The Aggressive Skate Brand USD Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary
USD is still on top of the aggressive skating market after 20 years of existence. The American firm UPSIDEDOWN saw the light on July 29, 1997, before being renamed USD in 1998. Shane Coburn and Arlo Eisenberg were the first emblematic skaters of the brand. Then, the team grew with additions such as Jon Julio, … Continued
USD is still on top of the aggressive skating market after 20 years of existence. The American firm UPSIDEDOWN saw the light on July 29, 1997, before being renamed USD in 1998. Shane Coburn and Arlo Eisenberg were the first emblematic skaters of the brand. Then, the team grew with additions such as Jon Julio, Josh Petty, Brian Shima, Champion Baumstimler and Dustin Latimer.
USD is distributed by Powerslide / The Conference in Europe. Their very first model was the Damoclès, a street skate already boasting many detachable parts.
Key Innovations by USD
The key concept by USD: being able to use parts coming from other brands for ultimate customization. The USD Throne Custom was following this idea, just like the Psirus and other models. USD also opted for royal plates and adjustable soul plates. Then Salomon created the UFS system, which allowed the mounting of Kizer and 50/50 parts too.
The brand also launched the USD Transformer Kids, an adjustable model for kids. The USD Aeon was one of the first street skates with big wheels.
The Anniversary Models
USD has decided to release an anniversary version of the USD VII, a reliable and rigid boot, which has known great success over the last years. They are going to be part of the upcoming Roman Abrate pro-model.
Initially designed for beginners, the USD Sway proved to be of better quality than what was expected at first sight. It’s a versatile skate, used just as well by novices and by pros, like Roman Abrate or Montre Livingston. The latter will release his pro-model this year, by the way.
The new USD Carbon Free Pro skate by Eugen Enin (skater of the year 2016) enters the collection. Last but not least, the firm is about to launch a new USD Aeon model, the look of which should remind you of one of the key skates of the last 20 years. To celebrate the 20-year anniversary, USD also releases limited editions of the USD Aeon Rachard Johnson 60 and USD Aeon Carlos Pianowski 60 by the end of the summer.
