Skatemodo: Who is Open Skateboards?
Trevor: We are Trevor Sias and Ian Lynam. Artists with a long-running passion for skateboarding.

Skatemodo: How long have you been doing this?
Trevor:OPEN seeds were planted in the end of 2008. It took almost a year to get our first boards manufactured. I thought it would be way easier. I tend to learn things the hard way.

Skatemodo: Where are you based out of?
Trevor: Is the world a place? Currently all the decks are in my (Trevor’s) apartment in Astoria, QNS, NYC. Ian lives in Tokyo, and OPEN HQ might be moving to Portland OR later this year.

Skatemodo: Where should I skate when I come to NYC or Tokyo?
Trevor: I have never skated in Tokyo, so no idea. In general i find the best rule is where your friends are at. NYC is obviously epic if your creative enough, and got the balls to endanger your life to traffic and cops. I hope to get to tokyo as soon as possible to skate. The burnside area of Portland, beyond burnside park, Portland has lots of cool stuff. But there are spots for miles.
Ian: Ha- Yoyogi Park with the rippers. No, seriously, Tama Plaza has a nice set of banks and Hatsudai and Hatagaya have some crazy multi-level setups. In general, Tokyo sidewalks are uneven ankle-breakers due to the lack of enforced zoning, so there’s a lot more potential for weird, random ledges and curb setups.

Skatemodo: Who does the designs?
Ian:Ian: I do. I have done work for folks like Nike SB, Lesque (Tokyo’s top skate company), and a ton of cultural clients. I try to infuse the designs with a Japanese pop sensibility missing from the American skate industry (while not being as overt as Hook-Ups ;) )
Trevor: Ian, he’s like the art director. But we do have some series coming up from other artist from around the world. Ian is a master of the proper use of type and space. So I generally don’t question his moves.

Skatemodo: Do you guys have a team?
Ian:In theory, I am a rider, as it says “pro model” on my deck, though I actually suck really bad.
Trevor: Yes and no. Ian, of course, has his pro model. He is the slappy master, but his pro model is because he is a pro designer. All of our decks are by artists & designers – their pro models, as it were.
A killer skater in Hawaii named Jason Park is killing it for us right now. we also work very tightly with Project Bushwick in brooklyn. http://projectbushwick.blogspot.com/ Anyone riding OPEN skateboards is on the team. I don’t care about bangers or rippers. It‚ is just about skateboarding. Right now there are people that we are not ready to officially announce. It’s more of a team, no ams, no pros, just people with a common love of skateboarding.

Skatemodo: Videos?
Trevor: We are planning on some short promos right now. Project bushwick is about to release a full video that OPEN is helping sponsor. I (Trevor) had a ruff end of the year, with a broken foot, quickly followed by a minor knee injury that required some surgery. Now it is below freezing in NYC and hard to shoot, bbut there are lots of plans.

Skatemodo:What else do you do?
We are both professional designers, motion graphics artists, creatives in general. Trevor also run’s a record label called music related (www.musicrelated.net)

Skatemodo: Who inspires you?
Ian: E*Rock (Eric Mast), the owner of Fryk Beat and Audio Dregs Records (http://audiodregs.com is a huge inspiration and the raddest friend. He consistently rocks signature design projects, fine art, playing music, and releasing some of the best music from around the world.
Trevor: My friends I skate with. They always push me forward. Also my parents, they did what they wanted with their life’s and still do. I think that has been a strong motivator in me jumping feet first into things i think would be interesting. I find Ian’s work to be inspiring. Knowing someone who is so multidisciplined and good at it all is great. I am also lucking in working in motion graphics in NYC, I get to meet some of the most talented people in the world in that field. And everyone I meet who refuses to settle for the status quo, and do what they want with their life. http://www.openskateboards.com/