The story
The Santa Cruz Skateboards brand, distributed by NHS, is the oldest continuous skateboard company in the world, founded by Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman. At the start, it started as a surfboard business but was struggling to stay afloat because the low profit margins. Soon, a friend from a Hawaiian company challenged NHS to make 500 skateboards. With the surplus of fiberglass lying around they decided to use the stocked materials to fulfill and make skateboards. Their first Santa Cruz skateboard was produced in 1973. The batch of 500 skateboards sold quickly, and a demand for many more boards ensued. The brand would become a staple in the sport.
From Wikipedia’s article on NHS, Inc., shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4