Apache Skate: A New Tribe

Apache and I-Path Collide

By Brian Brannon

06.23.08

As a full-Apache descendant—the progeny of a Native American warrior tribe—Douglas Miles had a vision. He saw a way to free Indian youth from the cycle of violence, abuse and poverty that has continued since they were consigned to the reservation so many generations ago. He found his inspiration in skateboarding.

Years ago, his son asked him for a new board. But lacking sufficient funds to buy a pro-model deck with full color graphics, Miles only had enough cash to buy him a blank board. But as a talented, self-trained artist, Miles offered to paint an image of an Apache warrior on the bottom of the deck for his son.

Doug Jr. readily agreed. Little did either of them know that that first board would launch them on an incredible journey. On that day, the seeds of Apache Skateboards were sown.

Riding his new board around the San Carlos Apache Reservation, just outside of Globe, Arizona, the word quickly spread among all of Doug Jr.’s friends about the powerful graphics that his father had painted on the deck. Soon, requests poured in from other proud Apache youth who sought to celebrate their heritage with an image of a warrior on the bottom of their shred sticks.

Team rider Keith Secola says one of the things that makes Apache Skateboards unique is its focus on native identity and culture. But as with any skateboard team, the most important thing is the riders themselves: “I think Indian skaters bring a raw street style because most of us came from the rez or lower income families,” Secola said.

Today the Apache Skateboard team travels from Arizona to New Mexico, Texas and California, sharing the stoke with other tribes and demonstrating the style that they can throw down. And now, Apache Skateboards and I-Path shoes have collaborated on the I-Pache footwear line that celebrates the Apache vision.

I-Path footwear designer and artist Franck Boistel worked with Miles for over a year on the design. Comfortable, fashionable and functional, the shoe works as good as it feels. For Boistel, the collaboration was a natural progression: “The two skate ‘tribes’—I-Path and Apache—met and shared ideas and values,” Boistel said. “For me, this is what the I-Pache collab is all about: bridging gaps between cultures and social backgrounds.”

Blending with I-Path’s modern-day urban skate/back-to-nature vibe, the I-Pache shoe features a stark image of a warrior created by Miles and comes in tan, black and white. This is no skate moccasin—this is full-on high performance skateboard footwear, designed with an eye toward Native culture.

Boistel sees the I-Pache collaboration as the continuation of a shared vision between Apache Skateboards and I-Path, a natural progression and partnership that is also the right thing to do. He says it’s all about “helping skateboarding wherever you find it, even in the depths of an Indian reservation…where kids are also dreaming of a better world. Skateboarding definitively helps that dream to come true and we all have to help out.”

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