tom penny

This board graphic is a classic from the 1990s. It was originally released in 1996. It’s inspired from the Cheech and Chong comedy duo, created by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in the 1970s. Flip didn’t hold the rights to use the image of the comedy duo when they first released the deck. The board model was then called “Tom’s Friends” or “Friends”. It was only in late 2011 that the board was “legalized”, as a Flip ad said. The brand could officially name it Cheech and Chong. This graphic has seen many reissues over the years, with various background colors or tie dye and marijuana patterns. The artist, Bernie Tostenson, created several other board graphics for Flip. He started his career at Sims Skateboards in 1976, as a silk-screening artist, before co-creating Brand-X Skateboards in the early 1980s.