Inside the Industry: Tommy Daddono Interview

As the freestyle scooter industry grows, more and more scooter riders are getting the opportunity to be employed by companies.  It's really awesome to see companies giving riders a chance to work for them, because it keeps more money in scootering as well as gives riders a chance to gain experience in a professional career field.  We all dream of being a pro sponsored rider, but not everyone can or will be able to accomplish that.  Getting a job in the industry is the next best thing.  Whether it's running a shop, operating machines, filming and editing, graphic design, and beyond, there is a wealth of positions that scooter riders fill, and with Inside the Industry, I'd like to find out more about them.

This time I hit up my long-time friend, riding buddy, and now business partner (more on that later) Tommy Daddono to discuss his involvement in the industry.  He’s been in it off and on since nearly the beginning of the modern industry, and has been involved in a ton of different projects, so it was a no-brainer to interview him.

Words and photos by Jordan Jasa.


Jordan Jasa:  Let’s start from the beginning.  What was your first position in the scooter industry?

Tommy Daddono:  My first technical position was Sky High back in 2009, which I launched shortly after I started riding scooters.  I quickly became obsessed with riding my scooter and found through Scooter Resource that there wasn’t really a developed industry yet.

How old were you when you started it and why did you start it?

I was 16.  I found I had a business sense early in high school, and after discovering that the scooter industry wasn’t developed yet I thought I’d have a shot sourcing and selling parts on the Scooter Resource forums.  One of my early influences was a user named Ian who was known as the “Blade Brake King.”  When early parts were hitting the market, everyone was pretty much riding a bolted foldy Razor Pro Model and one of the few mods you could do to the scooter was a different brake.  It was an upgraded, thicker, shorter, better looking brake that you could retrofit to a pro model, b model, old a, most everything.  He would receive small amounts of the brakes and sell them through the forums. I decided to contact him to ask if he could source a bulk amount of brakes for me.  Near the same time, the company YAK, which already was proven as a better alternative to the stock razor wheel, had just developed and released a metalcore version called the Yak Skat wheel.  They were an in demand and highly discussed product at the time and I decided to contact Yak directly to see if they offer any wholesale pricing, because it wasn’t really available in North America.  So I started selling on the forums, and shortly realized that the demand for the products I was offering outgrew a thread within a forum.  That’s when I decided to I needed to start an online shop.

You’ve brought Sky High to life from nothing like three times now.  How does one go about building a brand like that despite having to go off basically nothing?

Back in the day I didn't know that much about branding, or building an image.  What I did know was that I needed a logo, consistent colors, and promotional products like stickers and shirts.  The name of the company helped me figure out what the brand developed into, with the blues/greys/whites, and I started to brand on that.  Another one of my ideals was by building trust within my customer base and the rest of the community. On the forums, I always tried to be helpful and contribute as much as I could.  I translated that into my business as well, going above and beyond to help customers, even if it wasn’t the most profitable thing to do. I lucked out with finding a niche in an industry that I was passionate about. Timing was a major part of it.

You’re one of the few riders who has completed school but came back into the industry.  Did you want to pursue a career in that field (filmmaking) or did you know you wanted to be in the scooter world still?  

I was really stressed by running Sky High at the time, and wasn’t enjoying it anymore.  It took away from my riding, it just wasn’t good.  At the same time while that fire was being extinguished, I was very interested in filmmaking, filming videos and editing, that process.  But ultimately decided that I had to either continue to run Sky High for like the rest of my life, or stop it, potentially sell it, and go pursue an education.  I decided that for my future an education would be the best investment as well as a change of pace for my life.  But through school I realized that it was never something that I was as passionate about compared to scooters, and after graduating I realized that the people who were going to be successful in the film industry who were around me in college were the people who were truly passionate about working a camera or editing a movie and I never had that drive to do that as I had with working in the scooter industry.

Another project you undertook was Transit 2.  Where did the idea for that come from?  Did you expect it to turn out how it did?

