Thrasher Magazine

We started making skateboards five years after starting Shorty's Hardware. We signed Muska and the rest is history. It was a lot of fun, blood, sweat & tears. After grinding hard for 10 years I needed a break and let the board division wind down. I continued to offer skateboards for a few reasons: we had great wood, I love designing graphics and I thought that after I caught my breath I would just start it back up again. The problem with that plan was that Shorty's had become so well known as a skateboard brand that by letting the board division wind down, many people assumed we were done and a thing of the past. It is my fault for not communicating. I assumed that since we were still killing it with Shorty's Hardware, Black Panther's Bearings, Doh Doh's Bushings, Black Magic Grip Tape etc. that everyone would understand what was up. Instead, I kept reading things like "What happened to Shorty's?" Obviously, if to you Shorty's was Muska, Smolik etc. it made sense to wonder that, but in my mind our roots were in hardware and we were still the number one brand in skateboarding.

Don't get me wrong, that was a huge part of Shorty's success and I loved every minute of it, but at this time I feel the boards have become a distraction and are hurting the brand by not allowing us to sponsor ams and pro's for hardware who already have board sponsors due to an obvious conflict of interest. That said, I've decided to stop making Shorty's skateboards so we can refocus solely on our hardware brands, build back a world class team and add new innovative and professional quality products that live up to the standards that skaters have come to expect from Shorty's. Who knows, maybe someday we'll start another board brand but it won't be called "Shorty's".

Thanks to everyone who has supported us for the past 20 years. Please look forward to new stuff from us and to our continued support of skateboarding forever. Sorry for the boring letter but I had to let everyone know what's up, even if it is five years late. Better late than never I suppose.

Tony Buyalos
President/Owner Shorty's HARDWARE