Most skateboard decks are made from a high grade of maple veneer plywood. The exact number of skateboards manufactured every year is unknown.
What is known is that millions of used skateboard decks are discarded annually, ending up in landfills when, instead, they could be recycled or in Michael Earley’s case, Up-Cycled. One of the many benefits in up-cycling broken or discarded products is keeping items out of the landfill, but for Michael, its more than that. Each piece he creates has its own unique story. The life these skateboards have gone through before they end up on Michael’s lathe is always interesting. You can tell each one was used, abused, loved and represented the individuality of its owner.
They come to Michael covered in stickers, dirt, doodles and sometimes spray paint. All are scratched, gouged, cracked and many are broken in half. It’s evident that each deck provided hours of enjoyment to their previous owners.