I watched Transit 1, which at the time was a couple years old.  I started talking to you, and a few other names within the forums and decided that it would be possible to make the 2nd Transit.  We wanted to make it our own thing if we couldn’t get Matt (Andrus)’s approval (we didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes,) But after talking to Matt and getting his blessing, we knew it had to be Transit 2.  So we started planning some of it out, and it seemed really possible that we could do it- we had the cameras, the equipment, the people, figured out the editing, my mom decided it was cool to let 10 random dudes stay at her house for a week, and so we set a date and it worked.  I didn’t think it would be nearly as good as it turned out to be, mainly because of Sam Short (the editor), easily.

You recently came out with a video out of nowhere for Satori.  How did that whole thing happen?

I actually just had a bunch of footage banked from 2014 and I felt the need to put it towards something. In the past, I'd release my footage as a Sky High video, but this video ended up dropping right around the time I left the company. I've always been tight with all of the homies on Satori and I really wanted to be involved to help Kirk develop and progress his vision. Having been a fan of the Satori-style edits, I spent a day trying to mimic that same vibe. It ended up turning out pretty well I guess because I sent it off to Kirk and he dug it and put me on the team.

You, Spencer, and I recently started a company called Forefront Supply. What exactly is this company and what can the scooter world expect from it?

Working at Sky High through all of 2014 gave me a pretty clear vision on how the industry works and who the people involved are. Handling all of the purchasing at Sky High, I noticed a huge disconnect in the distribution of our industry. Some of the distributors put no effort towards promoting the progression of our sport, and simply handle the logistics and sales of scooter components to make money off of our industry. Meanwhile others simply have no idea what they're even selling and don't answer their phones.  In my opinion, our industry will develop in the most pure way if we have actual scooter riders running the businesses that we so heavily support. That's where Forefront Supply was born. It started off as a conversation between you, Spencer and I and quickly turned into the reality in which we're all living now. We all got a house in Northern Chicago and we're two months into the project. It's a little overwhelming sometimes but I have faith that we'll be able to do something great with our similar mindset and combined efforts. We currently have five brands under our belt but the goal is to distribute and support many more as we move forward.

So what is your official job title there, and what are you responsible for?

We don't really have job titles since we all help with whatever needs to be done. I spend most of my time during the day working on marketing though. I handle a heavy portion of the social media content which consists mostly of photography, video editing, and graphic design.

Forefront is a distro, Sky High a retailer…will we see you involved with a manufacturer someday?

Haha that's tough to say. Forefront takes up pretty much all of my time right now and I'm really working hard for it to become a success with the dudes. I've definitely thought about it in the past but I never wanted to bite off more than I could chew. I guess we'll see what the future holds.

Finally, what would you tell someone who wants to make it in the industry?

My best words of advice would be to stay passionate, positive, and most importantly to be doing it for the right reasons. There's plenty of other industries that are way more profitable, way easier to succeed in, but there’s no other industry that I'm as passionate about and that's all that matters in my opinion. When you love what you do, you never actually feel like you're working.

Lessons from Rollerbladers.

A rollerblading website recently posted a conversation between a few bladers discussing the relationship between blading and scootering, and their respective pasts.  They raised a lot of good points, and it was cool to see them respecting us for choosing a different vehicle to ride and have fun on, despite how easily they could hate on us after years of receiving hate themselves.  Rollerblading’s history was brought up, and it made me think a little.  Blader Sam Cooper said:

 “Unlike blading the sport grew slowly at first, managing to build a small but solid industry of brands just before the boom hit. It’s the brand owners who have handled the boom in a much better way compared to kids who owned the majority of blading’s biggest brands in the early nineties. It’s these freestyle scooter brand owners who have made the difference and continue to grow the sport and industry with their business acumen and passion for the sport.”

Over the past few years, there has been a growing emphasis on supporting “rider-owned” companies and rejecting those “corporate, businessman-owned” brands.  I’m not gonna pretend to be an expert on rollerblading, but from what I can tell in this article, that’s how it was in the 90’s for them…except it was the rider-owned brands who made up the majority of their industry.  So not knowing how to handle their success, not being able to sustain the incredible growth they had, the bubble eventually burst, and the industry basically died out.  They hit the top of the actions sports world- -X-Games- and were kicked out in 2005. 

