Doric Short Documentary by Katy's Studio

Since starting in 2017 we’ve done a few videos about how and why we do what we do. We’ve also been the subject of it for a couple of different groups of students which i’ve always been happy to do!

So when Katy of Katy’s Studio approached us to be the subject for her Masters degree we were only too pleased to help out. Always fun for us too.!

We’ve worked with Katy on a few things so were very happy to do this! We shot a lot of footage - I can talk for ever on some things!

Thanks for trusting us to be part of this.

Anyway - have a watch and let us know what you think. We think it gives a little insight into what we are about.

Sometimes its hard to get across in text form so we hope this does the trick.

#aberdeen #brand #brandawareness #marketing #video #videography

Mental Health Fundraiser - September 22

As we approach winter and the uncertainty surrounding fuel bills I wanted to try to raise some funds for Mental Health Aberdeen.

Link to Fundraiser HERE.

Poor mental health can be triggered by many things - stress over money can certainly be one. MHA provide an invaluable service for people who are struggling. We hope to raise some money to go towards this. Keeping someone on the other end of a phone or a counsellor on hand is going to be so important as we seem to enter such an uncertain winter. 

Each donation will be entered into a draw. We have a few prizes up for grabs including:

• One off test print Deck of the Hello Radical Deck - also include a HR Zine.

• John Walter Deck signed and numbered. Ltd Edition.

• Stallan Deck - no longer in print or available! 

• And a donation from local artist David Shade - Paper Planes spray painted deck - a one off.! 

• We also have 4 of our badges to give away too via an anonymous donor. 👍

So that’s 8 prizes to be won. No matter what size the donation. 

Some of these decks were actually owned by John Welsh who many locals will know sadly passed away. His entire collection was kindly donated to Transition Extreme where I bought them back from.  I hope they can now raise a little more money!

If you can donate any amount it will be appreciated - it all adds up. Even if you can’t it would be a huge boost if you could share this appeal. 👍

We’ll run this until the end of September and draw prizes after that. Stay tuned to our socials for that! 

Thanks kindly

Gary

Rough Times Ahead?

I don’t think it’s just me that feels like the world is in constant turmoil. Brexit, Trump, COVID, Cost of Living Crisis, NHS underfunded - it’s an endless depressing list of things that have chipped away at our lives. Perhaps ignorance really is bliss. At least it was before 24hr TV and Social Media to keep you up to date with the daily dose of misery. Hourly dose. Minute by minute sometimes.

And so we find ourselves on the precipice of another recession.

I’ve always said that what I do with Doric Skateboards doesn’t really matter. Seems daft to say that because obviously it doesn’t matter. I’m also always keen to say I do take the business very seriously but I don’t take myself very seriously. Even in good times what we do isn’t important. I know this but that doesn’t mean I don’t take it seriously.

Even taking into account my communist tendencies I realise that in life we want and need variety. We also need things to look forward to, the occasional treat - I know I do. Records are my vice - if I can get a record every month or so I am very happy and lucky (90’s era hip hip and grunge if anyone is interested!).

If I was to take a step back and put a sensible head on I would sell off everything in stock at a healthy discount and sell all my screen printing equipment and walk away with a couple of quid in my pocket. Maybe go on holiday or most likely keep it aside as this recession takes bite. But what else would I do with my time? My energy? My thoughts? Not too sure.

So it won’t really matter what external forces there are in the world, our country or our city - i’m going to always be going with Doric. We’ll keep our pricing as is and for as long as that works - I think the balance is right. £25 for a posted tee is comparable with other brands, £15 for a kids tee posted is a great deal.

We’ve got about 6 designs locked and loaded for clothing and plans to commit more time and effort to screen printing our own decks in small batches rather than the digitally printed stuff like Cull the Gulls, Jaws etc. Too much of a financial commitment at the moment and just not as satisfying to do - despite my love for those designs! : ) So we’ve got plenty to come this year and beyond and I hope they bring some happiness to folk.

