Case Study: Toebock INdustries
Toebock is a grassroots skateboard collective that has boasted over three decades of skateboarding journalism, skateboard videos, films, trips, and tours. I have been a part of this family since I was 13 years old, and I spent ages 16 through 21 on the road with them. But aside from being a participator (also known as a “toesman”), I have also been the primary writer/journalist for the last 10+ years.
A unique thing Toebock would do was month-long skate houses, also known as The Toeblock. My first attendance at one, the “toebock IN Seattle” house, was over 20 years ago, when I was 16 years old. In those faraway days, toebock was one of the few skate websites that hosted a blog, something we would likely call a forum today.
The Toebock blog was called Beans & Rice, and this is where I technically started to write to audiences. Although it was not a lot, I would contribute travel updates and stories to Beans & Rice. Even now, I still look at that platform as my first taste of professionally writing to audiences. And what is even more wild, Beans & Rice is still active today, mostly covering events and short written updates. However, currently, most of our writing efforts go into long-form writing. And that’s where I come in.
Out of all my clients, I have undoubtedly established my largest body of work with Toebock. From helping manage their Instagram account and writing web copy to writing on-page SEO and larger, journalistic pieces, the projects with this client have been versatile, to say the least.
The most notable projects are the Toe Spotlights and general write-ups for the blog, the Toebock Glossary, and copy for video releases. In 2025, the collective’s 4th skateboarding film, Toebock American Folklore, was released. I wrote the back cover copy and did much of the copy associated with the roll-out of that film. Lastly, and perhaps being my largest piece of work, is the Court Tour 2015, which is a 13-chapter digital love story that splices fiction with non-fiction. In all of these projects, I work closely with the Editor and Creative Director, Adam Crew.
I am well aware that these terms are likely confusing to those who do not know who we are. So, allow me to elaborate.
Toe Spotlight: Skateboarding Journalism
In the world of skateboarding journalism, there has, as far back as I can remember, been Pro Spotlights. These pieces, usually presented by big publications like Thrasher and TransWorld Skateboarding, traditionally check in with the most popular professional skateboarder at that time to talk about an array of topics relevant to that person. So, we thought we would do a spin on that and pay tribute to O.G. Toesmen, skaters who have been with us for decades and are well known in the skate community. And thus, the Toe Spotlight was born.
The Toe Spotlight comes in two different forms: Q&A or long-form journalistic narratives. To date, I have written a total of four Toe Spotlights: Mike Salsberg: San Jose’s Secret Weapon, Shad Spencer: The Gift that Keeps on Giving, Cam Barret: Salish Return, and my most recent piece with Boston legend, Frankie Nash. These large pieces are super fun to write, as I get to connect with skateboarders who are both my friends and whom I admire as skateboarders. I very much look forward to pumping out more of these!
Toebock American Folklore Film
Toebock American Folklore is the collective’s 4th skateboarding film. Featuring Jacob Scherrer, Connor Ferguson, Bobby Dodd, Storm Fogg, and Steve Purdue, this cinematic adventure takes audiences up the West Coast, starting in San Francisco, California, and ending in Bremerton, Washington. The film features beautiful videography, stunning locations, and amazing skateboarding. Between filming and editing, the project took a decade to complete.
Aside from writing the back cover copy, I also helped with the video description for the product page, the copy for the online release page, and any copy needed for social media posts. This film was a huge part of my life, as I was present during much of the filming of it. So, being included in the production and roll-out of the film has been beyond a special experience.
The Toebock Glossary
One of the most interesting and fun web copywriting projects I have ever done is, hands down, The Toebock Glossary. Over the years, Team Toe has come up with its own nicknames, terms, and way of speaking. Examples of these terms/words are “Toesman,” “Toebudget,” and “Weirdsted,” just to name a few.
Over the years, after many of these terms kept finding their way into articles, video descriptions, and social media posts, it became more urgent to offer a page to clarify these terms for those who were not yet familiar with them. And that’s where I came in. Working closely with the developer, I put together a list of “toe terms,” along with dictionary-formatted definitions and examples. To date, this is one of my favorite web pages that I have ever had the opportunity to work on. If you’re looking for a good laugh, I highly recommend you check out the official Toebock Glossary!
General Articles / Write-Ups
Before we started the Toe Spotlights, I was doing general write-ups. These topics vary, covering anything from trip overviews and tributes to trip overviews or friends turning pro. When reminiscing on these write-ups, one still remains my favorite: The Baker Beach Skate-Up.
Besides this short article being one of my earliest—dating back to October 12, 2012—it was also my favorite because of the journalistic style it required. The article was actually written to accompany a short skate vid. But the article itself is not about skateboarding. It is about the history of San Francisco’s Baker Beach bunkers, originally built by the U.S. Military in 1904. Not only did I get to skate these banks, but I got to write about them.
Since writing the Baker Beach article, I have written several other pieces. From short write-ups accompanying a video or trip to larger long-form articles, today I have 11 articles live on Toebock (not including the Baker Beach piece). Chronologically, they are:
- Paul Sewel is PRO (Jan. 2017)
- Elder Earl the Cat (March 2017)
- Old Town Pub Tribute (Nov. 2017)
- Viva La Mexi Thomas (Jan. 2019)
- Last Man Standing x FIREXSIDE (Jan. 2020)
- Life of an Outlaw: Nichalos “Twig” Ruddy (June 2020)
- Let Me Get a Bite: Austin’s Pilot Point Rendezvous (Dec. 2020)
- Location Skateshop x Grand Opening (May 2021)
- Behind the Threads: FIREXSIDE Cemetery Drip (Oct. 2020)
- 24 Depp: Jesse Erickson’s Legacy Lives On (Oct. 2023)
- Toebock IN Yakima (July 2024)
- Good Times with Jacob Scherrer (March 2026)
It has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to write all of these pieces. It is not every day that a freelance copywriter gets to write about people and subjects that they love. As we move into the future, I look forward to continuing to write more pieces like these, while maintaining my strong contributions to the family I love: Toebock INdustries.