Two of Venice, California’s most widely-recognized names, Dogtown Skateboards and The Shrine, have come together to release a special, limited-edition skateboard in celebration of the symbiotic relationship between music, timeless style and the transformative art of skateboarding.
Dogtown Skateboards was birthed in 1976 out of the notorious Zephyr surf and skate scene that dominated southern California in the 70s and has since cemented itself as an integral part of American culture as we know it. Started by Z-boy, Jim Muir, Dogtown Skateboards has consistently held close ties with the world of music and culture. Jim is the older brother of Mike Muir, frontman for the Venice-based punk band, Suicidal Tendencies, and the two have gone hand-in-hand since day one. Dogtown’s relationship with the LA music scene created a legacy that continues to inspire current and future generations all over the world.
The Shrine is a Venice-based, down and dirty, rock ‘n’ roll band that was kick-started by charismatic frontman and lifelong shredder, Josh Landau. At 27-years-old, Josh is a Venice Beach local. Described by Rolling Stone Magazine as “equal parts Black Flag and Thin Lizzy,” The Shrine continues the true-to-Venice tradition of eating, breathing, and sleeping skateboarding and rock ‘n’ roll.
“I've known know Jim [Muir] since going to school with his son Teague at John Adams middle school and grew up skating with him. This collaboration is a dream for the brand; we've always had a far off dream of running our own skateboard company, and creating Shrine board is just as great," says lead singer of the Shrine, Josh Landau. "The cover for our album, Bless Off, has a Dogtown rip off of a lesser known graphic from Rick Clayton’s 1980’s design — it’s not one that they reissued. I called Jim to ask permission to use it for the cover and he said hell yeah! He's actually to a few of our shows. He's got the company revamped and hit me up for some board ideas. The board is like an original Dogtown board, but slightly reshaped."
Drawing parallels between the relationship of Jim and Mike Muir, Josh Landau is the older brother of noted skateboarder, Jason Landau, who spends his days on the grind for clothing label, Supreme, and upholding his reputation as one of the young and dangerous up-and-comers in the LA pool skating scene. Both Josh and Jason were featured in Tino Razo’s new book “Party In The Back”, which documents California landscapes and current backyard pool skateboarding.
The Shrine X Dogtown skate deck collaboration is a culmination of this deep-rooted union between Venice, skateboarding, and music, decades in the making.
