I was hunting for fresh rails for my new setup when I stumbled upon this dude doing something unique with crafting skateboard rails. The rails he is creates blows my mind!
He’s got it all, including standard rails, ones shaped like lightning bolts, and, I kid you not, he even created some that look like a dick and ballsack! I was like, what? Who the hell is this dude?
So we caught up with Corey, the mastermind behind Lil Jawns, to get the full story.
SPS – What motivated you to start manufacturing skateboard rails?
Corey – I started skating in the late 90s as a kid. I skated through Junior High and High School. Rails had faded out by then and weren’t really a thing for me and my friends.
After high school, I took a break from skating and didn’t really pick it up again until I was in my 30s. I tried going to the parks and doing all the old tricks I used to do but didn’t have it anymore. So I gravitated toward curb skating.
I had seen a bunch of other curb skaters using rails on their boards and figured I’d try it out.
I own a plastic manufacturing company called E&D Plastics Inc. We mainly do acrylic fabrication. But I had some material lying around the shop that I thought might work for rails, and it did!
SPS – How many years have you been perfecting these amazing rails?
Corey – About 4 years.
SPS – What’s the story behind the name Lil Jawns?
Corey – My last name is “Littlejohn.” The term “Jawns” is a Philly slang term for anything you want to use it for. But my friends and I growing up, also used it, even though we were all from Texas and had no idea it was a Philly thing.
We probably heard it in a rap song or something. I asked one of my childhood friends what I should call my rails, and immediately, “Lil Jawns.”
SPS – What’s the biggest challenge running Lil Jawns?
Corey – I CNC machine all my rails and do the finishing edge work by hand. This all takes a lot of labor time and, in the end, produces a much stronger and better quality product. But I have to charge for that.
SPS – I’m sure that creates additional obstacles, especially when competing with mass-produced rails.
Corey – It’s hard to get skate shops to pay the price point on my rails as I don’t offer typical wholesale pricing like bigger companies, which get their rails mass-produced from injection molding factories overseas. There are a handful of shops that do support me, and I am very thankful for them.
SPS – WIth the hands-on approach, I noticed you could create custom rails with hole spacing that matches some vintage rails. I find that is good for collectors who don’t want to drill new holes.
Corey – Yes. I can custom-make the rails with any hole spacing, patterns, length, and width.
SPS – What other accessories do you make?
Corey – I make risers, tail skids, freestyle skids, nose grab bars, nose guards, fingerboard rails, and any plastic parts that can be machined and not injection molded.
On the acrylic fabrication side, I have made some shadow box display cases for collector boards, custom board wall racks, and free-standing board racks. You name it.
SPS – Can you walk us through the steps to manufacture such a superior product?
Corey – My material comes in 4′ x 10′ sheets. I then cut them down into smaller pieces depending on the rails I need to make. The rails are CNC machined. Then the finishing edge work is done by hand. Then everything is hand-packed and shipped from my shop.
SPS – What’s the longest boardslide someone has done using your rails?
Corey – That’s a good question. I’ve seen a lot of long ones, but I don’t know who has done the longest. Maybe I should make that a challenge?
SPS – Sounds like a good idea. I’d be happy to waste hours watching people doing board slides on YouTube. I bet you’d get a lot of people using your rails. And speaking of the future, what direction do you want to take lil jawns?
Corey – I would like to get more distribution and into more shops. If I could figure out a way to streamline production while maintaining the quality of the rails, I would also like to form a team at some point. But as for now, I don’t have the time to manage one.
SPS: – Alright, Corey, before we wrap things up, can you tell our readers where they can find out more about your skateboard rails?
Corey: – You can check out our site, and also follow us on Instagram at iLiljawns_rails.
SPS – There you have it folks, head on over and get yourself some awesome rails. Thanks for taking the time, Corey. It was a blast getting to know more about Lil Jawns. Keep on keeping on with those gnarly designs, dude!”