Independent Trucks was founded in 1978 in Santa Cruz, California by NHS Inc. (the broader Santa Cruz-based skate-industry parent company) as a small American skate-truck manufacturer specifically focused on producing technically-engineered cast-aluminum skate-trucks for the broader American skateboard-industry community. The brand has been one of the defining post-1978 American-anchored skate-truck manufacturers — Independent Trucks is widely considered the global standard for professional-skateboarding truck construction.
The Independent Trucks vocabulary settled around several specific products: the iconic Independent Stage XI skate-truck programme (the brand's defining current-generation product — Independent has gone through multiple generations of truck-engineering refinements, with each successive Stage representing a deliberately-improved engineering standard), the iconic 'Indy Cross-and-Iron-Cross' Independent typography logo, various Stage-numbered skate-truck variations engineered for specific weight-and-style ranges, and a colour palette anchored to natural-cast-aluminum (the brand's defining colour — multiple anodised colour variations also available), washed-black, oxblood, ecru, plus the brand's recurring use of saturated red, electric-blue, and the iconic 1980s-American-skate-aesthetic accent combinations.
The brand is owned by NHS Inc. (the Santa Cruz-based skate-industry parent company that also operates Santa Cruz Skateboards, Krooked, OJ Wheels, and several other defining post-1970 skate-industry brands). Independent Trucks distributes through skate-shop wholesale globally — including the broader US, European, and Asian skate-specialty distribution network — Independent is the global default-specification truck supplier for the broader professional-skateboarding industry. The brand has been one of the defining post-1978 American-anchored skate-truck manufacturers, with Independent skate-trucks specifically anchoring the broader global skateboard-industry equipment infrastructure.
Shop Secondhand
Archive and rare Independent Trucks pieces mostly circulate on the resale market. Japanese sites don't ship to China — buy via a proxy like Buyee; most Western sites ship internationally or are reachable with a US/EU forwarder.
Japan · via Buyee
US / Europe
Where to Buy 1
Retailer list compiled from public information; actual availability may vary.
Timeline4
1978—2018·40 yrs
- 1978
Independent Trucks founded
Fausto Vitello, Eric Swenson, Jay Shuirman and Richard Novak found Independent Truck Company in Santa Cruz, California.
- 1981
Thrasher Magazine launches
Independent's parent NHS Inc. co-founds Thrasher Magazine, cementing skate culture ties.
- 1991
Stage 6 trucks
Independent introduces redesigned Stage 6 trucks, a milestone in skateboard truck engineering.
- 2018
Stage 11 introduction
The Stage 11 trucks launch with revised geometry and weight savings.
