Independent Truck company
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
established in 1978, owned by NHS, Inc. The trucks are manufactured by Ermico Enterprises, Inc. in the city of San Francisco, the only dedicated skateboard truck foundry in the USA.
The company was co-founded by Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, Fausto Vitello
Fausto Vitello
Fausto Vitello was an American businessman and magazine publisher. Vitello is the creator of Thrasher magazine and co-creator of Independent trucks.-Early life:...
, and Eric Swenson
Eric Swenson
Eric Leon Swenson was an American skateboard designer and magazine publisher.Born in San Francisco, Swenson was the chief skateboard designer for the Independent Truck Company which he co-founded with skateboard entrepreneur Fausto Vitello in 1978...
in 1978, and the first set of trucks to make a public appearance was the Stage 1 on May 23, 1978 in Newark CA
Newark, California
Newark is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in September 1955. Newark is an enclave, completely surrounded by the city of Fremont. Its population was 42,573 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
. According to original team rider Rick Blackhart, the Independent truck (or Indy) was designed as a response to the lack of good skateboard trucks on the market at the time; Blackhart stated that, of the two main other truck companies on the market, ' one broke, and one didn’t turn ', referring to Bennett Trucks and Tracker Trucks, respectively..
The iconic logo for the trucks, the Alisee cross (a variant of the Cross pattée
Cross pattée
A cross pattée is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the centre, and broader at the perimeter. An early English example from the start of the age of heraldry proper A cross pattée (or "cross patty", known also as "cross formée/formy") is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the...
and often mistaken for the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
), was inspired by an image of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
who was wearing the icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
on his vestment
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...
in TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine. It has remained the Independent logo since inception.