Andrew Reynolds for Stance

Since his early days as a child prodigy on G&S in the early 90s, all through his breakout Birdhouse years and now as the captain of his own legendary Baker Skateboards imprint, Andrew Reynolds has always done things his way. An undeniable GOAT in the realm of street skating, Reynolds and crew have not-so-quietly redrawn the entire skateboarding landscape in their own image since Baker’s founding over 20 years ago. On the eve of our latest Baker x Stance co-branded release, we sat down with this multi-talented Punk and Poet for an exclusive interview about his being the Boss of Baker since the year 2G. Enjoy.

What was the inspiration behind starting Baker in the year 2000? Fresh off the Birdhouse’s The End and Tony Hawk Pro Skater, what made you and the crew want to strike out on your own? What was the plan… provided there actually was a plan?

We had a good group of friends that skated together every day, all had similar taste, we thought it would be cool to make a brand where we could all be together, a loose plan to skate, smoke weed, make videos with beagle.

Are there any brands that you’ve modeled Baker after? Or maybe was reacted against?

Any skater owned brand, Girl, Chocolate, Zero, Birdhouse, all Deluxe, all an inspiration to me.

Was the name always gonna be Baker? Was there any other possible names you guys were thinking about?

There were a few others, but for some reason BAKER just sounded the best!

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced with owning a company over the years?

Hard to say, I’m learning as I go.

What’s a common theme for Baker riders? Like, what makes a Baker rider, more than just being the homie. And who is someone that you’d love to ride for Baker that never has, past or present?

I think first the person has to be someone you want to be around as a friend, and get along with, we are all a little weird in our own ways. I’d put Ali on.

It’s a lofty question but what’s your overall philosophy or guiding lens behind running Baker? What’s your overall filter and what are you ultimately trying to accomplish?

I guess I’m trying to help young skaters that have potential come up, make some money, while having a home for a certain kind of Bakerish skater, and make cool videos.

From controversial graphics to rejecting Ishod’s sponsor-me tape, what’s your biggest regret running Baker? Anything you would’ve done differently?

I would keep it how it all is, no regrets, I like to look as a learning experience.

How did Baker Boys Distribution come about? I feel like it largely started with sister brands (Shake Junt, Deathwish) and kinda grew from there? How does Baker Boys Distribution differ from OG Baker?

Yea, once Jim, Erik, Shane and I started making more brands, it just happened naturally, needed a place to keep it all and sell it! It’s the same stuff, all friends, all based around skateboarding.

What’s the secret to a good frontside flip? Is that your favorite flip trick or the one that just happens to work best? And what trick do you wish you had better?

You gotta put your back foot way in the middle of the tail, it is my favorite. I wish I had all switch flips better!

What’s next for you? Any big video projects?

Just finished a part, it will be on Baker’s YouTube by the time you are reading this!!

@andrewreynolds @bakerskateboards