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Independent Truck Company® is a skateboard truck manufacturer based in Santa Cruz, California. Established in 1978; Independent Trucks™ have long been revered as the best skateboard truck available. The trucks are manufactured at the Emrico foundry, in the Bay area of San Francisco.

The company was co-founded by Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, Fausto Vitello, and Eric Swenson in 1978, and the first set of trucks to make a public appearance was the Stage 1 on May 23, 1978 in Newark CA. According to original team rider Rick Blackhart, the Independent truck (or Indy) was designed as a response to the lack of good skateboard trucks on the market at the time; Blackhart stated that, of the two main other truck companies on the market, ' one broke, and one didn’t turn ', referring to Bennett Truks and Tracker Trucks, respectively.

The latest model of Independent Trucks, the Stage 9, was released in March 2003, being marketed as “lighter, stronger, better.” It differs from previous models by using 4140 chrome molly steel axles, has the Indy Cross logo scribed into the baseplate. The baseplate has cutouts for weight savings and the modern four hole mounting pattern, foregoing the six hole pattern of the two previous stages. The modern hole pattern was adopted industry-wide in 1993.

The original Independent slogan was "THEY’RE #*X^!!! HOT!" although their more recent slogan is; “Built to grind.”

Independent sponsors a large group of amateur and professional skateboarders from all over the world. It's the largest team in skateboarding and includes most of skateboarding's top legends, well known pros and up and coming amateurs.

The Independent Stage 9 Low truck was released on the 9 September 2006, being 10% lighter, made of 356 aluminium heat treated to T6 condition, and with grade 8 kingpins. Eric Koston left Royal Trucks and signed with Independent and helped finish the design of the Indy Low.

The Independent Trucks brand is owned and distributed by NHS, Inc. They have a clothing & accessories range, sell spare parts, and released a book titled “Built to Grind : 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboarding” in 2003 on the 25th anniversary of the brand produced and edited by Bob Denike (Editor), Bryce Kanights (Photo / Associate Editor), Keith Wilson (Managing Editor), Johnny Munnerlyn (Art Director), and Joseph Tershay (Project Consultant). Lance Dawes is the current Team Manager, Keith Wilson is the current Brand Manager, and Mark Widmann is the current Art Director and Designer.

External links

References

Built to Grind 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboading ISBN 0-9657271-8-1

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 [[Image:indie.gif|right|150px]]
-The '''Independent Truck Company''' is an American manufacturer of skateboard [[skateboard#trucks|trucks]] and [[apparel]] based in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]]. The trucks are made in the Emrico foundry, in the Bay area of [[San Francisco]].
+Independent Truck Company® is a skateboard truck manufacturer based in Santa Cruz, California. Established in 1978; Independent Trucks™ have long been revered as the best skateboard truck available. The trucks are manufactured at the Emrico foundry, in the Bay area of [[San Francisco]].
-The company was co-founded by [[Fausto Vitello]] and NHS in [[1978]], and the first set of trucks to make a public appearance was the ''Stage 1'' on [[May 23]], [[1978]] in [[Newark, California|Newark CA]].  According to co-designer Rick Blackhart, the Independent truck (or Indy) was designed as a response to the lack of good skateboard trucks on the market at the time; Blackhart stated that, of the two main other truck companies on the market, ' ''one broke, and one didn’t turn'' ', referring to Bennett Truks and Tracker Trucks, respectively.
+The company was co-founded by Richard Novak, Jay Shiurman, [[Fausto Vitello]], and Eric Swenson in [[1978]], and the first set of trucks to make a public appearance was the ''Stage 1'' on [[May 23]], [[1978]] in [[Newark, California|Newark CA]].  According to original team rider Rick Blackhart, the Independent truck (or Indy) was designed as a response to the lack of good skateboard trucks on the market at the time; Blackhart stated that, of the two main other truck companies on the market, ' ''one broke, and one didn’t turn'' ', referring to Bennett Truks and Tracker Trucks, respectively.
-The latest model of Independent Trucks, the ''Stage 9'', was released in [[March]] [[2003]], being marketed as “lighter, stronger, better.” It differs from previous models by using 4140 chrome molly steel axles, has the Indy Cross logo scribed into the baseplate. The baseplate has cutouts for weight savings and a four hole mounting pattern, foregoing the six hole pattern of the two previous stages making the trucks incompatible with boards that that are drilled with the old-school mounting pattern spec. Independent also discontinued the 109 truck in 2006.
+The latest model of Independent Trucks, the ''Stage 9'', was released in [[March]] [[2003]], being marketed as “lighter, stronger, better.” It differs from previous models by using 4140 chrome molly steel axles, has the Indy Cross logo scribed into the baseplate. The baseplate has cutouts for weight savings and the modern four hole mounting pattern, foregoing the six hole pattern of the two previous stages. The modern hole pattern was adopted industry-wide in 1993.
 The original Independent slogan was "THEY’RE #*X^!!! HOT!" although their more recent slogan is; “Built to grind.”
+Independent sponsors a large group of amateur and professional skateboarders from all over the world. It's the largest team in skateboarding and includes most of skateboarding's top legends, well known pros and up and coming amateurs.
-The Independent Stage 9 Low truck was released on the [[September 9|9 September]] [[2006]], being 10% lighter, made of 356 aluminium heat treated to T6 condition, and with grade 8 kingpins. [[Eric Koston]] left [[Royal Trucks]] and signed with Independent and helped finish the design of the Indy Low. As of mid 2006, in the words of an Independent Truck Co spokesperson, “we have no plans to make a Stage 10 anytime soon. That would mean we would have to change something about the truck and we really like the Stage 9. Plus we just came out with the 1st ever Stage 9 Indy Low truck. Stage 9 will be around for awhile”
+The Independent Stage 9 Low truck was released on the [[September 9|9 September]] [[2006]], being 10% lighter, made of 356 aluminium heat treated to T6 condition, and with grade 8 kingpins. [[Eric Koston]] left [[Royal Trucks]] and signed with Independent and helped finish the design of the Indy Low.
-The Independent Trucks brand is distributed by NHS Distribution. They have a clothing & accessories range, sell spare parts, and released a book titled “Built to Grind : 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboarding” in [[2003]] on the 25th anniversary of the brand.
+The Independent Trucks brand is owned and distributed by NHS, Inc. They have a clothing & accessories range, sell spare parts, and released a book titled “Built to Grind : 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboarding” in [[2003]] on the 25th anniversary of the brand produced and edited by Bob Denike (Editor), Bryce Kanights (Photo / Associate Editor), Keith Wilson (Managing Editor), Johnny Munnerlyn (Art Director), and Joseph Tershay (Project Consultant). Lance Dawes is the current Team Manager, Keith Wilson is the current Brand Manager, and Mark Widmann is the current Art Director and Designer.
 [[es:Independent Truck Company]]