The head of Grind King Trucks Donald Cassel is catching heat right now after posting AI generated artwork and doubling down when skaters called him out.
It started when he shared an animation online, which didn’t sit well with a lot of skaters and artists.
Comments quickly filled up with criticism, with many saying brands should be paying real artists instead of relying on AI tools.
Some longtime fans felt it went against the creative roots that skateboarding has always stood on.
Not long after the backlash picked up, he responded with a post that made it clear he wasn’t backing off.
“Ai HATERS - THIS ONES FOR YOU!!!”
“So I got a lot of shit yesterday for posting AI generated animation of El Grind King and to all you AI haters out there you don't realize that I've been using my own version of AI since 1988 and it's called Always Innovating so there you go," he explained.
That response only added more hate to the conversation.
While a few people backed his stance and saw it as just another form of experimentation, a lot of skaters weren’t buying it.
The main issue being raised is simple. If a company has the budget to create content, why not hire artists from the community instead of generating it?
This isn’t the first time AI has caused tension in skateboarding, but it’s one of the examples of a brand figure openly standing by it while the community pushes back.
Skate culture has always been tied to real people creating graphics, videos, and art from the ground up. So when AI enters the picture, it can feel like something important is being replaced.
At the same time, there are others who see it differently.
Some argue that tools change over time and that experimenting with new tech has always been part of how things evolve.
Hence, even among those people, the question of supporting artists keeps coming up.
Right now, it’s less about one post and more about what it represents. On one side, you have someone defending innovation and doing things his own way. On the other, a community that wants to see real artists get paid and recognized.
And judging by the reactions so far, this conversation will always going to get called out and in the future probably a boycott.