Skateboarding ads have played a huge role in a company's self image and products and serve as an outlet for how a team and individuals are portrayed as skaters. Companies try to connect and inspire their audience with gimmicks, trends, pushing product, humor and even rebelling from corporations with their team's talents and individual creativity. Through the ever-changing positions of company mangers and team rosters, their identities are displayed through their ads. Here, we look at one company that has taken a different approach from the regular formula and made their ads different from the rest. From the bright colored blank spreads of inside jokes to their endangered mascot, enjoi has taken the dreaded monthly task of making ads a fun endeavor to out-do the last ad. Take a scroll from the beginning of how enjoi got started to what they are today and how they've kept their image alive.
November 1997:
Rodney Mullen founds the A-Team under Dwindle after Plan B ends. Recruits Marc Johnson and Dave Mayhew from Maple (plus Chet Thomas and Gershon Mosley).
October 1999:
Marc Johnson, Louie Barletta, Jerry Hsu, and Matt Eversole move into the "Tantau House."
April 2000:
MJ returns from an Emerica trip to Australia dismayed over A-Team and talks to Rodney about starting a new brand. Rodney is down and planning begins.
June 2000:
MJ comes up with the name "enjoi" in a dream. He begins experimenting with color theory. The panda logo is found randomly on a greeting card at Sears and represents fun in skateboarding as an endangered species.
August 2000:
enjoi officially launched by Dwindle after A-Team ends. Rodney and Mayhew moved over from A-Team. Marc adds San Jose up-and-comer Jose Rojo as an am.
October 2000:
Chris Avery and Matt Eversole release Tiltmode!, with parts from Jose and Marc. Avery becomes the enjoi filmer, and Eversole begins helping the brand.
November 2000:
"Marc is a free a-gent" teaser ad runs in TWS. Everybody is evicted from the Tantau House.
December 2000:
Louie moves into what will become "the enjoi Man-sion," while Marc, Jerry, and Eversole soon move into the Pink House. Rodney and Marc's first official "panda" ad runs in TWS.
January 2001:
Louie Barletta and Jerry Hsu sign on as ams. Dave Mayhew brings over Chris Dobstaff from Osiris. enjoi name officially unveiled in TWS ad. Other names were Love and Sunday.
April 2001:
Marc discusses running the company for a Skateboarder magazine feature. Clark Hassler is added as an am through Dwindle.
July 2001:
Bobby Puleo gets on via MJ. One of his early ads features Bobby in a burned-out limo and a chicken.
November 2001:
The enjoi team/vibe is heavily showcased with the Tiltmode squad in Man Down. Louie skates to A-ha, and Jerry skates to Thriller. Marc gets last part to the Stones' Miss You. Dwindle begins asking for an enjoi video.
January 2002:
Chris Cole brought over to enjoi from World Industries. Goes on one Dwindle tour to Canada.
April 2002:
Chris Cole leaves for Zero. Brad Staba gets on via MJ after leaving Toy Machine.
February 2003:
After mounting tensions peak, Marc Johnson leaves the brand. Brad Staba also leaves, along with Rodney Mullen who launches almost with Daewon Song. Jerry is in talks with Toy Machine.
March 2003:
Louie and Matt Eversole meet with Dwindle and take over the company. They convince Jerry Hsu to stay. Eversole becomes brand manager.
April 2003:
Yeah Right! premieres with Marc's part, and he is unveiled as the newest Chocolate pro.
March 2004:
Caswell Berry leaves Toy Machine and joins enjoi as their new pro.
July 2004:
Chris Avery leaves and Kyle Camarillo joins Matt Eversole as they begin filming for Box Of Fuck aka Bag Of Suck.
January 2005:
Jason Adams joins the team. Bobby Puleo leaves after breaking his wrist in Hawaii.
September 2005:
Nestor Judkins leaves Santa Cruz as an am to join enjoi flow.
March 2006:
Bag Of Suck (enjoi's first full-length) premieres in San Jose. Jerry goes on a tear. Films his part in three months and gets the last trick (his Lincoln nollie back heel) on the last day of filming.
September 2006:
Cairo Foster joins enjoi via Paul Sharpe and Bod Boyle moving over from Giant. Cairo also recruits Winston Tseng who he had worked with at Popwar (Popwar folded in '05/'06).
June 2007:
Bag Of Suck wins TWS Best Video ('06). Jerry Hsu wins Best Part and TWS Readers' Choice.
July 2007:
Jason Adams quits via a funny ad not long after the Bag Of Suck video is released. Jerry goes on a two-year break. Louie tears his Achilles.
August 2007:
The infamous "Your sister sure can hold her breath a long time" ad with Clark Hassler is released.
February 2008:
Wieger Van Wageningen joins the squad after a two-year board-sponsor lapse since The Firm ended.
January 2009:
enjoi's OG am Jose Rojo turns pro after surviving a broken neck, collarbone, and collapsed lung in a car accident back in 2005.
May 2009:
Kyle Camarillo leaves as filmer/TM, and Carson Lee takes over as filmer.
June 2009:
Tiltmode's Bonus Round premieres with a bunch of the team's first footage since BOS. Jon Nguyen and Jon Choi share a part as enjoi flow bros.
September 2009:
Ben Raemers is added to the am roster via a Duffs UK (Louie) connection. His intro video is included in the Fall '09 catalog.
May 2011:
Nestor Judkins turns pro following of his part in Not Another TransWorld Video.
May 2012:
Zack Wallin and Ryan Lay announced as enjoi's two new ams. Both release "welcome" parts.
December 2012:
Tweak The Beef is released using all the standard non-HD footage in the vaults. Work on the all-HD full-length begins. Carson gets an HD camera.
June 2013:
Oververt is initially supposed to be a four-part video online. Matt Mullen joins as filmer. Brings in Miika Adamov and Blue Turner as flow/ams.
July 2013:
Matt Eversole steps down as brand manager and has a good-bye ad. Louie voted in as new brand manager. Cairo takes over as TM. Thaynan Costa joins as an am.
September 2013:
Jerry Hsu leaves for Chocolate. Jimmy Carlin leaves Mystery for enjoi.
January 2014:
The decision is made to make Oververt a full-length video. Roger Bagley is hired to complete the project.
October 2014:
Ben Raemers turns pro. Oververt premieres at the Montalban in LA. Zack Wallin turns pro mid-part. Louie gets a SOTY nomination. Jack Fardell gets on.
January 2015:
enjoi wins Best Team for 2014 at the TWS Awards. After winning skateboarding, Louie rewards the crew's hard work by renting them the Love Boat and marooning them on Gilligan's Island. The End.
15 Years of enjoi video retrospective
Photos and interviews from the December issue
