Almost a lifetime ago, my friend Hos (pronounced House) and I started a skateboard brand called Have Skateboards. I was responsible for the brand’s creative direction and production, from working with artists and photographers through to overseeing finished products. A lot of that work may or may not still live on an old hard drive back in Australia, but I do have the catalogue from the final range we produced.

It’s probably the strongest catalogue we made. The graphic work was by Aldous Massie, with photography by Dan Goode. Both have gone on to become widely respected in their fields, and even then it was clear they were operating at a level well beyond our small board brand.

One of the more memorable moments from that period came from bringing Aldous on board. He agreed to do the graphics for free on the condition that we put his girlfriend’s sister’s boyfriend on the team. Internally, I was sceptical, but that rider turned out to be Jae “Ovo” Overton. He went on to become one of Sydney’s best skateboarders and is now a close friend. Ovo later rode for adidas Skateboarding, Private Joy, and U.P.S. Skate Shop.

Have Skateboards ran for around four years. During that time, we placed ads in The Skateboarder’s Journal, produced a couple of short videos, and released three board ranges using PS Stix wood. Graphics across the runs came from Joel Cameron, Chris Yee, and Aldous Massie. The brand was stocked in skate shops across Australia, as well as one store in Japan. Seeing the finished boards in hand, and then watching people skate them, was always the most rewarding part.

We eventually shut the brand down as U.P.S. Skate Shop began to take off and demanded my full attention. At that point, I was running Have, U.P.S., and a gallery simultaneously. While none of those projects were solo efforts, I was front-facing for all of them. It was a hectic period, but one I look back on fondly. I loved every sleepless minute of it.