Article: Oaklandish Made - Crenshaw Skate Club
Oaklandish Made - Crenshaw Skate Club
Everything we’ve learned from building Oaklandish has shaped how we collaborate through Oaklandish Made: a project born from the same roots, built to serve like-minded brands, teams, and organizations, in Oakland and beyond. Therefore, it was only fitting to create a collection in collaboration with Tobias McIntosh of Crenshaw Skate Club, one of Oaklandish Made's partners. Tobey's distinctive CSC font, along with playful illustrations and vibrant colors, provides a fresh perspective for imagining an Oaklandish Skate Club - even if it's just in our minds.
Crenshaw Skate Club was created to represent and empower inner-city skaters worldwide. Its mission is to enable youth and adults from various backgrounds to feel part of a community and see themselves reflected in skateboard culture. From Crenshaw to Oakland, with love.
We caught up with Tobey to ask him what it is like to build a brand, design a collection and some of what he goes through in his creative process.
What inspired you to start your brand, Crenshaw Skate Club, and what has motivated you to further develop it?
I started my brand to help shed light on inner city skaters all across the world. Seeing the impact that CSC has made on people motivates me to further develop the brand and find new canvases to tell our story on.
What crucial advice would you give someone who is designing their first brand logo? I would say to consider that the first logo you make is not forever, and not to overthink it. You can always change or edit your logo in the future. What’s more important is just going out there and bringing your idea to life.
What is one of the more challenging aspects of designing or bringing a product or concept to life?
The most challenging aspect for me is whittling down the number of colorways/iterations an item has. When I release an item, it usually comes in 2-3 colorways, but I probably designed & sampled 10+ colorways and had to decide which ones get sold. That process is very challenging for me. It’s like having to pick my favorite child.
How has your experience been working with Oaklandish as a fulfillment and screen-print partner? What do you find unique about the service you receive?
The experience has been amazing! The screen-printing team works with me to help bring my ideas to life and does a great job. The fulfillment team makes sure every product launch runs smoothly and according to plan. As a DTC business, having a reliable fulfillment partner is essential, and Oaklandish has exceeded my expectations. What makes Oaklandish unique is how much they truly care about their partners. The level of communication and personal attention stands out. The relationships I’ve built with the Oaklandish team feel more like working with family than just another fulfillment vendor.
Do you have a favorite design or product from your brand?
My favorite product we’ve released is the CSC Square T-shirt. That design is a staple in CSC’s history and means so much to me.
What was your favorite collaboration in 2025, and what dream collaboration do you want for the future?
My favorite project of 2025 was the CSC x Coca-Cola collaboration. Seeing CSC on a Coke can was a truly surreal experience that I am still processing to this day. Also, all of the photos and videos that we were able to do for the project are some of my favorite works that we have done. In the future, I would love to do a collaboration with Supreme.
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