We caught up with Doug Fraser and talked about his early days of skateboarding and how he grew his collection throughout the years! I meet many cool guys through the skateboarding groups and have great conversations, and I can tell you this… Doug is seriously a standup dude and a great soul to talk with! So let’s dive in and get started with Doug’s interview!
SPS – Where did you grow up, and what was your skate scene like?
Doug – I grew up in Corona, California. I skated a little bit when I was younger. I’d say six or seven. And I went to the Pipeline Skate Park in Upland, California. I didn’t know it would become a legendary place and be the home park for Chris Miller, Micke, Steve Alba, and countless others.
After my brief stink at skating, I got involved in soccer and didn’t skate again until I got to high school. Like every other school, we had a small group of outcasts that bonded together over skating.
These became my closest friends. We used to skate every day after school in the neighborhood, and on weekends we would go on skate adventures, including my return to the Pipeline skate park.
SPS – Do you remember your first skateboard?
Doug – My dad tried to buy me a board at the swap meet when I was 6 or 7 and tried to talk the guy down on price, but he wasn’t budging, so that day, I left with no board soon after I got a shitty penny-style board that wasn’t very good and could barely do the snake run at the skate park.
I remember having a Valterra board when I got older but didn’t skate it. It wasn’t until I got a Joe Johnson hieroglyphics deck that I felt like a real skater. Around that time, street skating was mainly what we did, so it was a no-brainer to get a Tommy Guerrero and pretend I was on the Bones Brigade.
Once we got bored with that, we started looking for empty pools in the neighborhood, and if you could go over the light, you were practically a pro, at least in our eyes. Soon we moved on to mini ramps and eventually vert, but it was never that good, average at best!
SPS – Is this what got you involved in collecting, trying to find your holy grail?
Doug – Funny… not so funny story on how collecting came about. It was nine years ago or so. I was at a skate park, broke my hip, and was laid up in bed when a friend introduced me to board raffles. I entered a few and, to my surprise, started winning boards!
At this time, I maybe had two boards lying around, but with these winnings, I saw that number grow quickly and became hooked..and then it took on a life of its own, and before I knew it, I was a hoarder.
SPS – So how many decks do you currently have in your collection, and do you have a main company
or skateboarder that you collect?
Doug – At the height of my collection, I maybe had around 800 boards. This has since decreased to about 400. I mainly collected Ray Barbee decks for a long time and had about 70 of his!
SPS – Since you first started collecting, how have you seen things change with collecting? I know for myself it’s changed! You used to get terrific deals at yardsales, thrift stores, craigslist, etc. Now it seems everyone knows “what they have” now and tries to get top dollar, so getting deals these days is slim. Do you agree?
Doug – At the beginning of my collecting, I couldn’t afford OG boards, so I got “reissues,” and for the first couple of years, that’s mostly what I had as time progressed, I started selling off the reissues as I didn’t need 10 of the same board in every colorway produced and with that money.
I started getting OG boards, and now the bulk of my collection is OG…my preference is ridden completes as it tells a story, unlike a pristine board that sits in a box or plastic bag and is not seen or appreciated!
SPS – What deck or decks are you currently after?
Doug – I had a few grails for a couple of different reasons, the first being a Joe Johnson hieroglyph because my stepdad gave it to me. He passed away when I was younger, so it’s a reminder of how he came into our family and became a father to kids that weren’t his and treated us like his own.
I currently own 2 of them, the exact colorway he had given me and one more just because the setup is sick…..the second board was a Jason Jesse Neptune, which I have and is one of my favorite boards! It reminds me of when I was about 16, and life was simple and carefree.
I was old enough to drive and have a job which meant I Could afford gas for the hand-me-down 69 Chevy Impala I got from a family friend and could afford some wood to build a ramp in our back alley!
SPS – Where is the craziest place you scored a deck from, and how much did you pay?
