https://www.badbillys.com/tags/skate-industry/Recent content in Skate Industry on BadBillys.comHugo -- gohugo.ioenBadBillys.comFri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.badbillys.com/post/skate-boom-decline-market-fragmentation-1991/Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.badbillys.com/post/skate-boom-decline-market-fragmentation-1991/ <p>In 1991, Mark Gonzales walked away from Vision Skateboards — the company that had given him one of the most influential pro models of the decade — and put his name on a deck stamped with a brand whose title was a pointed insult to his former sponsor. Blind Skateboards, launched under Steve Rocco's World Industries umbrella, was named as a deliberate slight against Vision. That same year, Blind released <em>Video Days</em>, shot by a young Spike Jonze, and the film instantly reframed what a skate video could be. The defection was not an isolated career move. It was a signal flare marking the moment the industry's center of gravity shifted away from the big vert-era companies and toward a scrappy, skater-owned street economy that would dismantle the old order within a few short seasons.</p>