5 minutes with Hibbs Arshad

Why freestyle?

Back in school, at the end of the 80s, I used to skate street for a few years and watched Ban This (1989) on VHS everyday. My favourite part was Per Welinder doing a 50-50 handstand to pogo. It was mind-blowing compared to everything else on that video.

Gleaming the Cube (1989) was my next favourite. I loved all the freestyle bits and I didn’t even know it was Mullen until recently.

Fast forward to 2022. My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I made her buy me a mini complete to fulfill my childhood wish in freestyle skateboarding. Broke an ankle bone doing it but it hasn’t stopped me since.

You’ve mentioned that flatground and freestyle skateboards are hard to find in Malaysia. Can you tell us more about this?

I’m quite picky with the surface I skate on. Wide and smooth flatgrounds around KL are either out of the way, too exposed to our hot and wet weather, or surrounded by ‘unfriendly’ security guards. I try to avoid skateparks at peak hours as well because I feel like I’m in the way of other skaters.

Even with the gaining popularity of skate varieties like longboard, surfskate and quad/inline skates in Malaysia, most skaters are still into street skateboarding. With proper skateparks available nowadays, younger skaters…prefer bigger setups. Parts suitable for freestyle are either uncommon or more expensive.

Azzam [Syafiq], an experienced local freestyle skater, also used street parts until just recently. There’s a veteran flatground skater here who modifies all his parts for his perfect setup.

Is this why you started Protostyle, your Malaysian freestyle brand?

Well I know shipping rates are crazy right now but I still do get stuff from abroad for my collection.

However I was obsessed with having a specific shape and measurements for my deck. I would buy used popsicles and have a guy reshape them and change the wheelbase to fit my specs.

Later on, I realised that doing so would compromise the durability of the decks. So I had proper samples made, loved them and thought it’d be cool to have the first freestyle brand in the country.

What particular shape were you wanting?

I dig the concept of a symmetrical popsicle and I was really comfortable with Witter Cheng’s Plague 1 nose shape. Let’s just say I wanted a deck with a twin nose.

Can you tell us about the graphic on the board (which is also the brand’s logo)?

I was hooked on setting up freestyle boards when I just started so that’s what the cog stands for – ‘setup’, just like the icon in our phones. And since I was making prototypes for freestyle decks, that’s where the name came from. It’s corny like that. There’s an actual meaning for the word though. Part of a snail anatomy, lol!

So, in your opinion, what tricks work best with this particular shape?

Fingerflips, footwork, rail tricks and bebops.

By the way, how does one design a freestyle board these days?

Freestyle shapes have been around for a long time and some tricks are easier to master depending on these shapes. Height and weight also play a role in getting the right measurements. But at the end of the day it boils down to preference.

So far the shapes we have are based on decks I’ve been comfortable with. And thanks to Marius Constantin’s kind contribution, we will be releasing a bigger shape that is standardised to suit most European skaters.

[In regards to the process,] I reshape decks using existing 8″ popsicles to get the shape I want…I [then] plot out the shape on PDF with the exact sizing for the woodshop to cut. Currently I use the most mellow mould available at the factory. Custom, flat moulds like the one Marius has will cost both my arms and legs. 😂 Then either silk-screen or UV-transfer the graphics. That’s pretty much the standard process. Unfortunately we don’t have local manufacturers yet so it’s mostly done abroad.

You have also released some single kicks as well. Can you tell us about the inspiration for those?

The 7.25″ deck is similar but less tapered than the double kick, with an illustration of Taming Sari which is the jagged dagger once owned by a legendary Malay warrior known as Laksamana Hang Tuah. The vein wrapping it is an exaggerated extension of our national flower, the hibiscus. Graphics by Finn Anuar.

Do you think you’ve learnt something during the process of designing, making and selling boards?

Oh yes. I learnt 3 important things:

1. Freestyle is all passion. There’s no profit.
2. Getting the perfect shape is a never-ending process.
3. Leave the graphics to the designers.

Ok, final question. If you were to design an Aussie skateboard graphic, what would be on it?

Golden wattle and boomerang patterns!

Connect: Hibbs Arshad is the founder of Malaysia’s first freestyle brand, Protostyle (IG: protostyle.skateboards). While visiting Australia in late 2024, he met up with the Melbourne freestyle crew and let them try his Protostyle Logo setup. If you are in Australia, Protostyle’s Logo, Taming Sari, and Vlad Kanin freestyle skateboards are now available to purchase online via the Flatlandia shop.