Renaissance & Rebellion - Flipbook - Page 180
LOCOS MULTIPLEX: NANO NÓBREGA
AND THE “ART AND CULTURE” BRAND
–LISA DERRICK
N
ANO NÓBREGA grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, the 3rd largest metropolis in the world and a major
international surf/skate hub. In this electric environment he grew up chasing waves and skateboarding but
somehow knew his destiny was in California and in his 25th year he shoved off for SoCal and enrolled in
the multi-media and design program at Platt College in San Diego. After graduation he entered the world of
skate, snowboard and surf design where he elevated himself to the top of the industry, working with legends such as Mark McKee,
Bod Boyle and Steve Douglas, creating innovative works for companies such as World Industries, Blind Skateboards and eventually
co-founding the lifestyle skate brand Dusters California, curating collections such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and The Endless
Summer, where he met John Van Hamersveld.
From the moment Van Hamersveld began collaborating with Nóbrega for his Endless Summer tribute board, he had the idea
– “talk to Tourjé.” Van Hamersveld would nudge Tourjé over weeks to call Nóbrega and he finally did, coincidentally on Nóbrega’s
birthday. Perhaps that was an omen, because it marked the beginning of a constant collaboration going strong ever since in order to
upend the status quo of the typical “skate brand” by bringing highly evolved, museum grade fine art to skateboard design. And not the
cliché Warhol images plastered to the bottom of street decks to be overpriced and sold in museum stores. The idea was to integrate the
designs throughout the completed boards as well – boards, wheels, trucks, grip tape – from the top to the bottom. And thus was born
a new idea – call it the “art and culture” brand of the California Locos. With this new idea came sold-out collections with the Locos,
Robert Williams and most recently with Mister Cartoon which has set the high-level direction they are now on.
Skateboarding began with rebellious iconoclasts, bold improvisors open to any experience. Devised by Southern California
surfers, skateboarding built a very particular set of skills, becoming a means of mobility, exploration and freedom, and importantly
for teenagers, of self-expression. Skateboarding annoyed the powers that be, with cities and municipalities increasingly prohibiting
the activity in public spaces. Skating allowed for fast moving graffiti, adding a modern spin to the ancient practice of writing on city
walls – quite literally “street art.” In the ‘70s, to skate was to rebel against the status quo. And by the 1980s, that status quo faced major
upheavals. Since these seminal days, skateboarding has progressed radically from its days as a high-risk outlaw recreation. The sport
debuted at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, four years after the Skateboarding Hall of Fame opened in Ventura County, California.
CALIFORNIA 354
LOCOS
At Risk Rock's studio, 2022
