San Leandro, CA – Skate Industry News: NHS Inc Still On Top After 50 Years

NHS, Inc. is a United States sports equipment distribution company based in Santa Cruz, California. It was founded by Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman, three surfer friends from Santa Cruz, California, teamed up to start NHS. The acronym NHS comes from their surname initials. 

The Santa Cruz Skateboards brand, distributed by NHS, is the oldest continuous skateboard company in the world, founded by Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman. At the start, it started as a surfboard business but was struggling to stay afloat because the low profit margins. Soon, a friend from a Hawaiian company challenged NHS to make 500 skateboards. With the surplus of fiberglass lying around they decided to use the stocked materials to fulfill and make skateboards. Their first-ever Santa Cruz skateboard was produced in 1973. The batch of 500 skateboards sold quickly, and from there a demand of many more boards would be created and sold. Now it’s one of the most iconic brand names in skateboarding and would become a staple in the sport. NHS was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame (SHoF) in 2013.

NHS Inc. currently distributes the following brands: Santa Cruz Skateboards, Santa Cruz Snowboards, Santa Cruz Surfboards, Creature Skateboards, Independent Truck Company, Bronson Speed Co., Krux Trucks, Ricta Wheels, Mob Grip, OJ Wheels, Road Rider, Slimeballs, Bullet and Nor Cal Clothing Co. NHS formerly owned shares of Santa Cruz Bicycles, also co-founded by Richard Novak, but sold to Pon Holdings in 2015. NHS’s main products are skateboard-related, but the company also manufactures snowboarding and surfing equipment.

Today, the iconic skateboard manufacturer and distributor runs nhsskatedirect.com and manages a network of authorized NHS dealers via nhsb2b.com. You can check out all the NHS products at Orbit Skate and Boutique!