About Morphium Skateboards
About
Who is behind Morphium Skateboards, how did it come about and what is the vision behind it?
Who is behind Morphium?
So who is behind Morphium? That's me, Karl Knoop! I'm currently the sole owner and responsible for everything to do with Morphium Skateboards. You can find out why our brand has existed for over two decades in the next section.
Why the name Morphium (engl. morphine)?
The name 'Morphium'? That came from the 'crazy thoughts' of Ralf Nehe, who was part of our skate crew back in the mid-90s. Ralf definitely had his moments where he'd get on a real kick about something, and he'd literally bug us by messing around with the term 'Morphium'. And then, out of nowhere, Ralf showed up with a pile of paper stickers that read 'Morphium Skateboards'. They weren't any fancy pro stickers, just homemade ones printed at home with an inkjet. Still, we were totally hyped! Having your own skateboard stickers was pretty rare in the scene back then, so we thought it was super cool to slap our very own personal stickers on our boards.
How did it all start?
At first, it was all just a joke, we weren't taking it seriously at all. But people went absolutely wild for those stickers and kept wanting more! Soon, almost everyone was rocking them, even strangers. That's when we thought: 'Why just stickers? Let's do more!'
Ralf then hooked us up with an embroidery connection. Those first sweatshirts with the embroidered design were absolutely killer! Over 100 of them were snapped up super fast in our region. Imagine, almost every teenager between 14 and 18 had one of those hoodies!
When we needed more cash, I, Karl, stepped in and invested. I handled the sales in my town, so Ralf could focus on his town. Our teamwork then led to even more awesome gear!
Ralf then hooked us up with an embroidery connection. Those first sweatshirts with the embroidered design were absolutely killer! Over 100 of them were snapped up super fast in our region. Imagine, almost every teenager between 14 and 18 had one of those hoodies!
When we needed more cash, I, Karl, stepped in and invested. I handled the sales in my town, so Ralf could focus on his town. Our teamwork then led to even more awesome gear!
The first board production
So, naturally, at some point, the question popped up: 'What about the boards?' I mean, our designs literally said 'Morphium Skateboards' after all. And back then, there were barely any German board companies of our own, except for maybe Titus.
But we got lucky! We met Richi Löffler and Shiran Habekost, who just happened to have a board connection in America and also wanted to produce boards. So we teamed up and ordered our first decks: Richi and Shiran for 'Trap', and us for 'Morphium'. Our boards sold really well, and those two helped us get the brand known outside of Northern Germany through their distribution, 'Medicine Distribution'.
Soon after, Ralf gradually stepped back. Since then, I've kept pushing the brand forward with friends and team riders up until today.
But we got lucky! We met Richi Löffler and Shiran Habekost, who just happened to have a board connection in America and also wanted to produce boards. So we teamed up and ordered our first decks: Richi and Shiran for 'Trap', and us for 'Morphium'. Our boards sold really well, and those two helped us get the brand known outside of Northern Germany through their distribution, 'Medicine Distribution'.
Soon after, Ralf gradually stepped back. Since then, I've kept pushing the brand forward with friends and team riders up until today.
A tough road
Imagine this: Back then, there were hardly any German skateboard brands! Getting sponsored? Totally utopian. Contacts to producers for clothes or even our own decks in the USA were incredibly tough to make.
Production costs were way higher due to minimum order quantities: For example, you had to order 100 pieces per size and design. Nowadays, you can split 100 decks across any sizes you want, and the minimum order has dropped to just 1 piece.
Building reach was also much trickier. The internet was still in its early days, and online skateboarding pretty much didn't exist – no YouTube, Facebook, Instagram. The only upside: The German skateboard market was small and manageable. And because it was so new, skaters and shops were super open to new brands!
Production costs were way higher due to minimum order quantities: For example, you had to order 100 pieces per size and design. Nowadays, you can split 100 decks across any sizes you want, and the minimum order has dropped to just 1 piece.
Building reach was also much trickier. The internet was still in its early days, and online skateboarding pretty much didn't exist – no YouTube, Facebook, Instagram. The only upside: The German skateboard market was small and manageable. And because it was so new, skaters and shops were super open to new brands!
Why am I still doing this at all?
The reason I've been able to keep Morphium going for so long is simple: I was never financially dependent on it. For me, the biggest win is just having fun with the whole thing. As long as that joy stays, and there are enough team riders who are totally passionate about it, Morphium will keep rolling.
No amount of money in the world could have bought me all the experiences, memories, and the chance to meet so many awesome people and have so many great times. Without Morphium, I'd never have such a massive network and so many contacts today. And it's only because of that that I'm now self-employed and can completely freely decide who I work with, and more importantly, what I work on.
Having your own skateboard company is definitely a dream for a lot of skaters. I managed to make that dream come true – and that's why I love skateboarding so much. So here's my tip: Don't waste your time with 'sponsor-me' videos. Instead, put that energy into starting your own skateboard company! Germany desperately needs way more skate brands again. It's not impossible."
No amount of money in the world could have bought me all the experiences, memories, and the chance to meet so many awesome people and have so many great times. Without Morphium, I'd never have such a massive network and so many contacts today. And it's only because of that that I'm now self-employed and can completely freely decide who I work with, and more importantly, what I work on.
Having your own skateboard company is definitely a dream for a lot of skaters. I managed to make that dream come true – and that's why I love skateboarding so much. So here's my tip: Don't waste your time with 'sponsor-me' videos. Instead, put that energy into starting your own skateboard company! Germany desperately needs way more skate brands again. It's not impossible."