Founded: 1998
Founder: Steve Rocco
Location: Santa Monica, CA

Even though these days, you can regularly find garbage quality World Industries licensed completes at big box stores and you can find their tees, hats and clothes at Marshall’s and Ross, World Industries is still a very respected brand in skate and streetwear culture.

Steve Rocco started what would become World Industries in 1988, initially with John Lucero of Black Label as a partner, and then soon after, Rodney Mullen took over Lucero’s shares. Initially the company was named SMA or Santa Monica Airlines: Rocco Division. In addition to Rocco and Mullen, they had Jesse Martinez and Jeff Hartsel as their first pros.

After pissing off Santa Cruz and the rest of the Big 5 skateboard companies of the time, they all basically teamed up to try and sabotage Rocco’s effort to shake up the skateboard industry. Luckily for World, and all skateboards in the rest of history it didn’t work and Rocco worked through it. Santa Cruz, who owned the license of Santa Monica Airlines at the time, told Rocco he couldn’t use Santa Monica Airlines anymore, so he changed the name of the company (initially as a joke and an F you to: SMA World Industries. After being sued for using SMA, Rocco dropped it from the name and World Industries was officially born.

Steve Rocco turned the skateboarding industry upside down over the next few years, starting and helping start multiple independent skater owned brands that gave the power and money back to the skaters themselves. If it wasn’t for Steve Rocco and World, you wouldn’t have the 100s of indie skate brands that came after them. He set the groundwork and the blueprint for all of them to exist.

Contributing Members: @mrthingone