How it All Began
Snap N’ Grind Co – Founder
Mike Durand
I got my first GT skateboard in the 5th grade and discovered I had a knack for riding and skated enthusiastically around the neighborhood. My parents splurged on a new Dogtown skate for me for Christmas and I thought I was hot shit. I hopped up curbs, skated ramps, carved up pools and grinded anything in my path. Not only would the incessant grinding wear down the trucks quickly, but many jagged surfaces would stick with the end result being a “body slam”. Some of my neighborhood cronies started making copers out of shopping cart handles and PVC pipe and the modern DIY coper was born. Some companies like “Tracker” developed their own version of the coper, but that was exclusively for trackers. For any other brand of truck you were pretty much on your own.
If you look at vintage pool pics you’ll see quite a few copers in the cover shots, since the majority of Pros used them. They not only protected the trucks they allowed for a nice glide across any rough surface.
Forward 35 years… I had quit riding any transition, switched all of my attention to surfing, and hadn’t really skated for nearly 20 years. Then I got wind of a “Pump track” that had recently opened in Inglewood. I got my skating chops back quickly and the bowls at the track had a grindable asphalt lip on them, which I immediately began to assault. Although grindable with unprotected trucks, I had to hit the grind at a high rate of speed to pull it off, and then I noticed I had nearly worn a fresh pair of independent trucks down to the axle. A thought bubble popped up above my head… I need to get some copers. After an unsuccessful Google search I realized that NOBODY makes or sells copers! That being the case, I headed to the hardware store and bought a long circular piece of PVC pipe. I hate using hand tools and saws because I have a propensity to cut off appendages… well I almost cut off my thumb with a skill saw not too long ago, so there’s definitely PTSD for me when handling any sharp instrument. I crafted a couple pairs up out of that PVC, and they worked, but were pretty lame, and didn’t fit quite right. As I wore through them quickly my coper creation quickly morphed into a dreaded task of necessity and became a huge pain in the ass.
I enlisted the help of my crafty next door neighbor Jordan whom I affectionately nicknamed “Grindenstein”. He’s a very sharp cat with a background in the Aerospace industry, and a builder/tinker-er to the core. Although not a skater or having any idea what a coper was, he’s a super nice guy and was happy to help me out. He started making copers for me with regularity and improving on the design a little with each passing effort. I started feeling bad about hounding him all the time, (I was a coper junkie begging my dealer for more product), so I ended up plying him lobster tails and Swellmagnet surf apparel to encourage him to keep the copers coming.
He had already become a coper maestro, but became obsessed with making them even better. With his vocational background he was confident he could create an updated, more functional version in his 3D printer. Bam! We have created and tested dozens of versions before we decided that this current prototype was engineered perfectly. The back and forth trial and error was a blast for both of us. I would return from a skate with pointed performance feedback and he would tweak the CAD files with modifications. We were in search of the most form fitting coper with a material that allowed for a smooth glide, but didn’t wear down too fast. I was the volunteer “Crash Test Dummy,” and along with the triumphs came same wicked slams. Some of the, shall we say, “ineffective” copers, had me donating skin and blood to the asphalt, but with a few clicks of the mouse a better version was hatched.
We decided to do Patent search since we could not believe copers weren’t on the market. We researched and hired an Patent Attorney and much to our dismay that market was untapped and literally wide open. Shortly after, we formed Snap N’ Grind LLC, jumped through all of the hoops to file for a patent, and have been working hard to bring these copers to market ever since. Within a six month period were able to collectively create a high functioning masterpiece that I’m proud to put my name on. We currently have 10 test pilots running our copers through rigorous testing to ensure the product is top shelf. Jordan and I have formed a symbiotic business relationship and become good friends over the last year. He is literally my next door neighbor. We share a common backyard wall, (Wilsons wall… from Tool time), that we pass new copers, fractured copers, documents and other urgent business items, back and forth over. By combining his technical skills with my skating and marketing background we are looking forward to a long, storied run of success. FIND YOUR GRIND!