Two brothers transform broken skateboards into furniture and bowls. Adrian Pool and Martinus Pool have been skating on the streets of Alberta, Canada for over 20 years. They turned their hobby into a thriving business.
At the beginning, we only created from materials that we could find in garbage cans on construction sites, as well as from skateboards
– recalls Martinus Pool Co-founder, AdrianMartinus.
Millions of skateboards are thrown away every year.
|
Business Insider
About 2 million skateboards end up in landfills every year
The Pool brothers, who previously worked in construction, have spent the last decade turning thousands of these boards into earrings, coffee tables and distinctive bowls.
— Seeing the amount of material thrown away on construction sites is quite disturbing. We take this into account in our approach to work, explains Martinus.
We went to Calgary to see how AdrianMartinus makes household products from waste. Skateboards are made of maple wood, which is specially treated so that it can be cut into thin sheets.
Each board consists of approximately seven layers of these sheets glued together. This makes putting the boards up a bit tricky.
They are extremely difficult to work with, mainly because they are made of hard maple and a lot of glue
– explains Martinus.
However, the quality of the wood makes the products durable.
“The skateboards are made from the best plywood because they are all solid maple,” he adds.
There are plenty of skateboards in Calgary, home to more than a dozen public skate parks.
— I think the community in Calgary is really strong. It's growing a lot, says Kevin Lowry Owner, Skateshop Ninetimes.
Martinus collects broken skateboards from local skate shops every week.
— We also get calls from mothers who see our work and say: “I have my son's boards in the garage and I want to throw them away. Come get them,” he explains.
The brothers receive about 55 boards a month from shop owners like Kevin and take them to their workshop. Adrian and Martinus had been working as carpenters for a total of nine years and were concerned about the amount of waste they were dealing with.
— Leftovers from hardwood floor installation jobs are thrown away because they can't be reused for other tasks. Currently, we can use virtually anything that measures between 5 and 20 cm in our process, he explains.
Read also: In Silicon Valley they print books like they did 150 years ago. One costs up to 10,000. hole.
From discarded skateboards they create, among others: furniture.
|
Business Insider
What does skateboard recycling look like?
After several years in construction, the brothers moved on to more precise work, installing cabinets, windows and doors. Then they discovered the unique properties of building from recycled boards. It started as a hobby, and the brothers used boards donated by friends.
The first project where we discovered that the possibilities were virtually endless was making baseball bats
– Martinus recalls.
Adrian's wife joined the brothers in 2014 and started experimenting with other ways of using the boards, e.g. as jewelry. The first step is to remove the non-slip sandpaper.
It's best to do it on a hot summer day. Just leave the boards in the sun for half an hour and the glue will heat up enough to be peeled off. The next step is to restore the boards to their raw wood state. We need to remove the clear coating that shows on top, as well as the graphics and everything else, so that the glue can stick properly. We cut them into separate parts
– explains Martinus.
These strips can become earrings, tables, sideboards or, in this case, a bowl. To make the bowl, Martinus arranges and glues the tails and noses together.
— Each bowl requires 20 of these tails and noses. I start by checking their size and degree of curvature. Then I choose the ones that seem particularly large. I make sure they are even and similar so they stick together well. This creates an outline of what the bowl will look like and what its colors will be, he adds.
The boards are pressed together for 24 hours and then dry for several days.
— Then the corners are cut off with a band saw. Once this process is complete, the boards are assembled on a lathe, he explains.
Martinus then shapes and carves out the block of boards using miter chisels, gouging chisels and scrapers. Martinus produces the bowls in batches of about 15, and each batch takes two to three weeks to make.
Deck manufacturers use a variety of veneers and dyes on decks, which makes each Pool Brothers product unique. Martinus produces about 70 bowls a year, and each one costs almost $400, or about four times as much as a new skateboard.
It turns out that people love watching them being made. The company promotes itself mainly on Instagram and TikTok.
— Social media is essential to our company. It was Instagram that helped us start the company and continue operating, he says.
Read also: This is no ordinary jacket. This is your status message
Skateboards turn into designer bowls.
|
Business Insider
For decades, skateboarders have faced negative stereotypes
They were often portrayed as slackers and criminals in films and television. However, over time, the sport gained respect and in 2021 it appeared at the Olympic Games for the first time.
Fortunately, skateboarding has gone through a certain cycle of development, thanks to which it is now as popular as other Olympic sports, has large, mainstream sponsors and organizes large events
– says Tony Hawk Former professional skateboarder.
Now generations of skateboarders who grew up playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater are starting to return the favor. We're talking about skateboarders like Ryan Flynn, whose online store Chops also transforms old boards into new products.
They collect old boards at skate parks.
|
Business Insider
We like functional products. We make everything from sunglasses to pool cues to screwdrivers. We like it when they are used and get a real second life
– says Ryan Flynn Creative Director, Chops Manufacturing.
Ryan says that since he started skateboarding, the perception of the sport has changed.
— When I was older, my mom told me, “My friends told me not to let you skateboard and try to take it away because you'll end up as a loser.” “I'm so grateful she never listened to them,” Ryan adds.
Ryan hopes his products will encourage others to care more about the environment.
People appreciate recycling and have become accustomed to it, which has also spread to other aspects of our lives. We are more aware
– he explains.
The Pool brothers also believe their efforts will make skateboarders think about what happens to their old boards.
“I think we inspire people to take up carpentry or recycling skateboards and things like that,” he smiles.
