Omni Boards Australia was really founded way back in 1974 as a passion of mine (Cary Pogson) at the age of 14 to make and ride my own boards, surf as well as skate. In those days skating was something surfers did when not in the water surfing.

It wasn't until 1987 that I started full on skateboard manufacture.

The word Omni means all. So for me, the name Omni boards relates to my passion for riding all types of boards. Surf Snow and Skate.

I first started skating around 1970. Through the mid 70's we'd skate the streets, carve up the school banks and hit the car parks at nights or on the weekends. Doing tricks like handstands, high jumps, nose wheelie's, catamarans and coffins or lie in tyres and bomb hills.

Myself (left) and Colin with some new boards. 1981

North Ryde skate park 1982. It was here that I first saw true skaters. Biff, Adrian Jones getting 4 foot of air out of this pipe. It blew me away, those guys ruled.

Pic My brother Mick

This passion for making boards continued into the 80's as really only a hobby. I left school, at the end of 1976 in 1977 I worked as a fibreglass laminator. In 1988 gaining a carpentry apprenticeship, working on light industrial jobs, schools banks, churches, hospitals, restaurants, offices and shops etc.

On the completion of my apprenticeship in 1982 I moved to the Gold Coast to work on high rise buildings as a carpenter, specializing on Slipforms, a hydraulically operated formwork system that produces the central cores, where the lifts & stairwells etc are located in high rise buildings.

Rialto Tower JumpForm Melbourne 1983

Pics Me

Grosvenor PL SlipForm Sydney 1985

Within a few months I was offered a job as a Field Technician in charge of the operation of Slipforms and Jumpforms. My first job was the Rialto Tower in Melbourne. I moved around on many high rise buildings between mostly Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and in country areas doing the odd storage silo over a 3 to 4 year period.

In 1985, my board sports obsession was getting the better of me. Wanting to take it further into the snow. That year I had heard of a guy snowboarding around, and just had to meet him.

I finally caught up with Geoff Sawyer at the end of the 1985 snow season and decided to go on a 3 months Snowboarding trip with him and another friend Adrian Gibbs. We were to go firstly to Kashmir then off to the States to race in the US Open in Vermont and then to the World titles in Colorado.

I just had to learn to do it first.

My first attempt at Snowboarding strapped into Geoff's board natural, (I ride goofy) main range NSW Nov 1985

Pic Geoff

Geoff in Kashmir March 1986

Pic me

Jake Burton Carpenter pep talk to his team US Open Stratton Mt Vermont April 1986

Tom Sims racing US Open April 1986

Pics me

I left my well paying job at the end of 1985 and set off with Geoff and Adrian in early 1986 as 'The Australian Snowboarding Team' to become the first to Snowboard the Himalayas, and then to compete in the USA

It took a few weeks to get the hang of it on the slopes of Gulmarg, then I was able to hit the back country powder with Geoff and the other skiers that were with us filming a promotional video for the Indian Tourist Bureau. "Ski High Ski Himalayas"

We spent a month in Gulmarg Kashmir, then flew to New York where we bussed it up to Vermont and spent a month with the Burton team and to race in the US Open. Geoff at the time was the Burton distributor for Australia.

We traveled to a few smaller comps here and there in the area before the US Open at Stratton Mt. Then after that Geoff and I flew to Denver Colorado, hired a bomb station wagon and drove up to the ski fields around Aspen.

We also met the Sims team as they were at every comp we went to, along with other smaller companies, such as Barfoot, Avalanche and Gnu. We also did a bit of snowmobiling on some of the trails

Shaun Palmer Sims team rider, Helmet camera World Titles Breckenridge May 1986

Geoff Snowmobile towing Aspen May 1986

Pic Me

Geoff and I at the 1986 Ski show. The vertically stripped boards were the new model Burton Cruisers, the other ones were the Burton Elite

Pic Gibbo

Myself left demonstrating snowboarding Homebush ski show 1986

Pic Geoff

On our return from this epic tour, we set about promoting snowboarding. Geoff, Gibbo and I had formed the NSW Snowboard Assc before we left in 1985. Snowboarding was not allowed in Australian resorts at the time. It was the mission of the association to have snowboarding allowed in resorts Australia wide.... you can thank us later.

The NSW Ski Assc gave us a booth at the 1986 Ski Show held at Homebush, The three of us did snowboarding demos 4 times a day on an artificial snow slope. Needless to say our booth was 20 deep after each show.

I spent the snow season that year snowboarding full time at Thredbo and working as a kitchen hand at nights in Jindabyne. At the end of the season we planned to hold the first snowboard comp in Australia.

Omni put up the money, to pay Guthega for the timing gates, grooming and staff. bought the trophies and T-shirts etc. On the 27th & 28th September 1986 the "Omni OZ Snowboard Classic" was held. We ran a dual slalom, giant slalom and 1/2 pipe. I placed 3rd in the dual slalom, 4th in the GS and 2nd in the pipe, riding a board I had made only weeks earlier. We had 17 contestants 15 guys 2 gals.