So how do we prevent this from happening to us?  These rollerbladers say we’ve already avoided their mistakes by having a core group of solid brands before our own boom hit.  The first big companies include brands like Phoenix, Proto, District, Lucky, Tilt, Envy, and Madd, the majority of which are not owned by riders, but are still all around today.  It seems like these bladers would embrace the “big business” brands…Looking at the other side of the coin, consider skateboarding.  The biggest action sports industry has perhaps the biggest anti-corporate movement, and not without good reason.  Skateboarding has had multiple booms and crashes throughout its history, and they will all tell you that corporations are part of the reason for it.  So where does that leave scootering?  It seems to me that we fall somewhere in the middle.  We don’t actually have much for corporate money wanting in on our sport yet- look at Red Bull.  They posted the Devin Supertramp video of Dakota Shuetz and the other Lucky guys on their Facebook, and took it down almost immediately.  Whatever interest they had in supporting scootering was quickly extinguished by a legion of couch commenters.  And these guys are spending upwards of a billion dollars per year in marketing (900 million in 2010).  Hooking a guy like Kota up would be a drop in the ocean for them.  If they don’t think that’s worth it at all, I think we still have a long way to go before we really have to worry about the implications of corporate takeover. 

Is the bubble going to burst like it did with rollerblading?  Are our roots strong enough to last through a drought?  These bladers seem to think so.  What can we do to make sure we don’t experience the same crash they did?  John Adams says it perfectly:

“We shouldn’t be trying to have the largest industry possible. We should make sure the industry we have is healthy and sustainable. Absolutely we should be reaching out to the youth and getting them excited about rollerblading scootering, but we ought to be able to do that without tearing others down.”

The bottom line is that all companies, regardless of their participation in the sport, are vital.  It’s been said before that they’re all pieces of the puzzle.  If we want to have a sustainable future we need to have brands who have a true passion for scootering- they need to care for the riders and the industry…but they also need to have proper business know-how to handle their growth responsibly.

Inside the Industry: Cooper Klaar Interview

Back Overcrook. Photo by Brandon Miller

As the freestyle scooter industry grows, more and more scooter riders are getting the opportunity to be employed by companies.  It's really awesome to see companies giving riders a chance to work for them, because it keeps more money in scootering as well as gives riders a chance to gain experience in a professional career field.  We all dream of being a pro sponsored rider, but not everyone can or will be able to accomplish that.  Getting a job in the industry is the next best thing.  Whether it's running a shop, operating machines, filming and editing, graphic design, and beyond, there is a wealth of positions that scooter riders fill, and with Inside the Industry, I'd like to find out more about them.

The next interview is with Cooper Klaar.  Cooper is one of the NW's second generation of riders.  Over the past few years, he's really made a name for himself as one of Phoenix's pro riders, and one of the most tech riders in the sport.  From his double bar combos, to that amazing hurricane full cab to end all hurricane full cabs in his last video, Coop has proven that he deserves his pro spot and signature bars.  I knew he also works in a warehouse for a scooter distribution company, so I hit him up to get a little insight on what it's like.

Jordan Jasa:  Where are you currently located, and who do you work for?

Cooper Klaar:  I live in Vancouver, Washington and work for Gravity Group Inc.

What is your official job title, and what are you responsible for?  

Haha I don't really have an official job title, but I'm responsible for packing orders for shops in North America.

How did you first get involved with working with Gravity Group?

I have known Tom Floyd since near the beginning of Phoenix and when Phoenix and Envy began Gravity Group, Tom gave me a job when there was more work needed to be done.

What’s a typical work day like?

Drive out to the shop in Beaverton, Oregon which takes 20 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. During the holiday season I have been packaging orders with Evan Larson and Chase Robertson but usually when it's not as busy I package orders while Evan types them and prints shipping labels and Chase works in the Phoenix shop cutting metal.

So being a pro rider for and working at the Phoenix shop, do you get any special perks before the rest of the team does?  Extra input on designs, firsthand knowledge on operations, etc?

