Saigon Skateboards: Based in Vietnam, Built on Our Own Values

One thing we would like to make clear about Saigon Skateboards is something that is often misunderstood.

We are based in Vietnam, but we are not a Vietnamese company.

Our location and our identity are two different things.

Saigon Skateboards was built and is operated according to the values, standards and experiences that we bring to the company ourselves. I am Italian and British, and those two cultures have had a major influence on how we approach our products, our customers and the way we conduct business.

This is not a criticism of Vietnam. Quite the opposite.

Vietnam is where we live and where Saigon Skateboards operates. It has provided the physical home from which we create, manufacture and develop our products. Vietnam has a growing fingerboarding scene, talented people and its own identity within the global community.

However, we do not believe it would be right for us to take credit for the Vietnamese fingerboarding scene simply because we happen to be located here.

The Vietnamese fingerboarding community belongs to the Vietnamese fingerboarding community.

We did not create it, we do not represent every fingerboarder in Vietnam, and we have no desire to position ourselves as the spokespersons for it. If Vietnamese riders, makers, brands and communities grow, develop and build something unique, then that success should belong to them.

Saigon Skateboards is simply a company that operates from Vietnam while maintaining its own independent identity.

Italian Standards of Craftsmanship

Italy has long been internationally associated with craftsmanship, design, manufacturing and attention to detail.

From small family-run workshops to globally respected manufacturers, there is a strong cultural appreciation for making things properly rather than simply making them quickly. The idea that the details matter — the finish, the materials, the consistency and the pride taken in the final product — is something that strongly influences how we approach Saigon Skateboards.

We are a small company, and we do not pretend to be some giant Italian manufacturing house.

But we do believe in the same principle:

If you put your name on something, it should be something you are proud of.

That means paying attention to construction, shapes, materials, finishing and quality control. It means understanding that handmade does not mean accepting poor workmanship. It means continually trying to improve rather than assuming that "good enough" is good enough.

British Values in Customer Service

The British side of our business is perhaps most visible in the way we deal with customers.

The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of customer service, particularly when it comes to communication, accountability and treating customers with respect. Of course, not every British company gets this right, but the expectation that a customer deserves a clear answer, honest information and professional treatment is something we strongly believe in.

At Saigon Skateboards, we do not believe that customer service ends once someone has paid.

If there is a problem, we believe it should be addressed.

If we make a mistake, we should own it.

If someone asks a question, they deserve an answer.

And if we cannot do something, we would rather be honest about it than make promises we cannot keep.

This may sound simple, but in business, consistency and accountability are often more difficult than they appear.

Respecting Where We Are Without Pretending to Be Something We Are Not

Our name may be Saigon Skateboards, and Vietnam is our base, but that does not mean we should claim an identity that is not ours.

We are proud to operate from Vietnam and grateful for the opportunities that living here has provided. We have no interest in disrespecting Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese makers or the Vietnamese fingerboarding scene.

In fact, we would much rather see more genuinely Vietnamese brands emerge and build their own identities.

Vietnam does not need foreign-owned or foreign-led companies taking credit for its scene.

The people who live, ride, create and build within that community should be the ones who define it.

Saigon Skateboards will continue to do what we do: make products, share information, support fingerboarding and operate our business from Vietnam.

But we will do so as Saigon Skateboards — an independent company based in Vietnam, built around Italian and British values, experiences and expectations.

Our Identity Is Our Own

In an increasingly global fingerboarding community, location does not always define identity.

A company can be based in one country, source materials from another, sell worldwide and still maintain its own distinct philosophy.

That is exactly how we see Saigon Skateboards.

We are not trying to be the face of Vietnamese fingerboarding.

We are not trying to take ownership of a scene that existed independently of us and will continue to exist independently of us.

We are simply building our own company, in our own way.

Italian attention to craftsmanship. British standards of customer service. A company based in Vietnam.

That is Saigon Skateboards.

And we think it is important to understand the difference.