Distributed and manufactured under the wing of skateboarding’s oldest company NHS Inc, (also the home of Santa Cruz, Mob Grip and Independent Truck Co, amongst others) since its rebirth in the early 00’s, Creature has gone on to become one of the most popular board brands in the industry.

With original team-rider (joining the first incarnation of Creature way back in 1994) and self-styled ‘vertical vampire’ Darren Navarrette at the helm, Creature’s aesthetic is unmistakable and their product range reflects the heavy transition focus of the brand.

“Creature’s influences are drawn from B-Movie iconography, the darker side of popular culture and all things ‘horror’ related”

Creature’s influences are drawn from B-Movie iconography, the darker side of popular culture and all things ‘horror’ related with the classic Creature logo (and the brand’s name itself) drawing its inspiration from the 1954 film ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’.

This Darren Navarrette ‘Keyholder’ deck comes in at a coffin-sized 8.8” in width, 32.57” length and with a 14.5” wheelbase so by any stretch of the imagination, this is a beast of a deck, so if going tech on ledges and manual pads is your thing then this is not the deck for you.

If you’re more of a tranny dog though, you’re laughing here, as this skateboard is massive with a very steep concave, particularly on the nose and tail, optimizing this rig for big transitions.

Shape-wise this is as far removed from the standard-issue popsicle as possible, with a squared off tail and squared off somewhat pointed nose and steep side concave.

Graphics-wise, this one sits firmly within Creature’s overall aesthetic with a burlesque influenced graphic that also references Navarrette’s hardware and tool brand Skeleton Key Manufacturing.

Put simply, this is one of the largest shaped boards on the market right now so if you like vert, B-movies and going fast – you could do a lot worse. NHS Inc also has an unblemished reputation when it comes to deck manufacture so you know this one will last from one Halloween to the next, no bother.

• CREATURE – DARREN NAVARRETTE
• RRP: £56.99
• Width : 8.8″
• Length: 32.57″
• Wheelbase: 14.5″
• CREATURESKATEBOARDS.COM