Vinny Raffa's skateboard company started in 1987. From their "About" section: Dead End Skateboards was founded in 1987 by Vinny Raffa in New York. Vinny's first product was a shirt that said, "Skateboarders From Hell" and the first skate shop he went into immediately said they could not sell a product with the word “Hell” on it. So Vinny went home and reworked his brand, coming up with “Dead End” and launching an East Coast skateboard legacy. Team members over the years include Vinny Ponte, Bill Weiss, Danny Supa, Javier Nunez, Frank Gerwer, Mike Sinclair, Henry Sanchez, Harold Hunter, Eric Eggers, JP Lotz, Bill Ferrell, the Lopez Brothers, Ben Ritacco, Chris English, Jason Tate, Chris Boyer, Tommy Leggett, and JR Cronheim. Over three decades Dead End released a number of boards that have become highly collectable. Dead End, Dead Endustries, Endustrial, all of these are the brain child of Vinny Raffa who is still currently active in the Street Art scene and works in the film industry, you’ve probably seen some of the movies he’s done lighting for. Bill Ferrell, who joined Dead End in 1992 is still skating, designing Dead End boards, and also performing on music stages as Gentle Jones. The East Coast legacy continues nearly 30 years strong.