Skating with ‘No Toys Allowed’

So who are No Toys Allowed?

We spoke with their owner, Jay Livingstone, to find out more. Here’s what he had to say:

“No Toys Allowed is a new skateboarding company that aims to bring street art to deck art. Skaters have always been very selective about their boards, as several factors come into play. The most important is the quality of the wood — a deck needs to be durable because skaters put it through a lot of punishment.

It also needs to convey the right image. Skating is a way of life, and skaters express themselves through the clothes they wear and the boards they ride. Cost is another important factor. For those who aren’t sponsored, buying their own decks can get expensive, and as all skaters know, you can go through boards quickly when performing daring stunts.

We make our NTA decks from USA hard rock maple, which is incredibly strong and springy. This makes tricks easier and extends the life of the board. Our decks are made to the highest standards and sold at very affordable prices because we want every skater to have access to top-quality gear.

But what really sets our decks apart is the artwork. We collaborate with some of the UK’s finest street artists to fuse two forms of street culture — skating and street art. Our first deck features artwork by the legendary SPzereo, one of Bristol’s finest street writers and winner of the IWS Classic UK Illustration Championship 2022. He’s created a limited-edition Zombie deck, with only 100 being produced. We expect many of them to end up on walls, but thanks to the high manufacturing standards and premium wood, they’re perfect for everyday skating too.

One final point I want to make is about sustainability — we only use wood grown in managed forests. If we take something from the earth, we want to ensure it can be replaced. The environment is extremely important to us.

Thank you for giving me the time to talk about this.”

So there you have it — that was the result of a phone conversation with Jay, transcribed word-for-word so you can hear it straight from the source.

At the moment, you can purchase No Toys Allowed boards exclusively from their website here.

We’ll keep you updated when their next board drops, but we recommend grabbing one of these while you still can — they’re expected to go up in value (if you can bear not to skate it!).