Marc Ecko & Ecko Red, 1999

Marc Ecko

1999

I initially met Marc Ecko in late 1995 through a mutual friend that was helping out at Ecko Unltd.  Ecko Unltd at the time was based in New Brunswick, NJ (near Rutgers University), my hometown area.

I had seen the Ecko brand around, and liked their creative styles and output. It matched the Polo prep-style cleanness with the creative edge of a skateboard brand. My first real interaction with Marc’s brand was shooting a pool scene for the Ecko Unltd catalogue (pre-internet) in 1996.

A year later, when I produced the skateboard event Shred for Life 2, I asked Ecko for support, they provided merchandise to be raffled off as a part of the fundraiser. Then, in 1998, I began the United Skateboard Association (U.S.A.) and the Beast of The East Contest Series. Ecko Unltd was one of the first companies to support the amateur skateboard league.

Ecko provided a foundation and culture for the United Skateboard Association to develop and grow. After a successful launch of the amateur skateboard program, Ecko offered the U.S.A. free office space and business support, and in exchange the U.S.A. would make Ecko their presenting sponsor and also connected Ecko to all the major skateboard amateur leagues in North America. 

Marc Ecko always made time to answer our design and philosophy questions. He assured us that we were on the right track with what we were developing, understanding that the amateurs are the true marketplace, and they are the grassroots of the culture.

This picture was taken in 1999 of a Marc developing a woman’s line called Ecko Red with two leading designers who could develop his vision and ideas.