A brief history of Next Generation Skateboards as told by owner, Jason Diaz:

“It was back in the summer of 1999.  I was fresh out of high school and I was working for Rod Kush Furniture.  I saved up some of my paychecks and bought a ticket to Cali so I could go and hang out my cousin Donny Diederich.  Up until that point I never really hung out with him.  At that time, he was pro for 151 Skateboards and getting flowed by éS and Janco Jeans.  He knew a lot of the up and coming skateboarders in his time, including Andrew Reynolds, Sean Sheffey, Mike Crum, Steve Olson, and Chad Muska.

After a few trips out to Cali, I really started to build a relationship with Donny and Chad.  On one of my trips out there, we all went out to dinner and I sat next to Chad.  We started talking about if I like where I worked and I basically told him “…it was money and everyone needs to make money.”  He went on to say that I should do something for myself and not work to make money for other people.  So as I was flying back home from L.A., I thought all about the trip and then I ended up back at what Chad had said.  As I sat there in my seat, a light bulb went off…a skateshop.

So when I got back here, I called Donny and Chad to talk to them about my idea and they both encouraged me to give it a try.  I got another paycheck from work and flew out to Cali again with my brother Terry.  Chad picked us up from the airport and we started hitting up a few pros for some product.  In two weeks, we flew back with the goods and rented a spot on 36th and Chandler St.  Donny gave me the idea for the name of the shop and by June 15, 2000, Next Generation Skateboards was open for business.  On our first day, all we had were 8 Shorty’s boards, 5 Ghetto Child t-shirts, 2 pairs of size 10 Emerica shoes, 3 sets of Birdhouse wheels, 2 sets of Independent trucks, a few sets of Black Panthers bearings, and some Black Magic griptape.  We sold a board that day and a sheet of Black Magic and I was so stoked!  From there, I took what little I made and turned it right back into more product.  I’ve now been in business for 9 years and we’ve only grown since our opening day.  To those who believe Next Generation is just about the money, know that we started from the ground up with almost nothing and turned it into what we have today.”