Later this month we are going to do a wee fundraiser for Mental Health Aberdeen. We’ll have 3 or 4 decks up as prizes - a rare Stallan, a rare John Walters and the Test Print Hello Radical with an additional wee illustration on it by the artist themselves. More on this later but it would grand to raise a few quid for an essential service up here. And as this recession hits and the cost of living crisis bites our Mental Health services will be stretched thin - lets hope we can help with that.

Thanks for reading and for supporting. Take care. Gary.

Pantones a Cake Right?

Pantones a cake right? This could be as much to do with art/design or running a business or skateboarding.

Our old man was a Painter and Decorator. He was meticulous with it. All about the preparation. Anyone can clart paint on a wall - its the boring stuff like sanding, filling and taping up that separates the pro from the amateur. And of course the time it takes.

When I used to visit folk (nae so keen on that now) and they proudly proclaim they did all the painting themselves to save money and because "painting is easy"in my mind I’m looking around and sometimes thinking “yup, looks like it - love that you painted your light switches and sockets too".

I never mean it in a shitty way - I naturally found myself being defensive about something that my dad worked hard at. And now I suspect the shoe is on the other foot...

I never went to art school. Don't know my Impressionists from my Surrealists or anything else really.

And so I suppose when I bang on and on about screen printing and "designing" then people are entitled to perhaps question the validity of my opinion and work. The provenance.

“Never been to art school Gary?”

"Nope"

“Yeah, - looks/sounds like it pal.”

And who could blame them?

Until recently I thought the Pantone colour chart was a way of grading that awful Italian cake that folk pretend to like…

Side note: the closure of John Lewis in Aberdeen was sad but the upside will be less of us have to throw that Italian cake stuff in the bin every year or pretend to enjoy it.

Anyway. What I'm getting at imposter syndrome. That is:

"Internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be"

Although to be honest maybe I'm over egging how competent I think other people think I am! Or I'm overthinking everything. But I'm not sure I trust anyone that doesn't have some imposter syndrome. A little bit of doubt is good for you.

But it’s all about making an effort in my opinion.

Whether your painting yer cornices or screen printing a design onto a skateboard - we're only here for a very short time so do what you think makes you happy. Don't wait for permission and don't look for approval. Forget the rules. My preferred method is screen printing - I see people approach it in very different ways to me but get great results. So who am I to question that.

As I say - doubt is good. We live in a world where too many people seem to be suffering the Dunning-Kruger effect - fyi - no, that's not the actress from Inglorious Basterds or a ref to any 80's horror movie.....

We're really only here for a very short time so why waste it worrying about the rules?

#imposter #impostersyndrome #art #design #skateboards #clothing #aberdeen #dunningkruger

What's Happening?

It’s April already and we wanted to share a little blog post on what’s happening at Doric Skateboards right now and what we’ve got planned for the future.

At the time of writing this (Saturday 16th April) I’m not long home from Peacocks Studio here in Aberdeen preparing screens for printing a couple of new designs on their way this year.

We’ll be screen printing skateboards and clothing for a collaboration with local creative @helloradical - really excited about this one. Peep their style in the image below. Its going to be a belter.! Before this one arrives we’ll hopefully have another one ready to go - a cracker from a local guy we’ve worked with before based on the Robert the Bruce statue. : )

End of this month is War of the Thistles at Transition and the Loading Bay. Always happy to sponsor events like this - the first one we sponsored was literally the day or two after we launched 5 years ago. I’ll be there hopefully with a couple of the Doric team to have a watch. Say hello if ye see me!

You can find us in person at Curated Aberdeen every month here in Abedeens’s Bon Accord Centre. The event itself is on every week but I’m only there once a month. Find the details here. Really big thanks to folk who come along and see me there. Its incredibly gratifying that folk come along knowing I’m going to be there. Makes it all very worthwhile. I’m booked there until August but will no doubt be there beyond then plus we’ll be doing some other pop ups else where too. Keep yer ears and eyes open for more on that later.

Until then we’ll be busy working on these new designs and sharing some of the process along the way!

Cheers

Gary

Guest Blog Post - Ross “Fox” Salitura Skateboard Coach

“In what I hope is the first of many guest blogs on the website here is Ross. When I approached Ross about writing a blog I didn’t discuss subject matter or context in particular. Really want to thank him for sharing something honest, positive and engaging. I think you’ll get something from reading this. Thanks again - you can find Ross on Instagram here ,his website for lessons is here and once you’ve read his blog you’ll find his YouTube link there too” Gary.

Hi

I’m Ross “Fox” Salitura - Gary asked me to write a guest blog for the Doric Website and I jumped at the opportunity, however, I then got nervous and I have re-written this multiple times, through fear, anxiety, nerves and countless other reasons. 

Eventually I decided to write from a place of honesty and talk about my time skateboarding in Scotland in the hope that someone will take something away from my ramblings. 

I have been on and off a skateboard since I was 12/13 and I am now a “young” 31. I moved to Scotland in 2015 and fully re started skateboarding around 2018/2019 after having taken a break for a few years. I came back with an open mindedness and desire to push and progress as much as I could before I got “too old”.

I was bought a 5 foot mini ramp by my ex wife and built this in my garden which gave me a space to practice away from people as I had nerves around how “good” I would be after not skating. Unfortunately, one neighbour who was not skateboard friendly, reported this ramp to the council which resulted in me taking a dispute with the council all the way to the government. Unfortunately I lost the dispute with the government which led to me taking the ramp down in December 2019. 

Through this battle, I learnt a lot about building and planning regulations and discovered, that If I put wheels onto ramps and built in my garage, I could still have ramps. Therefore, I moved my ramp into the garage and continued skateboarding while considering expanding with “portable” ramps at a later date. While going through this dispute, the story was picked up my local and national newspapers and the support of local skateboarders was simply amazing and led me to be confident enough to go out and meet some of them and start interacting with the skateboard community around me. 

LOCKDOWN! - This slowed skating down as I couldn’t go to the skatepark, however, I was fortunate and had a ramp in my garage and discovered a website selling portable ramps, so I purchased a few and I continued.

I enjoyed the idea of me supporting a Scottish Skate Company and It was around this lockdown time, that I bought my first Doric Deck. I had followed Doric on Instagram and I knew a couple guys had used their boards and they seemed to hold up well. Once the sunburst orange board arrived and I started using it, I was hooked and continued to use Doric boards regularly. 

I loved the website, content and all the amazing artwork and collaborations with local artists that Doric does. There is just a genuine feel to the company and which is simply inspiring. A very wholesome local company.

Unfortunately although I was re-discovering skateboarding, during this time in lockdown, my marriage fell apart, my mental health suffered and my addictions took over. I continued to skateboard, and also started filming tricks, clips, blogs and other fun videos. However, I was battling demons I was not used to or understood. I swear that without the skateboard, community and outlet it provided, I don’t know where I would be right now. 

Skateboarding was the only constant. No matter how bad things got, I could go out on the board and ride down the street and feel a small moment of peace or freedom. I cannot quite put a finger on the emotion or feeling, however, its something I treasure and am thankful for. 

I don’t write this for sympathy, but to show that having something you are passionate about, care about, and can do when things are not going well, you will still be able to find a reason to continue, to feel peace, to enjoy a small moment in time. 

In August 2021, I broke my toes, damaged ligaments and just messed up my whole leg while trying to do an air in Newport Bowl in Fife. I waited over 3 hours for an Ambulance to come which it did not and had to be dragged out of the bowl in agonising pain. This was near to the lowest point in my life and in my twisted state, I felt like skateboarding and everything it involved had betrayed me. (This was not true). I flew down to England to stay at a house my friend had. I don’t like recalling this time, however, I chose to isolate myself from everything good in my life that friends, family and skateboarding had bought me. Instead I dove into self pity, despair and depression. I reached a breaking point and knew I had to do something.

After roughly a month, I phoned a skateboarder who had put out his phone number on Instagram for anyone struggling and I cried down the phone to this guy in the USA. He just listened without judgement and a sentence he said stuck with me. He told me “were warriors dude, were, fu!@ing warriors” THIS, from a skateboarder I had never met, but admired was enough to remind me that skateboarding and its community are amazing. I realised, my skate community was in Scotland. So I returned to Scotland, determined to stop the addictions in my life and to recover. 

