I know Becca of Ad-Meliora Skateboards through the local DC skate group, Flo DMV. We met a handful of times at skate park meetups and damn, she’s sick as hell.

I was stoked when she reached out last year to say that she and a friend were starting a skate brand: one that would be inclusive and focused on making skating accessible to all, and that they were interested in hiring me to design a branded t-shirt for Pride. At the time I’d been posting a lot of my digitally illustrated board girls on Instagram and Becca vibed with my colorful style.

We came up with a concept that would feature diverse skaters of different genders who were representing different styles of skateboarding. She wanted a rainbow to be featured and while I toyed around with making the rainbow into a half pipe or a retro wavy shape, we ended up going with a traditional arch. Because Pride is often represented by rainbows, I kept the colors on-theme but played with different values so they weren’t the typical primary rainbow colors and felt a little more summery and retro instead.

Spotted at the skate park! Worn by skater Cici Ridley.

I personally love how this design turned out and owe so many thanks to Becca for trusting me with this project. The Ad-Meliora pride shirt is one of my most-worn t-shirts, and I wear it proudly. You can catch Ad Meliora Skateboards on Instagram, or visit FLO DMV for collab events.

Crappy iPhone photos of me wearing the shirt last summer while practicing nose riding on my Carver.