As a kid in Chicago, Deacon and his friends often enjoyed hanging out by the train tracks.  The parallel steel lines functioned as balance beams to kill the boredom of summer.  Other times they became an exhilarating mode of transportation.  The crew would leap onto the boxcars as they passed, with the determination of evading the depot security.  They rode no further than the distance they wanted to walk home. 

 

Winters were spent sledding down the side of a local overpass with found objects.  The most effective tools were discarded hub caps and car mats. The traffic above was no concern.  Their only determination was racing down the snow-covered slope that ended abruptly by flying off a curb.

 

At the age of nine, Deacon moved to Florida.  He left the trains, hub caps, and car mats behind.  They were traded for another adrenaline-charged activity, skateboarding.  Deacon was led to new ways of creative thinking and viewing the landscape around him.  A curb, ledge, or embankment was no longer a passive concrete structure. They became obstacles to be reckoned with and puzzles to be solved.

 

This fresh perspective was accompanied by graphics that adorned the boards and reflected this subculture. These decks became a creative reflection. Deacon’s identity was mobilized by urethane wheels and seven-ply maple.  Ultimately, becoming the vehicle that led to an artistic path.