I won’t go into the full depths of my issues here, however, rest assured, today, I am here, sober, stronger and more sound and peaceful than I have ever been. When I returned to Scotland in September 2021 I sought help and reached out to mental health charities, doctors and addiction support groups. All of these I cannot thank enough. Please if anyone is struggling with anything, REACH OUT! There is always support and people out there who will listen and support you.  

When I was back in Scotland, I noticed that skateboarding, although injuring me now and then, was still a thing I loved. The people around me who are involved in skateboarding, all cared about me and wanted me to be well. Skateboarding had created a community around me of people who were friends. True friends. I had overlooked and isolated myself from this and could not believe how unaware I was of what I had gained from skateboarding in Scotland. I was overwhelmed with support and started to investigate into how I could give back to skateboarding. This was when I found and undertook the Skateboard GB course to become and Accredited skateboard coach. 

This course took place in Glasgow in October 2021, which was an amazing time in my life. I met lots of skateboarders who I had followed on social media and made new friends while on the course. This course honed my skills and helped me understand how best to help and support new and experienced skateboarders in lessons. 

I finished the course fully qualified and grateful. I started looking into how to set myself up as a freelance coach, and Don’t Comply Films, who have a small private skatepark in Kirkcaldy offered me their space for lessons. This group of young men who own the skatepark, had been there not only for the good times, but also through all the bad times, supporting me and helping me through my journey. By offering me this space for lessons when I could find nowhere else to do them, showed me, again more support than I can ever thank them for. 

I took this opportunity and set up a website from scratch, lesson plans, schedules and all of the craziness that goes into starting up a small business. I knew that I would need spare skateboards for lessons, and Doric had recently started selling a full set up, which I jumped at the chance to get one. I use this set up for lessons to this day for anyone who wants a lesson but does not have a skateboard.  

All in all, my life is peaceful now. A massive reason for this is due to skateboarding, the people involved, and the overall support within the skateboarding community. To you all, I am thankful. 

I would like to end my ramblings by saying It takes courage to start a company and pursue a dream, and seeing someone do this, is nothing short of inspiring for people such as myself.  I am now pursuing a career which I love and have friends within the skateboarding community all across Scotland and the UK. I contribute a lot of my inspiration to small companies such as Doric and people like Gary who show that it is worth taking a chance on something you enjoy. 

Ross “Fox” Salitura

Skateboard Coach 

Proud

How I feel wearing my Doric gear.

For a wee while I felt ultra self conscious about wearing my own stuff. Criticism had stung me a little and I wanted anonymity when I was out and about.

What if someone asked me if I knew the guy behind Doric and shared some negative thoughts? What would I say?

Probably say “aye he can be right pain in the arse I hear”

But I’m feeling better about myself and my place in skateboarding and in Aberdeen. Dare say it’s Pride. One of the deadly sins but I’ll allow it.

Us Scots and more so Aberdonians aren’t very good at the pride thing. We’re better and pouring buckets of scorn on folk and ourselves. Sarcasm and an almost competitive nature of negativity seems to be part of who we are but I’m trying to get away from that.

It’s incredibly boring.

So whatever floats yer boat - be proud of it.

Don’t let the external or internal sneers effect you.

Mental Health Fundraiser 2020

Mental Health Aberdeen has provided our City with support for over 70 years. With counselling for both adults and youth as well as training they, like other organisations are integral to the community here. And I’m sure wherever you live you have something similar.

Last year and continuing this year I’ve been fortunate enough to be helped by their services.

And so I want to try to give something back and encourage others to give what they can. I’ll kick this off with a £250 donation via a Just Giving page - link below and in our bio/pinned posts etc.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/doricskateboards

In return for each donation we’ll be giving away this one off plenty of pop deck! This was used for a similar fundraiser a few years back and the winner back then, Steven decided he’d like to see it go back to some good use.

Each donation (unless you want to remain anonymous) will be put into a hat and a winner pulled. We’ll run this until February 13th at least.

Raising awareness is something we often hear about.. So we’ll make sure we share some of MHA content over this few weeks and I would encourage anyone to follow them - you never know when you might see/read something that will help you or someone in the future.