Myself left Omni OZ Classic G.S.

Pic Guy Finlay

My ad in 'Snowboarders Edge' 1987 pic of my 4th place run in the Omni Oz Classic 1986 on the prototype board I had made only weeks earlier.

Pic Les Herstek

First factory in Ulladulla under construction. Oct 1986

Pics Me

Finished production boards test day at Thredbo June 1987

At the end of the 1986 season I moved to Ulladulla. Living in the factory with Gibbo while fitting it out to manufacture Snowboards, Surfboards and Skateboards. Over the next 9 months I prototyped a snowboard model and set about to set it into production. I made about 40 production boards, and set out to show them around for sales.

The overall comment I found made by many ski shops was "Snowboarding? that'll never take off" Yeah right..... Those very same guys later became the self professed "Experts in Snowboards" a few years later when it did take off.

Indeed it took a few years for snowboarding to really take off, But as I insisted it doubled every year. In the mean time sales could no longer keep my factory open and in the middle of 1987 season, I was forced to close my first Ulladulla factory and move back home to mums in Sydney, owing about 14 grand for my troubles.

William Mallot's winning run in the 1/2 pipe at Thredbo 1987 finishing his run with the first ever back flip seen in Australia.

Pic Dave Martin

Returning to the High rise construction industry for some cash flow, I set about to manufacture skateboards in mums garage at nights.

I finally found a source of Rock Maple, made a press with my knowledge of hydraulics and steel work.

I had just met Steve Sargent, Steve helped me with concaves, shapes and skaters for our first team.

It took me 3 years of working at nights to build up sales to the point where I felt I could move back down the coast to Ulladulla and make skateboards full time.

So in 1990 I packed up everything and moved down the coast with my girlfriend and set up making decks on my vacant block of land in a couple of small garden sheds.

Our first set of team riders shapes. 1987

Pics Me

Slip Form O'Connell St Sydney, my day job. Taking the "Slip" from ground to about L38. Pic close to my last day at work 1989

Me surfing Ulladulla Flat rock 1991

Pic Guy Finlay

Me with the arse out of my pants riding Gibbo's mini 1992/3 Doing it tough, ahh what a life. My son in the background.

Pic Gibbo

Not long after moving down to Ulladulla, the great skateboarding slump of 1991/2 hit and within a few months sales just stopped.

I was still paying off the debt from my failed snowboard venture, and we had just had our first child. Things were tough, I was forced on unemployment benefits to weather it out.

Things started to move again late in 1992, I was still making the odd deck through the entire slump as the hard-core skaters still skated. But things began to change.

Vert was being taken over by a new form of skating, 'Street' concaves and shapes changed rapidly, going from what was considered a single kick to double kick. Our team started to reflected that change now with more street skaters than vert skaters.

Mitch Newell, Vert skater.

The new gen Alex Smith, Street skater.

The new factory Ulladulla 93

Pics Me

Still making decks between home and my vacant block of land at this time, with skating picking up fast, and now also with a second son, I was forced to move production into a factory as some neighbours complained to the council and they wanted to shut me down.

I sold my block of land to pay for the move and give the business a shot in the arm for finances. I set up my now second factory in Ulladulla and put on my first employee.

Sales took off pretty quickly, skating was beginning to boom once again. We put on new team riders, and production was going through the roof for this little factory. We had to move into bigger premises within 9 months.

We found a surfboard factory to rent that was already set up with a mezzanine floor office, art rooms, below sanding rooms and spray booths etc.

I put on another 3 to 4 staff for production, we also had a part time artist and an IT guy now doing our web site

Our now 3rd factory, room to move. Pic taken from the office on the mezzanine floor

Pics Me

The factory with new veneer stocks above.

The warehouse showing our stocks of trucks wheels griptape etc.

Pics Me

Our indoor ramp

It was at this time I was approached by a sales rep saying I should get some reps on the road, I'll be able to sell heaps more decks he said. He organized for other reps he knew to sell for me as well. I then had a rep in each state pushing sales hard. We started to source other items such as griptape, trucks, wheels, bearings, mounting bolts, T-shirts etc.

We then expanded into another factory and set up our warehouse for accessories. We built an indoor ramp and was able to fit out a shop in front and bigger office space.

All this expansion started to create other problems with cash flow. Things came crashing down around me and within a year I was all but forced to close down. I had to put all my workers off and started from scratch again.

It took another year to build back up to a point where I had enough sales to start putting workers on again.

I was then approached by my landlord to form a partnership. We trialed it for a year, after which I was not happy with how it was turning out. Nothing like how it was discussed, so I decided not to go ahead with it. He then vowed to put me out of business. And in September 2001 he came close.

Our shop in front of the warehouse next to the office.

History Pt 2