When Swim Skateboards first came across our metaphorical front desk, we weren’t sure what to think. Another thought to be retired pro, Kevin Terpening, starting another skate brand, as shop’s board walls are already collapsing?

But then over the next year, they proved otherwise.

They brought on Ryan Connors, turned beloved Ethan Loy pro, teased some tricks from Justin Drysen, and sure enough the grumblings of a team were now in full force.

This wasn’t some art project focused on making Alien Workshop spoofs. Nope, Swim was in the mix. That brings us to “Grinding The Tape”, their latest video featuring full parts from Ethan, Justin, and Ryan.

And with a strong visual aesthetic headed by Jared Sherbert, it feels like they have truly arrived.

It’s a good looking bunch of skaters, and the team doesn’t feel disjointed, which is always a worry when building a team up from scratch. Along with this video came the announcement that Justin and Ryan were pro, with boards to boot.

Given Terp’s Alien history and Dan Plunkett’s time with Skate Mental, it’s not far off to think the future of Swim could look like a Benny Maglinao-inspired, Alien alt-universe without quite as much angst and a little more fun. Who knows? But we like the sound of that recipe, and we’re excited to see more.

Write up by: Ben Komins
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