Toy Machine

Toy Machine is Ed Templeton’s brand, and that fact explains almost everything about it. He started it in 1993 after leaving New Deal and a couple of short-lived companies (TV/Television, which he ran with Mike Vallely), and he still owns and runs it today. Templeton describes the ethos as “an adverse reaction to the misrepresented and highly corporate images of skateboarding in popular culture.” Three decades on it’s still exactly that: a core, street-driven company steered by a skater who happens to be a serious artist.

History

Brad Dorfman of Vision Skateboards financially backed the 1993 launch. Not long after, Toy Machine joined Tum Yeto, Tod Swank’s San Diego distribution company, where it has stayed ever since (Templeton himself is based up the coast in Huntington Beach). The name came out of indecision: he couldn’t choose between “Toy Skateboards” and “Machine Skateboards,” so fellow pro Ethan Fowler told him to just mash the two together.

Jamie Thomas rebuilt the team in the mid-90s and directed and edited the landmark “Welcome to Hell” (1996), one of the most influential videos of its era. That project also hides a good story: Chad Muska had filmed a full part for it, but after a blow-up right before the premiere he left the company and his part got pulled. It only surfaced years later as a hidden DVD extra. Over three decades the brand has built one of the deepest video legacies in skating, a run of full-lengths whose peak took Transworld Skateboarding’s Video of the Year.

Templeton’s artwork

The face of the brand is the Monster, the snaggle-toothed mascot Templeton draws himself. Around it sit the Sect characters (a one-eyed, devil-horned figure that shows up on decks, tees and accessories), the cult Devil Cat, and the knuckle-lettering Fists graphic. Templeton is a recognized fine artist and photographer outside skating, and his hand-drawn line is what defines the whole look. That art weight gives the boards real collector pull, which is exactly what landed the 2024 Supreme collaboration, remixing the Monster, Devil Cat and Fists. The vest in that capsule is faux leather because Templeton has been vegan since 1991.

Team, boards and who it’s for

The current roster is fronted by Templeton alongside Geoff Rowley, Leo Romero, Axel Cruysberghs, CJ Collins, Jeremy Leabres, Myles Willard, Braden Hoban, Raphie Ueda, Shiloh Catori, plus recent additions Georgia Martin (pro in 2024) and Cordano Russell (pro in July 2025). Historically the brand has run some huge names: Elissa Steamer, who in 1998 became the first professional female street skater (and the first playable female skater in the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater), along with Brian Anderson, Bam Margera, Donny Barley, Mike Maldonado, Brad Staba and Austin Stephens, the longest-serving rider after Templeton until he retired in 2013. Boards are produced through Tum Yeto and, according to industry woodshop directories, pressed at PS Stix (Paul Schmitt’s shop in Tijuana), though the brand doesn’t confirm that officially. It’s a core-level pro brand with one obvious bonus: Templeton’s art. Line it up against the rest in the deck catalog.