Beyond the Grip Tape: Jimbo Phillips on Art, Punk, and the Evolution of Skateboarding Graphics
By Jeff Alexander
Graphic designer Jimbo Phillips considers himself fortunate to have intimately experienced California’s legendary skateboarding subculture and the meteoric rise of the community’s iconic Punk subculture.
Beginning his love for skating in the late ‘70s, Phillips recalls how his passion for art, discovery of Punk, and skating intertwined, enabling him to ultimately create a successful career as a graphic designer.
“My father, Jim Phillips, worked with Santa Cruz Skateboards, and I was always into drawing since I was young. I was inspired by my dad, but he actually told me to seek other career paths. He wanted to make sure I knew what I would be getting into and if I would still choose art for a career. I was passionate, but in school, there weren’t any teachers that encouraged art in any meaningful way,” laughed Phillips.
He added, “I was really into horror comics as well. I would be able to skate down to the local shops and pick up titles like Tales From The Crypt. They were so cheap then! It wasn’t until I discovered Mad Magazine that I learned Jack Davis did a lot of the art in Tales From The Crypt. I was beginning to see the connections with the skate culture, and that also inspired me.”
Phillips shared he did not take his passion for art seriously until graduation, instead, setting his sights on skating and surfing, while recalling that skating had not yet intertwined with the burgeoning Punk subculture. Until a local neighbor introduced him to Punk after a day of skating together.
“Skating, surfing, and BMX were really very different worlds. I noted the BMX kids were from rich backgrounds, the equipment was more expensive than skate gear, and they were focused on showing off expensive components of their bikes, which I felt were like status symbols. Skating felt easier to embrace. I had met a local skater that introduced me to Punk and bands like Sex Pistols, China White, and Descendents. The skating and Punk scenes did not really interact closely until years later,” recalled Phillips.
California’s professional skating community was deeply rooted in vert competitions, with Phillips saying there was a sharp divide between competitors and kids that went on to skate street. Phillips stated street skating did not take off until the late ‘80s, and despite California’s rich skateboarding history, skate parks were largely abandoned by then and in desperate need of repair. Young skaters found the activity easily accessible, perhaps due to skate decks being less expensive than BMX bikes. Phillips stated kids were really into skate graphics, but there was not enough push to highlight which artists were creating the now-iconic graphics that collectors continue to seek out.
“I remember kids really loving early graphics, but artists were not credited on the decks themselves in the ‘80s, even the designs my dad made for Santa Cruz. The designs were on like a three month cycle, so there was not a ton of new designs always coming out, but kids didn’t know which artists created what, but they were grateful for what they owned. There was no internet to verify what artist created what design,” said Phillips.
After self-admittedly drifting around, Jimbo said his father and Santa Cruz hired him in ‘88 as a graphic designer. Following his father’s lead while dedicating hours a day to create and refine his own styles, Phillips learned just what it took to begin a graphic design career.
“I really focused and took it seriously. I was drawing on a 9-5 schedule and being really disciplined despite my father and I being able to work out of our home. It was a thrill when pro skaters, like Jeff Kendall and Jeff Grosso, would actually come by to personally discuss graphic ideas,” said Phillips.
Santa Cruz Skateboards continued building its reputation as one of the quintessential California namesakes and vanguard for the skate community with the arrival of street skating. Phillips seemed poised to help grow the brand and capture market share until a revised work policy derailed his father and his relationship with the company.
“Things were taking off with street skating. It offered a whole new level of access for kids, either getting into the culture or for former vert skaters to join. Vert skating was phasing out, you needed a lot of space and equipment, and so many skate parks were sadly in decline. Santa Cruz decided that we had to relocate and work on-site at their new factory, and my dad was against it, so he quit. I was torn but showed loyalty to my dad and quit,” shared Phillips.
He added, “Loyalties were tested on both sides. It was the hardest thing I had to do, but family is important. I was nervous I wouldn’t work in the industry again because I wasn’t fully established at that time.”
In retrospect, leaving Santa Cruz in 1990 proved difficult, but Phillips said he regained his design career footing through music, even if the advent of the ‘90s saw a new divide in the skating subculture.
“During that time, things really changed. Kids were really into gatekeeping and would heckle you if your wheels and decks weren’t small enough. I still loved skating, but it wasn’t as accepting like today. I went on to play music and would design some merch for bands, and totally by word of mouth, things really took off! So I continued developing my style,” said Phillips.
Jimbo Phillips formally launched his graphic design company in 1992, focusing on themes from horror, kustom kulture, and the now iconic imagery that Santa Cruz Skateboards built its identity on.
“I love how so many things remain connected. Early skaters, their dads were more than likely into Big Daddy Roth and kustom kulture, and I was really into horror comics and later, Punk. All these cultures are connected, and to me, it makes skate art versatile and enduring,” stated Phillips.
Phillips recalls how he was on the cusp of computers making their way into the graphic design industry, and rather than pan technology as a fad, he embraced the seemingly limitless possibilities computers could offer the industry.
“The early to mid ‘90s were actually an exciting time. I never thought computers would replace people; they were a tool to make things more efficient, and actually share work with clients. I do remember when I created the album cover for No Use For A Name, which was a big milestone for me, but I had to hand deliver the art because there wasn’t really an effective, internet file-sharing method for large files,” laughed Phillips.
As the skating subculture evolved and ultimately earned widespread mainstream media accolades, Phillips was happy to praise the subculture’s endurance through time, evolution, and ability to earn the respect of longtime critics who once dismissed skaters and overlooked their athleticism.
“Skating is a big deal now, and I’m happy so many people got their due. This has been great for all the artists that have been involved because, as nostalgia creeps in, people are curious and excited to learn about the past, and all the people involved that elevated the art and made it what it is today,” said Phillips.
Jimbo Phillips still credits his father, Jim, as one of his major sources of inspiration. Jim Phillips continues earning accolades as one of the trailblazing artistic forces within skating, and the recent documentary, Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips, seeks to become the authoritative film documentary celebrating the trailblazing artist. The film was directed by John Makens.
“I feel the director did a good job telling my father’s story. It’s cool for him to see this capsule of his life and his work accomplishments. Some of the things in the movie I have lived, and some of the stories are not exactly how they happened, but that’s fine, that’s how things can go. For the most part, it’s spot on and I’m glad it’s out,” shared Jimbo.
Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips seeks to celebrate the life and times of the iconic artist, perhaps further contributing to the nostalgia that drives almost every person, in every subculture, to seek out and collect the art, music, or whatever artifact that still excites them on their quest to recapture and celebrate what originally inspired them. Asked if nostalgia has negatively impacted the skating subculture by driving high collector prices, or stagnating artists as clients simply demand a repeat of designs from the classic age, Phillips remains positive and happy to share how graphic design still thrills and challenges him.
“People are always going to be nostalgic for one thing or another, and that is ok because it makes us respect everything involved to create it. On the other hand, people will complain that this and that is dead, and I strongly disagree. As long as a new kid discovers skating or Punk music, it will not die,” stated Phillips.
He added, “No matter how many supercomputers or AI come in, people will resist by simply remaining passionate by creating detailed, hand-made work. The demand is there. A machine will never replace the heart and soul an artist puts in, and that is what I try to do each time I create.”
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