From a Tactics Interview With John Vitale: --Hey John, tell us a little about your story. How did The Killing Floor come to be?-- I used to own a skate shop in Northern Cali. I sold it, and wanted to do something more behind the curtain but still in skateboarding. Naturally, that's a brand. At the time in skating (2010) there was, at least in my opinion, a much needed refresh that was missing in skateboard brands. It felt super stale. I felt like there was going to be some changes that were bound to start happening sooner or later. The 90's and early 2000's were really a pivotal period that I grew up in, but stuff was getting slow and skating felt due for another shift. I didn't have a lot that I really related to or was down for. So I decided to roll the dice and start a brand that could be something that I would like to see happening. I focused on trying to bring an interesting perspective and make it visually different than most of what I was seeing at that time. I honestly didn't know how it would be received... It's still progressing and morphing every season, but recently there's a lot of other brands doing stuff that's pretty out there too. I've seen a lot of stuff similar to what I've done pop up over the past couple years. But I actually like it because it just makes it easier for me to do anything I want really. --Why "The Killing Floor"? What's the meaning behind the name?-- It's the name of a blues song written by Howlin Wolf. It felt like for some reason that song had a kinship with skateboarding. It's a constant struggle. The best thing and the worst, all in one. Kind of like what the song is touching down on. It's like one huge necessary evil that we all throw ourselves into every day, just for that feeling we get for a few seconds here and there. Read more in the link provided.