Independent Truck Company

Independent Truck Company is a skateboard truck manufacturer based in Santa Cruz, California. Established in 1978, the company is owned by NHS, Inc. and has sponsors an extensive list of team riders.

{{blockquote|...I began toying with the iron, or Maltese cross which was long dead as the old 60s surfer's cross, and even longer dead as the biker's cross. I used it as a beam compass to make it into a round shape, which looked completely different than the old square iron crosses... I took my idea into the NHS office the next morning and it went on the wall as usual. Jay and Rich each stared at it for a while, and they both thought that it looked a little too "Nazi". My sketches were rejected and I was sent back to the drawing board. I went back to my studio determined to use it, knowing it was the one. I searched my archives and scrap file for some justification for using the symbol. I found a firefighter's logo, symbols on the knights and Columbus sails. Then in my scrap file, under the letter P, I found a Time magazine cover of Pope John Paul from the June 18, 1979 edition. It was amazing; there was a cross on his vestments almost the way I designed mine. I marched into the office the next morning with the magazine to show what I thought was proof of acceptability. They both looked at each other and said, 'Well, if the Pope has it, it must be okay! That was that, and the independent cross was born. In 2021 after many vocalied opinions that the cross was indeed too "Nazi-like", the main logo was changed and they now occasionally use the iron cross logo.