Founded: 1993
Founder: Rodney Smith, Eli Morgan Gesner and Adam Schatz
Location: Manhattan, NY

Zoo York is a Manhattan, NY skateboard company that was founded by three partners from the ashes of Rodney Smith’s previous skate company, Shut.

Zoo York is a skateboard company that initially started out selling decks and t-shirts, but their foundation was in the New York City graff scene. In fact, the name Zoo York, was taken from the graff crew SAZY, Soul Artists of Zoo York.

They were one of the first East Coast skate brands to be tied directly to the hip hop, b-boy and graff scenes.

In 2001, Zoo York was sold to Marc Ecko. By 2005, all founding members has left the company, but returned 15 years later, in 2019 to help re-launch the brand with a focus on returning to their graff and hip hop roots.

At the peak of their success, they featured extensive clothing lines, including everything cut and sew and a large selection of accessories, from socks to underwear, shoes to backpacks, and even watches at one point.

While Zoo York lost some of its underground appeal, when it became widely available in mall stores and even discount clothing liquidators, they are still known to have a vital role in the first generation of streetwear culture and their early pieces are widely sought after by streetwear collectors.

Contributing Members: @mrthingone