ONE MANS TRASH IS ANOTHER MANS TREASURE
George Rocha has always been all about skateboarding. When he was younger he would build launch ramps he saw in Thrasher magazine, and his family's driveway became a hot spot for local skaters. As an adult he has contributed to d.i.y. skate parks across the country for 20 years, helping to create a place for people to always go and skate. As the old skate boards of his career began to collect in his garage he wanted to make something out of them instead of throwing them out to be put into a landfill somewhere. "What better destiny for a skateboard than to continue being a skateboard?" he thought. Using trial and error with every tool he had in his garage Iris Skateboards began.
He worked to get the technique down but finally created a board using sanded down decks that rode as good as it looked. Through ripping, cutting, fusing, and sanding he has created a process that takes old skated decks and turns them into a completely new and usable one. Instead of grip tape he uses 100% recycled crushed glass and a non-toxic epoxy to finish off his unique boards that are totally upcycled from materials that otherwise would have been waste. Headquartered in San Francisco, Rocha now collects unrideable decks from neighboring skate shops and companies in the Bay Area to make into an Iris Board. Sometimes they'll receive discontinued, but functional, boards as well but Rocha insists on only using boards that need a new life altogether for his projects.
George Rocha remembers the first skateboard he ever rode as a five year old and every board that he has ridden since then. He saved boards in his garage for years and thus started out on what would become Iris boards. Call him sentimental or nostalgic, it is apparent that Rocha just has a deep love for skateboarding and continues to support it through different avenues. Reserve Supply Company recently got in some of his unique decks and we built completes with premium parts and hardware for the store. Stop by and check out one of Rocha's reincarnated boards.
