, poaching Richard Mulder. The brand turned 30 in 2019 with a party in San Diego.

The team

The current pros with catalog models are Jesse Lindloff, Julian Lewis, Dakota Servold, Aidan Campbell, Ruby Lilley and Austin Heilman; Lilley and Heilman turned pro at the premiere of Today Tomorrow Forever in May 2026, which also features Tanner Lawler. The alumni list is a solid chunk of US street history: Heath Kirchart, Ronnie Creager, Dan Drehobl, Ethan Fowler, Kris Markovich, Justin Strubing, Brad Staba, Steve Olson, Daniel Shimizu and Corey Duffel, who stayed for over a decade. Recent videos are Star & Moon (2021), Whippersnappers (2023) and Today Tomorrow Forever (2026).

The boards

7-ply maple in widths from 8.00” to 8.63”, plus built completes. The house graphic is the Star & Moon, a drawing Swank did in one sitting in a sketchbook to represent space; it’s still the most reissued thing they make, in endless colorways. The catalog mixes pro models, team graphics like F Bird, Radiate and Spaceship, and the odd literary nod such as the Asimov deck. They also make grip, hardware and apparel.

Who it’s for

If you want an American pro deck at normal pro pricing, made by a small company that has never passed through private equity hands, Foundation is a calm bet. If you want the brand everyone’s talking about this month, this isn’t it and doesn’t try to be. If you’re unsure about width, read the deck size guide and then line it up against the rest in the deck catalog.