Just Cruisin': Happy Hour Skateboards X Tom of Finland

“I guess log riding was the skateboarding of it’s time.”

In spring 2017, Helsinki-based Happy Hour Skateboards became the first-ever skateboarding company to collaborate with the Tom of Finland Foundation on a collection of skate decks and accessories. Now it’s time for a second round: The Happy Hour Skateboards X Tom of Finland Collection 2 will hit the shops on Saturday, February 17.

Tom of Finland is one of the world’s most influential artists. From the late 1950s onwards he produced a massive body of work, depicting strong, proud gay men. He played a key part in gay liberation and remains a pop cultural fixture.

“We were unsure about how the first collection would be received. Before the launch date we were pretty nervous about it”.

– Jarkko Poropudas, founder and owner of Happy Hour Skateboards.

In the end, the first collection sold out in just a day. It was new that skateboarding, often seen as a macho sport, embraced Tom of Finland’s message of sexual liberation and diversity.

The collection includes a real treat for Tom of Finland fans: The Just Cruising deck features an early illustration of a happy lumberjack floating down the river on a log – a scene of Finnish agrarian life of yore. It ended up on the cover of Physique Pictorial, an early gay porn magazine, in 1957. The editor in chief, Bob Mizer, came up with the moniker Tom of Finland.

Happy Hour Skateboards X Tom of Finland Collection 2 will be released on Saturday, February 17, 2018. The products will be available in stores and online at the following retailers: