skateboard Archives - Green Market Report

Julie AitchesonDecember 6, 2019
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5min00

Skateboarding has long been considered an “outlaw” sport on the recreational spectrum, attracting those for whom the structure and homogenous culture of organized athletics holds little appeal. Its anti-establishment origins, outlined in greater detail in this 2013 Skateboarding Magazine article, can be traced back to surfer culture, as wave riders realized there might be a way to surf city streets with the same élan and excitement that they applied to hanging ten in the water.

Both snowboarders and skateboarders have been associated with having a friendly relationship with cannabis. There is speculation that the original California high schoolers that met at 420 to get high, most likely rode on skateboards. Snowboarding’s admittance into the Olympics made many athletes ponder kipping the event if they had to give up smoking pot. The Olympics seemed to look the other way. Many professionals in both sports made no effort to hide their love of cannabis, which kept the rebellious nature of skateboarding intact.

But in recent years, skateboarding has moved away from the fringes and into the limelight with the popular X Games, an extreme sports event produced, hosted, and broadcast by ESPN, and demonstrated by the fact that skateboarding will be an official Olympic sport in Tokyo in 2020. This has given rise to some concern that the stereotype of the stoner skater will be proven true enough to keep some of the sport’s top athletes out of contention, as it did skateboarder Corey Juneau. Ranked seventh in the world, Juneau was suspended for six months after testing positive for THC in 2018.

As skateboarding’s competitiveness, popularity, and main street respectability grow, some of the sport’s biggest names are stepping out in front of companies that promise clean, potent, risk-free performance enhancement through CBD. Michael Apstein, a founding partner of Primary Growth Partners, says that “There is a long history of outlaw brands from other market segments breaking through to the general market – from surfing and skateboarding to extreme sports and certainly in music, apparel and recreation brands.” As the benefits of CBD gain visibility in all corners of the marketplace, skateboarding’s top athletes are endorsing products that provide low THC or THC-free alternatives to marijuana. Old school skateboarding legend Tony Hawk has even developed Birdhouse CBD Balm by producer Canna Hemp, a line of CBD recovery creams that target the epic aches and pains of the action sports market.

 

Professional skateboarder Andy McDonald, 23-time X Games medalist and 10-time world champion, recently partnered with CBD manufacturer Extract Labs to spread the word about the benefits of CBD for extreme sports athletes. McDonald, who used his platform as a professional skateboarder to take an anti-drug message all the way to the Clinton White House, credits the pain-alleviating benefits of hemp-derived CBD for helping him manage the cumulative effects of over 35 years of skating.

Social CBD, a company that markets a range of hemp-derived CBD products that guarantee a 0.0% THC content, recently hooked X-Games Skateboarding gold medalist Nyjah Huston as a spokesperson. Huston stakes his legacy as the winningest skateboarder in history on Social CBD’s promise to deliver a product pure enough to endure the scrutiny of the Olympic committee.

As skateboarding continues to move deeper into the mainstream of competitive sports, its shining stars will no doubt continue to seek out the healing benefits of CBD and the sponsorship dollars of those companies intent on making it the must-have, performance-enhancing supplement for extreme athletes.


Debra BorchardtDecember 5, 2019

4min00

Mostly known for Pax and Juul sales, Greenlane Holdings Inc.(NASDAQ: GNLN) is now launching a line of functional glassware decorated with the imagery of legendary graffiti artist Keith Haring. The smoking accessories include small glass pipes, larger water pipes ashtrays and regular rolling trays.  The K.Haring Collection launches November 21, 2019, in Higher Standards stores and will be available online on November 25, 2019, at haringglass.com.

“As a longtime admirer and supporter of Keith Haring, his art, and his legacy, I am thrilled to introduce the K.Haring Collection,” said Sasha Kadey, Chief Marketing Officer of Greenlane and Creative Director for the K.Haring Collection. “The art world has long had an intertwined relationship with cannabis and has in many ways been instrumental in the advancement of the industry. The K.Haring Collection will help our mission to destigmatize and elevate the cannabis experience.”

Kadey said he has looked at numerous deals for branding efforts, but none resonated as strongly as the Haring artwork. The artist is not only well-respected in the art world, but as a graffiti artist, he also brings street cred amongst the cannabis community.

Haring passed away in 1990 at the age of 31 in Manhattan from the Aids disease. The Haring Foundation has a mission to continue to promote the artwork but is also known for supporting not-for-profit organizations that help underprivileged children, as well as organizations involved in education, prevention, and care related to AIDS. Haring doesn’t have any cannabis images in his artwork, but his skateboard images are loved by the skateboard community which does support the cannabis community.

Kadey said there was a lot of crossover between cannabis, the art world, and skateboarding which led to the company’s launch party that combined a show of the new products with apparel from Diamond Supply that featured Haring artwork. The event was held in Manhattan and drew a combination of cannabis industry insiders, as well a some of the top city skateboarders.

The ten-piece collection consists of high-quality glassware that may be used as décor and includes all of the essentials for an elevated smoking experience. Kadey made a point of mentioning that the company didn’t just grab and glass product and slap an image on it. The items were specifically designed for this project. Each piece is distinguished by Haring’s designs with four different colorways to be released in the coming months.

The Keith Haring Glass Collection includes:

K.Haring x BiC© Lighter, $5
K.Haring Taster, $30
K.Haring Tray, $60
K.Haring Dog Bat Catchall, $60
K.Haring Bat Man Catchall, $60
K.Haring Angel Catchall, $60
K.Haring Spoon, $50
K.Haring Bubbler, $120
K.Haring Rig, $180
K.Haring Water Pipe, $220

Kadey said he has since been inundated with other artists wanting a similar brand launch, but for now, he is being very selective. “We are looking forward to offering this sophisticated glassware collection to Higher Standards customers both in stores and online as we continue to grow our house of brands and expand our direct to consumer business, offering innovative designs and products to consumers across the U.S.”


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