For this episode of Maker’s Insight, we invited a craftsman all the way from Banska Bystrica, Slovakia. His name is Simon Kozicka, and he is the founder and operator of Cruiser Joy. Simon crafts brilliant art pieces in a variety of unique cruiser-shaped decks. His work is like no others, the collections he present to the fingerboard community are truly remarkable.

Here is the story and insight of Simon behind Cruiser Joy.

(NY) Please introduce yourself to our readers!

(SK) My name is Simon Kozicka and I am the founder and operator behind Cruiser Joy. I am 34 years of age and currently residing in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia.

(NY) Where did the name ‘Cruiser Joy’ originate from?

(SK) I think it is pretty self-explanatory and does not need any special decoding haha. Anyway, I try to dig up memories and clarify how it came to be. I went through two or three other names before I came up with this one. At the time I was trying to figure out the name since I was kind of new to the whole fingerboard world and to the Instagram fb community. One of the brands that I immediately stumbled upon was Joycult, and I thought “What an awesome name”. After that encounter, I was thinking of incorporating the word ‘joy’ in the name as well. The first half - Cruiser - came naturally because I knew that I wanted to focus on diverse shapes for my decks.

(NY) When and why did you start making fingerboards?

(SK) It all started in elementary school when my friends and I were making decks from plastic or metal sheets with sandpaper without trucks and wheels. In hindsight I can see that moment sowed the idea to start experimenting with deck making. A long time after that in high school and later in university I was lucky enough to have materials and tools such as a CNC machine at my disposal so I could create my own molds. In the meantime, I bought my first smartphone, and I was immediately sucked into Instagram and whatever it could offer from the fb community. I used it mainly as a fan of the hobby but also as a research tool to see what was going on and if there were a gap in the market. From my “successful” skateboarding career I was already familiar with cruiser-shaped decks. Every time I tried to skateboard, I would rather observe the shape, concave, and veneer combinations of every deck I came across. The variety it offered, and the creativity behind it all was mesmerizing to me. I didn’t see that same diversity in the fingerboard world as often, especially the different cruiser shapes, so that’s how the whole idea started. I found the gap and I filled it with my very first official Cruiser Joy batch in May 2017.

(NY) Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

(SK) When it comes to shapes, most of my inspiration mainly comes from the skateboarding world. For example, the very first shape I did, the ‘Piglet’, is inspired by the ‘Beast’ shape by Polar Skate Co. The second, I believe, is the ‘Snapper v.1’. I came up with that as a contrast to ‘Piglet’. Shape like the ‘Old Rat’ is inspired by the old-school, fish-tail-shaped skateboard decks. ‘Sushi’ and ‘Luna’ are ideas from friends I made at the beginning of my deck-making career. The next important part is definitely using interesting and beautiful natural veneer and not covering it up with graphics. Yes, the covering part is happening with full-dipped decks but even then, the veneer texture will peek out when you wear out the colored layer. That was the idea behind the first ‘JOY’ white full-dipped decks. Now let’s talk a little bit about the logo which I created by myself. So far it has been the main graphic theme and the inspiration for the letters came from psychedelic/stoner rock music graphic design and lettering. Check out the band ‘Earthless’ and artist Alan Forbes, you might see what I’m talking about. The use of a circular format is influenced by the fact that the circle as a basic geometric element can be easily used and placed in any composition.

(NY) Please take us through the journey of creating a new collection (From coming up with an idea to the day of the launch).

(SK) I almost always experience a hard time deciding what veneer combination I will use in a new collection. Sometimes when I am busy doing custom decks or other stuff it might take a few days to find out the combo that feels right. Sometimes I do a few test decks to help me decide and they usually end up in an event support package. After I find the right veneer combination, I prepare the necessary amount of veneer for the whole batch, and I press one after another. The shaping process usually starts after all the decks have been out of the mold. In the meantime, I work on custom decks. The shaping starts by drawing all the shapes on all the uncuts. Next up is the coping saw which I use to roughly get rid of excessive material. Then I proceed to my newly acquired disk sander which helps with sanding off more excessive material closer to the drawn outline. This is still a fast and somewhat rough approach that is followed by hand shaping, the main part and probably the most time-consuming. For this part I use a simple piece of wood with a few different sandpaper grit sizes, my eyes as a shape control, my hands as clamps, a calliper to keep the symmetry in check and a desk lamp which helps to achieve desired silhouettes. The next step - doing nice smooth rounded edges which I do in two staged manners. First is chamfering and second is rounding. No flat surfaces are allowed here. It must be smooth to the touch and smooth to the eye. This whole shaping procedure take three to five days or even more depending on how many decks I decided to prepare for an upcoming batch. Next step - laser engraved top logo, sometimes bottom graphics too, like on the “JOY” decks. Next step - applying a clear coat that may take another few days just because I do multiple layers and every layer requires some drying time. Of course, this is a very interesting part of the whole process because you see the deck and the wood coming alive right before your eyes. What I mean by that is the fact that the first coat will enhance and highlight all the color and textures of every layer. Magical moment every time because every piece is unique thanks to different wood textures. When the deck is nice and dry the final touch is the bottom logo/graphic application which is done with a thin layer of spray paint and again, needs some time to dry. If the bottom graphic is engraved, I usually fill it with the color of the customer’s choice. During this entire process, I am also posting sneak-peek photos on social media stories. When the day of the release is close, I will prepare a post that will serve as information about the date and time for the launch and contain a photo of the finished product as well.

(NY) What does Cruiser Joy and fingerboarding in general mean to you in life?

(SK) It means my life. Literally. It is all I do now and it’s especially like that after I quit my job last September and started focusing solely on deck making. One of the best decisions I made in my life and I am very thankful for this opportunity. The whole community is truly awesome and supportive. I met and got to know many great people thanks to this little wooden thing.

(NY) Apart from your company Cruiser Joy, who are you as a person? What other interests do you have other than fingerboarding?

(SK) Physical activity is my other hobby. Callisthenics, bodybuilding and maybe a bit of yoga here and there. I am also into spending time in nature. Hiking during warmer months and during wintertime I really enjoy sliding sideways on a mountain, meaning splitboarding and snowboarding.

(NY) Lastly, is there anything you would like to add for the readers?

(SK) I’d like to thank everyone for the support, all the fans, friends and customers. Special thanks goes to Martin Beckmann and Bastian Stegen, a.k.a. FingerboardTV. I probably wouldn’t be where I am at right now without you. I appreciate you all!

• Simon Kozicka

  Instagram: @cruiserjoy_fingerboards