Portfolio
Skateboarding | Design | Branding
Portfolio
Skateboarding | Design | Branding
About Kanten
A long-time fixture in the professional skateboarding world, Kanten is the Director of Design for New Line Skateparks. Growing up in Southern California—the birthplace of skateboarding—Kanten quickly became a leading figure in the region’s skateboarding scene and was a professional skateboarder for 12 years, traveling all over the world endorsing his pro model shoes and signature skateboards as well as appearing in several skateboarding videos and on magazine covers.
After semi-retiring from professional skateboarding, Kanten studied civil engineering and landscape architecture as he transitioned into Skate Park design professionally for the last 18 years.. He had worked in both the public and private sectors before joining Mike McIntyre at SITE Design Group , Action Sport Design, and then Stantec to plan, design, and manage the construction of skate parks and skate plazas before starting his current role at New Line Skateparks.
Kanten has led the design process of over 300 skate parks across the country including one of the world’s first green skate park in St. Cloud, Minnesota; a skate plaza in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, which converted a brownfield into an active space to help combat childhood obesity; the Encinitas, CA Skate Plaza, and the Alga Norte Community Skate Park in Carlsbad, California.
When he isn’t designing or skateboarding, you can find Kanten taking photos or spending time outdoors with his wife and three daughters in San Diego, California.
Latest From Instagram @kantenrussell
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History
History
PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDING
Being from southern California, I grew up in the birthplace of skateboarding. However, I gravitated toward the sport relatively late into my childhood.
I started at 13, going on 14. I was more into basketball before that, but when a couple of friends got skateboards for their birthday, I wanted to join in on the fun, Plus, living by the beach, I saw lots of skating and surfing happening, so it was kind of natural to want ride a board.
My parents were more in favor of me playing traditional sports, they bought me a skateboard that looked more like "a brick" by today's standards. Still, I taught myself how to kickflip my board, ride rails and jump down gaps.
My parents were supportive and allowed me to ride as much as I wanted to as long as I maintained good grades, and that was my motivation.
My grades got me accepted into UC San Diego, but I wanted to find out where my passion could take me, so I jumped at the opportunity to turn pro at 19 and landed onto a skateboard scene that wasn't exactly profitable in the early 90s.
"When I was a pro skateboarder, the thing that I always remember the most wasn't always necessarily going out and getting the best tricks or video parts. All that was part of it, but I think it was the community of brotherhood you form with other skateboarders. I think that was something that was always so important to everybody. No matter how far removed you are from being a pro skateboarder, you still always have that community of skateboarding."
The plan was if I didn't make it in skateboarding in the first year or two, I would commit to going to school full time, And my parents supported me in that decision.
After I had acquired better sponsors, landed on the cover of magazines and was featured in several skateboarding films, I kept deferring my acceptance to UCSD year after year, and made more money along the way.
It helped that I made the right choices and didn't get caught up in trouble like drinking and drugs. I didn't go out and waste a bunch of my money like some pro athletes. It can be hard not to be irresponsible when you're that young, getting lots of attention and earning money living in the fast lane. I also think my faith in God really helped to keep me on a good path.
I am very thankful that I was able to travel the world doing something I loved. Being a professional skateboarder for 12 years would unknowingly prepare me for my next career designing skateparks, something we didn’t have growing up after they all closed down in the late 1980’s. My skateboarding career was largely running from the police because we had nowhere legal to skate and some of the existing skateparks were not designed well for skateboarding.
Click the link below for articles and more history on Kanten’s career:
Design
Design
design background
how it all started
When I was professionally skateboarding for about 12 years I got to that point where I knew I had done a lot of what I really wanted to do. I was thinking about what a lot of people think about: 'What's next? What am I going to do after all this? Am I going to go work in the skateboarding industry or into marketing? Am I going to be a team manager, or what kind of options do I really have?' I started thinking, 'well maybe I should look outside of that.' Maybe something a little bit more creative; something outside of the box in skateboarding, just to change it up.
I started looking into CAD design, surveying, and engineering. After volunteering over at the city of Chula Vista for about a year, an engineer firm approached me and made an offer I couldn't refuse. So I jumped from skateboarding to working for Hunsaker & Associates, in San Diego. I worked for them for about a year and a
half and got a lot of good training, went back to school, and ended up getting my associates degree. Being so passionate about my skateboarding career, I decided to put my passion into the next opportunity when I was approached by a longtime friend, Mike McIntyre, who at the time had created his own skatepark design group and was doing skate parks all over the world. I ended up learning from him how to apply my background in skateboarding and what I was learning in design to create the skateparks we never had growing up.
the process
Connections
There are a lot of parallels between the skateboard industry and this industry. You are still doing it because it is something you like to do, you are passionate about it, and you are passionate about working with people. When I was a pro skateboarder, the thing that I remember the most wasn't always necessarily going out and getting the best tricks or video parts. All that was part of it, but I think it was the community of brotherhood you form with other skateboarders. I think that was something that was always so important to everybody. No matter how far removed you are from being a pro skateboarder, you still always have that community of skateboarding.
Now that we are on the other side of the fence designing and working with skateboarders, it's still the same thing. It's kind of like that whole lifestyle. This isn't necessarily our job, it is our lifestyle. More of a long-term career thing, not just something you clock in and clock out from. So I think that is what has made what we do become so successful. The clients can see into that. They see the authenticity, they see credibility, they believe in what you are doing, and they want that. They want you to bring that to their project and work with the people in their community.
Building community is so important to build up skateboarding and create more spaces for people to ride.
current ROLE
new line skateparks
My current role as a leader in a skatepark design and build firm is very diverse. No day is exactly the same as the day before. You have to be flexible and able to adapt to the many challenges and expectations that arise working with the public and municipalities.
Akin to the most poised mediator, you have to possess the skills to work seamlessly as a business leader while still relating on a core level with fellow skateboarders-an attribute that has undoubtedly helped grow my career over the years. Fielding questions from those who know little about skateboarding or its inner-workings, a designer and project manager must handle each response with a patient and well-thought out reply. This type of diplomacy is a rare and valuable quality when it comes to acting as intermediary between the costs and risks associated with building a skate facility, and the creativity and open-mindedness needed to build a park that challenges a wide range of ages and ability levels.
The measure of success for me is seeing the community you formed a relationship through the design and build process use the park you helped them create in ways you never imagined.
Link below for project and event updates:
Alga Norte Skatepark Designed while at ASD/Stantec Photo: Blair Alley
Encinitas Skate Plaza Designed while at ASD/Stantec Photo: Jeff Morris
ROC City Skatepark Meeting - Rochester, NY
Branding
Branding
The Motif Brand
It all started when…
I felt a need to start a new project that focused on the Skateboard lifestyle that inspired his skateboarding and skatepark design careers. I called it The Motif Brand to represent skateboarding, art, design, and music that are all themes that has inspired generations of skateboard culture as a theme… a Motif.