VHS Decks

I miss VHS tapes. Actually miss them. We had stacks at home—nothing special, just whatever landed there. You’d pull one out, rewind it, feed it into the player. The movie would start. It was the most direct form of ownership you could get.

5Boro in New York made skateboards that look exactly like old VHS cases. Sony, Panasonic, Fuji—whatever brand was stacked on your shelf. The designs are spot-on, which means whoever made them actually remembers this era. Around forty euros per board.

Most people buying these probably never used a VHS player. They’re buying the look, the aesthetic of an era they didn’t experience. Which is fine. That’s how design works. The original thing gets reduced to its visual symbol, and that symbol gets passed along.

But there’s no irony in it. Someone who actually remembers this made these boards. They didn’t make them as a joke or a commentary. Just someone wanting to bring back something that mattered. The design will just be what it is—a look, an era frozen on a piece of wood. Maybe that’s better than the real thing.