Bear Walker, founder of Bear Walker Industries, has built a career by blending sports, art, and fandom through his unique skateboards, which feature licensed characters. While this combination might seem unexpected at first, the result is a gnarly, premium collectible that resonates across the board.
At New York Comic Con (NYCC), The Pop Insider spoke with Walker, diving into his journey working with major brands and licenses, his passion for creating “high-end functional art,” and what’s up next for his brand, including Power Rangers and custom guitars.
You’re debuting some new DC character collabs here at New York Comic Con. What can you tell us about the collection, and what else you’re bringing to NYCC?
We’re super stoked to be here. It’s our biggest booth we’ve ever done. We’re debuting Batman – so we’ve got original artwork, which is what we pride ourselves on. Batman, Bane, Mr. Freeze, and Joker. These are open editions, so you get to pick your character, and it’s going to be open for a couple of weeks. It all comes with a holographic COA card.
Then we have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon carved deck, which is my signature – my carved out boards. There are 100 of those here. And then an Avatar: The Last Airbender Coyzilla carved deck. We got custom apparel and some of our blind boxes. It’s a lot of nerdy, high-end stuff.
Bear Walker's NYCC-exclusive boards combine fandom, art, and sport. | Source: Bear Walker
Bear Walker's NYCC-exclusive boards combine fandom, art, and sport. | Source: Bear Walker
Bear Walker's NYCC-exclusive boards combine fandom, art, and sport. | Source: Bear Walker
Bear Walker's NYCC-exclusive boards combine fandom, art, and sport. | Source: Bear Walker
In 2019, you launched your first collection with Pokémon. Since then, what have you learned about securing these licensed characters and working with huge brands?
I like to do innovative stuff that hasn’t been done before. It’s harder to get approvals when it’s the first to market for them as well. I just stand my ground and try to do something that will hopefully get approved. I feel a responsibility to make something cool and exciting. If someone’s going to spend a bunch of money on a high-quality thing, I want it to be worth that money. So I try to push boundaries in what we do.
Pokémon’s been a great partner. Being able to have these things I’m super passionate about as my profession and just nerd out with people all the time – it’s been sick.
You’ve worked with licenses like Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more. If you could show one of these collections to your younger self, which one do you think would make them the proudest?
The answer right off the rip would be Pokémon because they’re so big. But to my true young self, Ninja Turtles, for sure. I was a Ninja Turtle or Power Ranger every year for Halloween for six or seven years. Probably longer than that. We actually have Power Rangers coming up, so we get to do another homage to my younger self.
The Bear Walker Industries booth at New York Comic Con. | Source: The Pop Insider
Bear Walker Industries' Yu-Gi-Oh! Series 2 collection. | Source: The Pop Insider
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, The Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl Yu-Gi-Oh! boards | Source: The Pop Insider
You’re also rolling out some custom guitars soon. Can we expect to see some fun licensed characters on those, too?
Funny enough, everyone always asks if I’m gonna do snowboards and surfboards next because I do skateboards. But I like doing high-end functional pieces of art. So the next thing I’m passionate about is guitars. That’s going to be heavily incorporated into my stuff moving forward.
We’re actually debuting a Yu-Gi-Oh! Red-Eyes Black Dragon guitar at ComplexCon in a couple of weeks, which will be exciting. Then, three or four of my bigger collabs each year, we’re going to make a custom guitar for it. I’m really excited about that.
After speaking with Walker, it’s clear that he approaches his work as a craft, not just a profession. Walker carries a deep understanding of his responsibility to fans, aiming to deliver products that are worth their investment. Whether you’re a fan of DC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or beyond, there’s most likely a high-end Bear Walker board for you, and soon, a guitar too. To stay in the loop on upcoming projects and announcements, visit bearwalker.com.
