My name is Mike Kenney, I'm 36 and I've been skating for 23 years.
I own Meanwhile skateboards.

I was a military brat so I grew up in many places around the world during my youth. From Hawaii, to Washington DC, Africa, and Europe... You name it I've probably been there. I started skating while living in London, England at the age of thirteen (87-89). I skated along side a young Tom Penny at core skate spots in London such as South Bank, Harrow, Meanwhile 1 and Meanwhile 2. A few years later (90-92) I moved to just outside Tampa Florida and skated along side a young Andrew Reynolds with the Cove skate shop team. Tom and Andrew's talents were undeniable even back then...

Succeeding in the skateboard industry is largely about being at the right place at the right time. I've come across so many amazing skaters who could have made a living from their skating skills but were at a disadvantage because of where they lived. Then in 2008 I met a clueless non-skater skateboard company owner - and I realized that if he could it (badly) I could it right. I've skated most of my life, designed boards and created art... It was just a natural progession.


What's the meaning behind the choice of the name "Meanwhile" ?
The idea for the name originally came from the old concrete skate spots in London England where skating originally grabbed hold of my life.

Meanwhile also means "happening at the same time"...
There's a lot of amazing skating happening at the same time in other places besides California. It's not that we're anti-California... California's an amazing place to live if you can afford it and have a high tolerance for gridlock. Even though I've skated all over the west coast - it was never home to me - the east, midwest, and south is (literally) in my blood. I want to see skaters from our area get more coverage. I respect the fact that skateboarding started in California but things have changed. Skateboarding has grown, evolved, and diversified. There's room for more variation in today's skateboarding world. Meanwhile Skateboard's purpose is to present skateboarding from different areas of the skateboarding community that don't get covered. There's talented skateboarders in places other than California - but you may not know it.

Andrew Reynolds, Rodney Mullen, and Jamie Thomas are three of the most influential skaters (and company owners) skateboarding has ever seen...
What do they all have in common? None of them were originally from California...
In their generations of skateboarding they were required to go to Cali to get the recognition they deserved. Today the industry is still mostly focused on California and a select few other places. But now we have new ways of showing the world what is going on in your own area... You just have to find the motivation, know how, and resources to do it yourself.

What do I hope to do with Meanwhile skateboards?
I hope to offer a different perspective other than the norm that is focused on California and a select few other places. I will give opportunities to amateurs from this region of the south and midwest U.S. I will offer the same level of quality decks and products at competitive prices. We might not ever have a pro team - but then again who knows - we might some day...

Meanwhile skateboards is a do-it-yourself company. I design and maintain the website, shoot and edit the footy, shoot all the photos, create the artwork, design and screen print the the board graphics, and I pick the ams that will represent Meanwhile.
I'm starting small and simple... I'll see where it goes from there.