SHANE O'NEILL IS KNOWN AS AN ICON OF TECHNICAL SKATING WITH HIS INSANE BOARD CONTROL. TO CELEBRATE THE RE-LAUNCH OF HIS COMPANY APRIL SKATEBOARDS IN JAPAN, VHS MAG DELVE INTO THE ESSENCE OF THE BRAND.
──SHANE O'NEILL
──SHANE O'NEILL
VHSMAG (V)： What inspired you and Yuto Horigome to start April Skateboards?
Shane O'Neill (S)： Back in 2018 I felt it was time to start something new. With a different vision than before, I reached out to Yuto and others early into the making of April to have them be a part of the team from day one. My goal is to be able to help our skaters achieve their goals in life! The brand is about skateboarding and friends.
V： What did you see in Yuto? Why did you choose him as your partner?
S： Yuto has been an amazing skateboarder since he was really young and I'd always been sent videos of him. I could see the talent from a mile away but also as he started to be around us more I could tell that he was a really good person. Which is why we became great friends !
V： What is the vision and mission behind April Skateboards?
S： We are just trying to do the best for our skaters and supporters by providing the best videos / opportunities that we can. We are beginning to do more and more within the skateboarding community to help others. We plan on continuing to try to make our products, videos and everything in between better!
V： How involved are you in the design and development of the products? What are some of the strengths of the products?
S： I am very involved in the design and development process from the beginning to the completion of all products. We have an amazing artist (Dylan) who brings my ideas to life as well as the team's ideas while also contributing his ideas / art. We use the best possible material for our clothing and the best possible wood for our boards. It’s very important to me that the people who buy our products get the same high quality that myself and our team use!
V： What do you look for in skaters when choosing riders?
S： I look for people who genuinely love skateboarding! There are so many great skateboarders worldwide that I wish I could give an opportunity to but we can only work with so many people at once. Being easy to work with always helps. We are all lucky to have skateboarding in our lives let alone call it a "job" so I generally just try to make sure new team riders really like what they do and everything within the brand.
V： You have two Japanese riders and one of them is Kai Kishi. Can you describe what he's like as a skater and what you like about him?
S： Mannnnn! Kai is absolutely amazing. Really hard working mellow guy. He is one of the most talented skateboarders I have ever seen. On top of that he's always down to skate and enjoy his time getting things done! He's super easy going and great to work with. His future is bright and everyone will see very soon when his newest videos drop...
V： How do you see April Skateboards influencing the skate industry?
S： I believe our influence is still growing. The plans we have for the future are going to help evolve what other brands do too. It's about quality not quantity to me and I think step by step we will become better and better with our team and vision. It's still the start for us...
V： Watching you skate in videos, I assume you're a perfectionist. What are the things you can never compromise in skating and April Skateboards?
S： Haha. I like to do tricks over and over, that's for sure! I have April for the team. Everything we do has to be in the interest of the team and furthering their opportunities. As we grow it's crucial that we are in sync with the team's wants and needs.
V： What are some of your most memorable moments / projects with April Skateboards?
S： Honestly it’s been incredible, from our first filming missions to film our intro video, to turning people pro and so many more memories. Our Nike SB Dunk project was really cool to work on because we had a good plan and timeline to work with. It brought us all together and I’m very proud of how the video / shoes turned out.
V： You and Yuto are both not from the US. Do you think that has any positive effect mentality in terms of making it in skateboarding and the skate industry?
S： I think we both looked at the US as the place to “make it” but still followed the traditional ways of our countries. I think that both Japanese and Australian cultures helped both of our mentalities to get us to where we are now.
V： This is a fresh start for April Skateboards in Japan with a new distributor. What are the things you want / hoping to do in Japan?
S： I love the Japanese way of life and being in Japan so with this new partnership we plan to be over there more often. A tour where we do a few signings, demos, and a lot of street skating has always been a plan. Kai and Yuto have always wanted to make that happen too, so now is our time! Really looking forward to being a part of the community and in the skate shops over there like we have been in the past!!
V： What's next for you and April?
S： I have a video part that is really close to being finished so that’s my main focus at the moment. Really excited to have that come out and just taking April to the next level with videos, product, team, tours, new pros and much more!
