New King Skateboards business owner Tyshawn Jones has pursued multiple ventures throughout his professional skateboarding career as he realized early on that core skating won't feed a family.
In a recent "For Days - Tyshawn, Na-Kel, and Jolly" interview via Thrasher Magazine, the 23-year-old entrepreneur explains why he left a core skate company Emerica for a corporate sponsor Adidas.
Jones was loyal to his skate-shoe sponsor. "I grew up watching all those dudes," He said. "I like Emerica. At this time, I was making $250 from Emerica."
"You'll need to do better," Na-Kel Smith chimed in. However, when a rep asked him about Emerica, pressing the issue and offering him a massive amount of money, Jones had to make the right decision.
"You want to be a core skater and all that, but I want a Lamborghini, I want the house, I want it all," Jones explained.
Smith said, "You can't be a core family man with $250."
The Hardies' General explained the situation when skate legend Heath Kirchart was still the team manager. He spoke to him and asked if Emerica could match what Adidas offered him because he would like to stay loyal to the team.
"Adidas was offering me this much. Would yall be able to match it? And I'll stay, Jones said. "He was like, you wouldn't make that here even if you stayed for five years."
A switch flipped in his head when he got that answer from Kirchart. "I was like yeah, it's over," He said. I'm getting on Adidas."