FlatFace: A Kid Who Thought He Could Do Better Than the Toy Aisle

FlatFace Fingerboards was founded in 2003 by Mike Schneider, a young rider who figured he could do better than the mass-market boards in the toy aisle. It started about as humble as a brand can: grip tape. But the ambition was always bigger than the first product.^1, 2

From grip tape, FlatFace expanded into decks and its own bearing wheels (the G-series), and became the first US distributor of Blackriver ramps — wiring the American scene into the European one. Along the way Schneider also became one of fingerboarding's most visible figures and a community builder, running a museum of historic gear and keeping the brand a hub for riders, collaborations, and culture.^1, 2

FlatFace Fingerboards (via Archive.org / Wayback Machine)Open image lightbox

FlatFace's signature contributions are the moves that turned a one-kid grip-tape operation into infrastructure for an entire continent's scene.

• G-series bearing wheels: Developing its own bearing wheels moved FlatFace from accessories to core hardware, giving riders a US-made option engineered for real rolling and grinds.¹
• First US distributor of Blackriver ramps: By bringing Blackriver's professional ramps to the US, FlatFace connected the American community to the European obstacle scene — a quietly pivotal bit of plumbing for the global hobby.¹
• The FlatFace community 'museum': FlatFace's community-curated museum of historic decks, wheels, and ephemera preserves the scene's memory — a rare brand-run archive that treats fingerboard history as worth keeping.²

FlatFace Fingerboards (official storefront, flatfacefingerboards.com)Open image lightbox

FlatFace is the proof that fingerboarding rewards obsession: a kid's grip-tape side project became one of the largest fingerboard operations in the world, a US-to-Europe bridge, and a cultural home base that still anchors the scene.^1, 2