Madison Harrison, who is 21 years old, says that when she was younger her wheels of choice were rollerblades, but a few years ago she and a group of friends got into longboarding.
“We go cruising around, looking for hills. It’s all about the speed,” she says.
And when she founded MadAir Decks, it wasn’t so much the skateboards that drew her as it was her desire to start her own business.
Each of MadAir’s pintails, drop throughs, drop downs, mini kicktail cruisers, and skateboards is a work of art — literally. Each deck bears artwork created by a local artist.
Harrison was working at Babalu alongside a bunch of Memphis College of Art students when the idea struck to combine the art world and the skating world.
Amber George was brought on board to shape MadAir’s aesthetic. Jake Barrett and Alya Bandealy joined the team as well.
The boards come from a company in California (they hope to make their own boards one day). They are then given to the artist and once it’s returned, the board is covered in a grit (for gripping) that’s made of recycled glass, and then sealed.
Harrison says the artists are given carte blanche to create whatever they want. “You just have to be able to ride it,” she say.
MadAir is holding an exhibition/sale on Saturday, December 10th, 4-10 p.m., at the Memphis Slim House. Stick ’em food truck will be there, and there will be live music from the Faux Killers, The Sideways, and more. Fluxus Skateboards and (901)derful tie-dye t-shirts will be onsite as well.
