Promo video and images courtesy of Sagan Lockhart.

I am hard pressed to think of any time in skateboarding’s cultural history that is more exciting for independent brands than right now.

On the one hand, the global economy is still in the Covid ditch, but on the other, skate culture as a whole would (for the most part) rather give their dollars to a small, independent brand with style and niche that they connect with over a giant legacy conglomerate. AMFM Equipment, an independent wheel and equipment company founded by Sagan Lockhart, is launching this month, and we are excited. From what we reckon, vibe to riders to quality, AMFM might be the next best thing in skateboarding. The team looks good, the product looks good, and the wheel market has space for a new brand with AMFM’s aesthetic and approach. We hit Sagan up to ask about what’s coming and how much it sucks to start making wheels.

What is AMFM? Equipment? Where did this come from?

I wanted to do something in skateboarding again, and I figured the best way to sponsor some of the people that I wanted to be involved with was through wheels. I didn’t see anything in the wheel space that was like what I wanted to try to accomplish, but the name is Equipment so it’s open to evolving into other things if we want it to. 

Who are some people you’d like to sponsor?

Right now we’ve got Carl Aikens, Jahmir Brown, Queezy’s on as a filmer, Kanin Garner, Sal Barbier, Dougie. Queezy skates but he’s more of a filmer, so that’s already venturing outside of just a skate team. 

Yeah we love that dude. 

Yeah, I love him to death. I mean, I’m not saying that this is what I really want to do or this is the motto or anything, but Ken Block was into a lot of different shit and he took DC into the realms of all of his interests, so I want to leave it open to doing something like that. Like, we want to support musical acts and photographers and other shit, too. It doesn’t have to be just skateboarding. 

Yeah, you have a background in photography, too, aye?

Uh yeah, on a good day I’m taking photos. I’ve always enjoyed shooting photos, dabbled a little bit in music stuff, so there are definitely other interests that I want to tie into AMFM.

How do you think that eclectic background has influenced or will influence the aesthetic of your brand? 

I’m not sure. I think that as long as a brand is genuine, it shouldn’t be that hard to accomplish. I mean, I wouldn’t try to tie something into the brand that we aren’t genuinely interested in. I’m into cars, so if Porsche wanted to do something with us, that’d be sick, but I’m not into video games so I wouldn’t try to do anything in that world. Whatever we do, I want it to be genuine. 

How much of a challenge has it been to found a wheel company? I don’t even know where to begin with that.

Honestly, it’s been a complete nightmare. We finally got everything in order and got the riders to approve their formulas. We are in a good place now after trying so many things. I didn’t really anticipate these challenges, I don’t think I thought it all the way through before starting, but it’s been a really good process so I’m not complaining about it. 

I think that in skating, there is now a lot of opportunity to start and run an indie brand. It’s never been easier to find an audience. 

Yeah, everything is out there. I think the internet has changed so many things because through that, anyone can find ways to create an audience for themselves. Everything is so accessible now, and even if the general public isn’t into something, you can find your people. 

Oh, here’s a question I like to ask: if you could sponsor anyone, who would it be? If you were making your dream team from any part of the world, any era, who would you throw on? 

Ah man that’s a tough one. I always go back and watch Tom Penny footage, so I want to give it to him. Growing up, I always loved all the Crailtap videos, so Koston, Guy Mariano, Marc Johnson are definitely on that list of favorites. I was also always into eS Footwear growing up. Girl and eS, that was my shit when I was a kid. 

You and I grew up in the Crailtap era, where everyone was wearing Four Star shirts and riding a Girl board, and we were very eager to be associated with the best known brands, whereas now I feel that it is much cooler to be into and repping niche or little known brands. 

Yeah, I can see that. I think that also has to do with the internet. Kids are often attracted to stuff that they can relate with, so as a skater, you don’t need to be the best at skating anymore to have fans and sponsors. You could just have a nice kickflip or a cool style or personality and if they like it, they like it. I think that's beautiful about skateboarding, that no one will ever be the ‘best’ at something, it’s more about what people perceive as being the best.

So you’re launching a brand this month that focuses on wheels, but is open to a lot else. What are your goals? What do you think you want?

That’s a good question. I’m constantly thinking about the future with this. At the end of the day, I want to try to create something a little bit different, which is difficult in a world where so much has already been done. I just want to support my friends and the people that I’m into. Whether we are able to accomplish something totally different or not, if I can get my friends on and go on trips and people like what we are doing, I’d be happy with that.  

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