Doug – My first big purchase in the early collecting days was a Ray Barbee from Switzerland for a little over $500.00. The sketchy part was I didn’t know the guy and had to trust he would ship it after I paid him blindly….The most I paid for a board was about $1000.00, which was the Jesse Neptune.
SPS – Where do you see collecting going in the future?
Doug – Most recently, as you know, the reissue market exploded, and every company released remakes of their top sellers, and then came series decks with no end in sight, I’m sure.. with covid happening and wood becoming scarce and limited runs this shot the price of decks through the roof this along with guys raffling boards well into the 500-800 dollar range sometimes more than OG boards!
SPS – It’s definitely been a crazy ride for all of us!
SPS – You snowboard as well. Do you collect snowboards or anything else collectible?
Doug – I don’t collect snowboards but have a couple I ride. I do collect shoes and watches but not as heavily as skateboards!
SPS – If you could have skated for any company back in the day, who would it have been and why?
Doug – I think possibly World Industries! Skating generally didn’t follow the standard rules of society as it wasn’t very structured and allowed for freedom of expression..but Rocco took this to a whole other level!
SPS – What would have been your graphic?
Doug – Maybe something like Sam Cunningham’s (unsure of the model name). The exaggeration of the head is so big and was more abstract than most graphics.. anything that doesn’t fit the mold is my style because, throughout my life in my work career, I wasn’t the stereotypical restaurant manager. I always had proved myself and was held to a different expectation than others.
SPS – Do you feel like collecting skateboards is a disease or medicine for your soul?
Doug – Collecting started so… I hate to use this cliché but organic. I think I stuck with it and became so passionate about it because of its social aspect… being an adult doing adult things like providing for a family and three children, you lose your identity and become sorta robotic!
Collecting took me out of my comfort zone when I did live video raffles and got to know and become friends with people worldwide I would have never met otherwise. A perfect example is a skateboard group called The Welfare Line, which I enjoyed participating in over the past few years. They are a close-knit group of friends that act more like family.
There is an annual event called the bash held in Cleveland, Ohio, where once a year, on Labor Day weekend, everyone comes together for a weekend of skating and catching up since members live all over the country, overseas. In Canada, I travel 2500 miles from California t it! This year will be my 3rd time going, and I look forward to it all year!
SPS – Wow, that’s some dedication for sure!
SPS – So, have you been working on any special projects relating to skateboarding?
Doug – At one time, I had my little clothing brand called “Life Without Limits Clothing” and was thinking of starting that backup. You can check that out on Instagram!
SPS – Where have you been skating lately, and what’s your favorite skate spot?
Doug – I was snowboarding all winter, but winter just ended here, so it will be time to hit a few local spots. Chino skate park is fun! There’s one called Mcvickers in Lake Elsinore, where you can find Salba Dressen, Hosoi, or Bennett Herada skating all the time.
SPS – Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?
Doug – I’d say vanilla out of those two choices, but my favorite is probably Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough!
SPS – Are there any shoutouts you want to throw or thanks?
Doug – A few shouts to mention… The Welfare Line for accepting my lame ass! Also, Quinton Bradford at Superfly Speedball, which are amazing skateboarding bearings.
Kenny Caputo owns the best board hanger company out there called Maple Hangers. These are great if you want to display your skateboards with ease and style!
A good friend that I first met when I started collecting Wayne Wells. He has his own board company called 4 Life Skateboards. Wayne’s boards are crafted with love and offer something for every skater.
Adam@SKATERCON9 make sure to check this event out, I’ll be there as well! http://www.phxskatercon.com/
High school buddy Steve Bultsma has a project called “Grind for Rich” to honor his late older brother, who took his own life a few years ago.. suicide prevention used to be soo taboo that it’s not something people like to talk about but is a reality nowadays! So his goal is to spread awareness and get people to seek help before the unthinkable happens!
SPS – Thank you, Doug, for doing this with us. We appreciate you, and thanks for sharing your killer collection and stories with us!
Awesome Interview Doug!