Meads minis By Chad Mead

Scrolling along Facebook, I found a unique post in one of the skateboard groups by Austin, Texas, local Chad Mead. It was one of the posts where you stop scrolling and instantly wanna learn more about what you just saw!

And I saw mini handmade replicas of vintage skateboards, using actual veneer, pressed, shaped, and graphics applied to them. I had to contact Chad and find out more about this art!

SPS – Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up, and what was your skateboarding scene like?

Chad Mead – I live in Austin but grew up in Houston in the early ’80s. Back then, we mainly skated local neighborhood ramps and any ditch. If we got fortunate, a friend’s mom would take us to the Skatepark of Houston, which had just opened. Back then, I remember the Blue and the orange ramps specifically. I wasn’t the greatest skater but I learned a few decent tricks over the years.

SPS – How did you develop the concept behind Mead’s minis?

Chad – Oh, I didn’t come up with the idea. There have been few others over the years who make them or try to make them. I had won one in a raffle and thought they were a cool tribute to the full-size boards. I tried to find more but had no luck. There were a few here and there, but nobody seemed to want to part with them.

Besides those,  all I could find were tech decks (fingerboards), and although cool not really the same thing. I had just started collecting full-size boards and thought it would be neat to have some hand boards (minis) of the boards I was collecting, kind of like a mini-me version.

After a couple of years, I finally found a friend who had started to make them but deemed them too much hassle and work. Their scale makes them challenging; you notice every little defect, ding, scratch, smudge, smear, pinhole, etc.

  However, he offered to help me with guidance if I wanted to make them myself. It’s been about 1 ½ years of trial and error to be at a place where Im finally happy with the results.

Being handmade, they are not perfect, but they are as close as I can get them. And I think it adds a little character. They are one of a kind and not all the same.

SPS – Walk us through the process of creating these art pieces.

Chad – The process has changed over the years. I started by just making them out of a pressed board, which I still use depending on the individual looking for. I make a five-ply Maple Veneer hand-pressed on my molds for basic concave/contour. Once pressed, they sit for a week to fully cure.

Once they have sat, I cut the basic shape for whatever board design I’m doing. Next, I edge and finish shaping with wood files and a sander. After I sand the crap out of the top, I will stain it and clearcoat it. I clearcoat the bottom to seal, then apply the high-grade vinyl decal, blend the edges, and j0clear.

I also do a pressed board model where I airbrush the top deck or I have gripped them. I do a lot of variations, gripped, not gripped, stained, painted, and airbrushed. It depends on what kind of look I’m going for. I like the OG distressed look myself.

SPS – How many work hours do you usually put into each board? 

Chad – I spend a lot of time on them, and to be perfectly honest, probably 20 hours when I cut the veneer/press the board, cut, shape, stain, paint/airbrush, clear, grip, wet sand, polish, and buff.

Yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous the amount of time it takes. I take a lot of pride in making them, and it brings me a lot of joy when someone gets one and is happy with what I’ve come up with. There are no two alike, which makes them even more special.

SPS – What are your plans for the future with Meads Minis? Any plans to make trucks and wheels as well to make it complete?

Chad – My Mini’s have received excellent feedback and requests from my friends. I’ve started getting license agreements with some big board companies for image rights to start selling them.

I want to make mini tributes for people to remember good times in their lives when maybe finding a full-size deck is not an option due to availability or pricing, So a 3×10 replica can be a nice placeholder.

Currently, I don’t have plans to make completes. I’ve looked into the process, and it would be pretty extensive. It would be a whole other can of worms. But you never know what the future may hold.

  SPS – Where can someone order a custom mini made by you?

 Chad – We are not selling them to the public until we can obtain licensing rights to images, but we are hopeful that will be soon. Fingers crossed. Wish us Luck

 If you are interested in Meads Mini’s, contact [email protected]. We hope to have the website up in another couple of weeks Which will be www.meadsminis.com

SPS – Chad, thanks for sharing your art with us, It’s been an absolute pleasure talking with you, and we appreciate you sharing your passion with us!

Contact Chad at Meads Minis and get a custom handmade mini built by Chad!