Craig Robbins

So, explain Eothen to those who don't know.

Eothen is a small independent UK skateboard brand.


Why Eothen? Where did the name come from? What does it mean..?

I wanted the brand name to be toned down, subdued but still distinctive, not as obvious as your average branding, particularly American branding. I also wanted it to have a loose meaning with no connotations, so that I could create the meaning with my own marketing. It came from the title of a book that I found in my Granddad's house, A.W. Kingslake's 'Eothen'. It is a book about a travelers journey to the east and Eothen roughly translates from Greek 'from early dawn - from the East', so I was stoked with the meaning, and started working on the graphics .

What were you doing before Eothen?

Ralph, I lived down the road from you in Chelsea! It was important for me to discover London, as it is the most important city in the UK and one of the most influential cities in the world. I had several retail jobs, which were not much of a challenge and on my days off I would go exploring. In the Summer I gave up work to concentrate on starting Eothen. I was already broke, so I spent the summer in a cheap room in Holborn burning the midnight oil.

I met you for the first time down in Brighton. I know you went to the Art school down there. What was your specialty? Has your time down in Brighton at Art School or the certain techniques you worked at helped you with Eothen?

I studied Fine Art Printmaking. I worked with the screen print process so this helps for skateboard and t-shirt printing, but I value my study in Fine Art much higher. I became interested in Eastern aesthetics and my work became very minimal. I practiced reducing things down to the fundamental basic elements of creating. I felt that I was very focused at this time and enjoyed my work very much. The lecturers at Brighton are very positive so the environment is really constructive and confidence building.

What sparked the idea for you to have a go at starting your own company?

I had been skating for 13 years. I was watching young people get in to skating for the first time, and it was a reflection of how far skateboarding has developed in the time that I have been a skater, which made me realise that there is still a lot of room to develop the world of skateboarding further. The opportunities skateboarding has to offer are really amazing, and I felt like I should open up a bit and encourage it. I had been studying art for over 5 years, and could see my design skills helping me to make a unique brand.

Were there any other names or ideas floating around before Eothen?

I played with the name 'Vertigo' for a bit. The sickness, a fear of heights. It worked graphically and I thought I was going to learn to skate vert, but I never have and a French company own the trademark so it ended there.

What differentiates Eothen from the rest of the British skate companies?

I know that you are a bit of an all terrain vehicle, does this reflect in the company?

My aim for the Eothen brand is to build a high level of communication that can encourage people to be enthusiastic. I hope to provide quality products and ethical graphics of a sublime nature. I am not trying to associate the brand with other popular movements, such as punk or hip hop, but am focusing on the nature of the present moment and people's potential. I think that the all terrain business is something that is definitive to UK skating and not just myself. Of course, growing up as a British skater, I have a lot of respect for British companies and have always tried to support them, but this is my own project and I want to see it grow.

You grew up in Stafford, moved to Brighton and finally London. What differences did you notice in these various scenes?

The scene in Stafford is the same as in most small towns. There is no single spot that is that amazing, so it encourages you to explore a lot. As there were no skateparks, we were always street skating. The older skate generation died out so we were all doing our own thing and had no preconceptions. Most of us went through art college and then on to university, and have remained a good group of friends. Brighton was different because it has a lot more skate industry and skate history, going right back to day 1. People would always tell me about the vert ramp and old ghosts likeLuke Mckirdy. The first Rad magazine that I bought had a Brighton section, issue 101 back in 1991. I guess it was subconscious that I ended up there. It was rad skating at the Level skatepark. You could go down there at any time and there would be someone there to chill with, and a lot of good skaters as well. When I moved to London I wasn't even skating because I had an ankle injury that put me out for over a year. I felt really lucky to be back on a skateboard again but it took me a while to feel comfortable again and I was working full time, so only skated once a week. In the end I settled to going to Meanwhile bowls on my days off, because that place is amazing. London is so big with so many people that you couldn't some up or experience all of the scenes.

As Eothen's creator, are you the only person involved or are there other people helping out?

I started Eothen with nothing but 2 pennies to rub together. Now I have a great big factory with umpa lumpas and a glass elevator! I did a lot of designing in the previous 2 years before it started, so now I am concentrating on building up a customer base. My mum is retired now, so sometimes I give her a little puzzle to deal with and Paul Haywood (friend, skater, photographer) helps me out a lot. It is a small company, so I am a jack of all trades.

You mentioned that you went on a trip visiting loads of parks. Where did you go? What was it like? How have people taken to Eothen?

I have trekked all over England and Wales and Scotland to visit skateboard shops and I always try to get a skate in if I got time, so I managed to catch the new dreamland bowl complex in Penzance for example. I keep it low key with the Eothen promotion as I am still in a start up period, so there is no point making out that it is the biggest thing since sliced bread. It keeps me inspired to skate different places all the time. Sometimes kids come up to me and say that they have seen my design on a skateboard in a skateboard shop, which makes it all worth while.

Did anyone give you any advice before you decided to start a skate company? What advice would you give anyone with the same desire?

I knew that what I was doing was competitive and that it would take ages to build up a plan and get the cash, so I kept it largely to myself. Some would say that there are too many skate companies in the UK and there is no room for another, but I think that this goes against the nature of fashion and the creativity which makes skateboard products so unique. I see it as healthy competition and people should always be encouraged to be creative. The Princes Trust helped me to keep it nice and small, so I have done it without a bank loan. My advice would be to do 3 drawings every day for a whole year and to go skating.

For the moment, Eothen has no pro riders - will it stay that way i.e. just Eothen boards and no names screened on them? Are you looking for riders, if so who?

Signature models work for marketing, because you can associate a person and their story to the product, and in return, the rider gets support for their talent. I would like to take it that way eventually, but it requires a lot of commitment from the rider. I hope that I can find young or undiscovered talent as well. I am open to sponsoring skaters, and I have a budget for sponsored riders. Some kids have approached me to ask for sponsorship, but they need to send in a video. I am not going to give out things for nothing! If you show that you are committed enough to put together a video, then you are 90% on your way to getting a sponsor.

Seeing as you're the boss, who gets the teas on?

I am chilling with my 2 dogs most of the time but they don't know what a kettle is.

What are you plans with Eothen? How can people contact you? Shout outs...

As long as I can inspire someone out there then that is cool with me. Check out www.eothen.co.uk. Ask your local shop to stock Eothen products. Thanks to all Stafford skaters for your support. Shout out to the Level Army and to everyone else that I have ever skated with. Thanks to Haywood, Crossfire and my mum.

See you on the streets!