Despite an ongoing pandemic in the face of COVID-19, we have hit our stride here at Voxel Boards in 2020. With a flurry of new tools, materials and techniques, we’re excited to bring the very best we can deliver to the table.

Voxel Boards has had a tough journey getting on our feet, but we haven’t let any obstacle stop us – throwing our faith into new technology and calculated design philosophy, we have stayed true to our origins while reaching boldly towards the future. In this post, we’re going to go over all the latest strides we’ve taken, talk about the vision of Voxel Boards, and finally answering a burning question for lots of our readers – Why you need a new Voxel Board for your next skateboard deck.

Our “Higgs” Construction. A History.

 

Skateboard construction is an integral part of any design. Simply put, skateboard construction is the sum of materials from which a deck is formed. These materials and their properties have a wide range of benefits and consequences. It is up to the engineer behind a design to make wise and informed material selections that lend to functionality.

However like many things in life, compromises between weight, flexibility, cost and many other variables are inevitable. In early 2017, I made the decision to research and develop our first premium skateboard construction. My venture was twofold – eliminate waste from warped product, and to get decks lighter than our 8-9 ply maple decks. With tons of work in a garage, a stack of Bamboo, Maple and Birch veneers; Higgs Tech Construction was born.

 

While chasing a better product I had stumbled upon many different techniques I could apply to my work, including fiberglass and our modernized graphic application! Developing our Higgs Tech Construction was largely helpful to my endeavors at Voxel Boards yet it was largely a failure due to cost and a poor birch harvest the following winter. As a result, I made the decision to stop producing decks made from Higgs Tech. Instead I continued to produce decks in a more affordable and standardized construction – VC Hybrid. Years passed, and with my initial woes behind me, I continued to design and produce decks from VC- Hybrid. However, it is a new decade and after learning many new things I have decided to revise Higgs Tech.

Introducing – Higgs Lite

By sourcing thicker material for our decks, we are able to reduce the number of ply’s and glue seams between them. This contributes to a more efficient structure that cures faster, while maintaining an excellent strength to weight ratio.

By incorporating 1/8″ thick bamboo veneer face sheets, we are able to increase relative stiffness while maintaining unique elastic properties. Our maple cross-grain sheets provide adequate torsional resistance. Finally our decks are laminated with fiberglass on both sides, protecting our unique and original artwork and dramatically increasing tensile strength.

The 805²

The 805² is a culmination of 5 years of research and development. With tons of rider feedback as well as manufacturing experience, the 805 is one of our most produced and iconic designs. While having seen many iterations, The 805² will remain a compact and agile single-kicked missile.

Very little stands in your way with this deck underfoot – dense urban sprawl with tall, busted curbs or high elevation forest runs are conquered with a simple “form follows function” design.

Spacious wheel wells provide adequate clearance for your favorite race wheels, while pressed in flares provide tactile feedback and points of contact in the concave. Push your limits on your favorite freeride runs with mellow and comfortable 6mm deep, radial concave.

Finally, we have our signature kicktail featuring a 5° Pre-Kick that leads a transition into a full sized 15° Kicktail. This technique allows us to adjust the position of the “sweet-spot” contributing to responsive and effortless pop.

 

Our simplistic approach to concave gives the rider a blank canvas to augment with our 3D printed implant ecosystem or on their own. This allows for concave geometry that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional pressing techniques. These implants can either be included for a steep discount during checkout with a deck in your cart, or can be purchased and placed on any board for a touch of that good ol’ “Voxel Boards Functionality”

Isosceles² and The Jewel

The Isosceles² is a much needed update to our most popular footstop. With it’s iconic and functional screw-slot, we always felt this design best embodied the footstop design philosophy we have developed in the last few years. With this update, we wanted to make sure that familiar and unique shape stayed true! By adding gentle inward sloping angles, I’ve increased the functional surface area of the print while also providing a slight increase in strength. With chamfered edges and fewer harsh angles, this footstop is less susceptible to fatigue failure, while also being slightly more comfortable to press your foot against overall. A successful redesign, all done from scratch!

The Jewel

The Jewel is our new albeit familiar looking footstop and follows a lot of design queues from our original Aecus Footstop our Triangle Series Footstops. With 4 sides, this diamond shape gives offers more than a unique shape. Rotationaly symmetrical with a robust ,yet low-profile design allows you to pivot and set this footstop at any desired angle. Our modern draft angles increase surface area that makes contact with your shoe, providing more grip.

P.S. Voxel Griptape will be available as full rolls sometime next month! 12″ x 32′!

“Why should I buy a new Voxel Board?”

While we may not be the largest, or the most well known skateboard company out there, Voxel Boards exists as an anomaly in the industry.  We have remained steadfast throughout the years, and attempted to grow and learn from our mistakes. One day, I was just 13 years old spray painting donated skateboards and suddenly years later I find myself pouring every hour I can into designing them. When you buy a board from us at Voxel Boards, even though we are a one-man factory, you are supporting the artists, the skaters and the fans that have contributed every step of the way. When you buy a Voxel Board, you are contributing to a story that is still being written. In return, we hope to provide a blank page from that story that will live on with you, or wherever it may land. Each skateboard, footstop or product we produce in-house is designed to display it’s authenticity – I believe quality and function should be self evident. Designed with the rider in mind, these decks are built for reliability, durability, and customization. “Smarter Science, Mixed With An Odd Alliance Of Fairy Tale”

 

 

As the New Year barrels towards us at breakneck speeds, I have been moving behind the scenes to make sure 2020 is our best year yet. Skateboarding as a whole will be under a new scrutiny with the eyes of the world watching the Olympics. It’s the end of a decade, and by December, I will have been making boards for 5 Years. The focus of Voxel Boards has often shifted under my inexperienced hands. It’s my first real business, and as a fledgling, it has grown a bit and persevered up to this moment. We haven’t had many sales or grown to be as visible as we would like but this year, we aim for things to be different.

 

Throughout the last year, I’ve worked hard to shift our processes and mindset beyond the garage that we started in. We moved into a workshop (twice!), built and acquired new tools for squeezing out every ounce of quality we can muster. I’ve tinkered with new materials, revised old designs and 3D Printed new products and prototypes. My friends and artists have been ever supportive by providing feedback, skating with me and of course, playing Guinea Pig so you don’t have to. I’ve honed and improved my skills as a designer and even picked up some new software which has made my job a lot easier. We’ve managed to fill out our website with more of our products. Some familiar, others new and still plenty left to come! I’ve gotten a nice uptick in traffic and have been recognized in person by total strangers, and relatively distant customers. Every year, things get a little more serious but I continue to have just as much fun if not more than when I started. The people, the places, the skills I’ve learned all accumulated to make 2019 one of the most memorable in my life. Thank you. Thank you for following my journey, supporting my products, designs, and humble business. Thank you for remembering me, my friends, and my little hometown by our art and the things that we produce. We’re not even close to done, we’re just getting started.