Growing up on his builder father's construction sites in Hilton Head, South Carolina, @bearwalkerofficial knew he wanted to work with his hands. His parents urged him to avoid manual labor, so he studied graphic design and print, but found the recession-era job market less than welcoming when he graduated in 2011. He worked a stint designing book covers for Amazon and another at an outfit where he carved signs out of unfinished wood. "Every day, my hands were getting so torn up," he says. And that gave him an idea.⁠ ⁠ Walker had gotten into skateboarding at college, and he realized that a carved design in rough wood could make for great traction, not unlike skateboard grip tape. "I wanted to make art, but have it translate to something real," says Walker.⁠ ⁠ After building his first skateboard by hand in 2012, he learned to use a laser cutting ­machine, carving line art into the surface of the wood to create grip. His early attempts resem­bled tire tread more than fine art. But the more Walker learned from his mistakes--and refined his technique during many an all-nighter after working his various day jobs--the more elaborate the grip became. In 2016, he launched Kodiak Boards, which got buzz for its pop-culture-themed products. Link in bio for the full story. (Reporting by Jill Krasny / 📸: @matthewcoughlin)