Being at the Phoenix shop just about everyday I do get to see pretty much everything first, and talk with Tom and Dan about new designs for products, but I'm sure the rest of the team is just as informed as I am haha.

How long do you plan on working there? Do you ever plan on going to college?

I think for a pretty good amount of time, and I'm not too sure what I'm going to do at this point, I'm working and saving money at this point and thinking of what I want to go to school for.

That’s good, too many people go to college without any idea of what they want to do.  So what’s the best part of the job?

It's just really great working with Evan and Chase on the daily, and working for Tom and Tony is pretty fun and lenient!

For sure.  That’ll wrap it up,  would you like to add anything else?

I think that's about it!

Inside the Industry: Jona Humbel

As the freestyle scooter industry grows, more and more scooter riders are getting the opportunity to be employed by companies.  It's really awesome to see companies giving riders a chance to work for them, because it keeps more money in scootering as well as gives riders a chance to gain experience in a professional career field.  We all dream of being a pro sponsored rider, but not everyone can or will be able to accomplish that.  Getting a job in the industry is the next best thing.  Whether it's running a shop, operating machines, filming and editing, graphic design, and beyond, there is a wealth of positions that scooter riders fill, and with Inside the Industry, I'd like to find out more about them.

This first piece is with Jona Humbel.  Jona has been an up-and-coming rider for a couple years now (he recently was sponsored by Unfair), and has been employed with Tilt since the summer.  He's returning to his native Florida this month to start college, and so I hit him up to learn a little bit more about his experience with Tilt.

Jordan Jasa:  First, tell us who you are and where you're from: 

Jona Humbel:  My names Jona Humbel, from Largo Florida, but currently staying at the Tilt House in Mokena, Il.

Heelwhip.

So you work for Tilt.  What's your official job title and what are your duties?

Yup, my official job title is Shop Associate, I basically watch a CNC machine to make sure that each part is properly made with no flaws and/or problems, and while I'm not doing that, I package and label the parts to be sent to dealers all over.  Oh, and I run the laser marker, which etches the Tilt Logo onto everything we make, excluding pegs of course.

So basically you have a hand in almost every part Tilt makes, awesome.  How did you get this position?

Jona looks over a clip with Tom Kvilhaug.

I met all the Tilt dudes at SD7 including yourself, and Collin Snoek hit me up a few weeks later about filming/working in shop after I graduated. It just wasn't something I could turn down, working with one of the most reputable companies in the industry. So 3 weeks after I graduated I packed up and flew out here.  Oh yeah, I guess I'm also the Filmer for Tilt, kinda. Hahaha

So have you gone on filming trips with the team?

Yep, over the summer the whole Tilt Team was in Chicago, we packed up a 15 passenger van and road tripped it to Columbus, Ohio where Dylan Kasson toured us around his hometown. We also got some filming done in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs the two weeks everyone was here, as well as capture the 3rd Chicago street jam. It was for sure the highlight of the summer.

Gotta agree with you there.  What kind of filming setup did you work with?

We had Standard and High Def setups on the trip, the SD setups being two vx2100s with 2 mk1s, and the HD setup being 2 Panasonic HVX's with a Century Xtreme fisheye.

I have to ask, can you shed any light on Tilt's upcoming full-length?  Did you get to film any bangers?

Ahhhhh, I can tell you from filming the dudes and seeing everyone’s footage, and with the dude that’s handling post-production, that this will be all around the best scooter video created. So if you need a reason to be in San Diego this January, #TheTiltVideo is the reason.

For sure.  What would you say to kids who want to get a job in the scooter industry?  Any advice?

Try to make good impressions and the people you want to work with, and try to find your niche. You have to be able to offer a company some form of skill that you're passionate about.

David Cappetta films while Jona whips the hydrant.

Wise words.  That'll wrap it up, any last words you want to say?

Thanks Collin and Luke at Tilt for giving me the opportunity to fly out and work for them these last 4 months, it’s been an absolute pleasure. And, SD8, #TheTiltVideo is premiering, DO NOT MISS IT.

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While out in Chicago, Jona filmed a part for Satori as well as a few clips for a Basic video.  Check those videos out below.