Chad Muska Launches His Own Skate Shoe Brand Even w/ Nike, Adidas & Heavy Tariffs in the Way

While giants like Nike SB, Adidas, and New Balance dominate the skate shoe scene, Muska’s decided to roll the dice and launch his own brand "MUSKA™️ Footwear Co."

It’s not a quiet move, and it’s definitely not a safe one.

Right now, the market is stacked. Big brands have deep pockets, huge teams, and global distribution locked in.

Muska knows this. He’s seen it firsthand. Still, he’s stepping in, solo, at a time when tariffs and import costs are making it tough for smaller labels to survive, let alone start something from scratch. And yet... here he is.

“No major shoe companies called to work with me,” Muska shared in a recent post. “So I started my own.”

It’s classic Muska. The same icon who once showed up at demos with a boombox in hand is now showing up to the footwear industry with a new brand and that familiar stubborn drive.

He’s calling it a “one man corporation with a global army of homies.” That’s the most Muska way to describe anything, really.

And while it might sound scrappy, that’s part of the appeal. This isn’t a corporate-backed launch with polished campaigns and polished talking points. This is Muska going for it, straight up.

Of course, there’s a lot working against him. The skate shoe business isn’t what it used to be. It’s not just about making something skaters want to wear.

It’s about surviving manufacturing costs, shipping delays, and keeping up with companies that drop new collabs every month with global superstars.

But maybe that’s the point. Muska’s never been one to follow the easy path. He's always done things his own way.

Sometimes messy, sometimes loud, but always genuine. Launching a shoe brand now, when so many other skaters are signing deals with the big guys, feels like a move that could either crash hard or carve out a corner for something different.

No one’s expecting him to outsell Nike or go head-to-head with the next Tyshawn Jones release. But that might not be what Muska's after.

This looks more like a passion project - one built for the skaters who still talk about Shorty's Fulfill the Dream and miss the era when shoes felt like they had a little more character.

Will it work? Time will tell. It’s a risky bet, no doubt. But if anyone’s gonna throw down and make a scene doing it, it’s Muska.

And honestly, that alone makes it something to keep an eye on.