Ryan Townley's 'Layers' Part
Welcome Skateboards may no longer be the fresh new upstarts, turning the industry on its head with crazy board shapes and a proper D.I.Y ethos. Jason Celaya's brand has become part of the established zeitgeist over the past decade but that doesn't make the company any less vital. Ryan Townley's new part reaffirms how fundamental independent companies like Welcome are for allowing talent to thrive in an industry that has a proclivity to bend to trends more often than not.
Juxtaposing a team handsome dress sense with the enjoyment of using rails on his board, Ryan Townley transcends fashion by embracing it, taking the parts he likes from competing mindsets and creating an amalgam that works for him. In Welcome's interpretation of skateboarding there are no rules, just what you like, and Ryan's cherry picking of different behaviours is testament to that freedom.
Of course it helps that he absolutely rips, he wouldn't get far rolling up his trousers if he struggled to kickflip, but everybody does these days and it's personality shining through that separates the wheat from the chaff. Here's to brands like Welcome allowing that wheat to flourish!