STRIKE UP THE BRAND; ACTION SPORTS COMPANIES FINE-TUNE THEIR IMAGE BY LAUNCHING RECORD LABELS AND SPONSORING ALBUMS.

Daily News Record, October, 2002 by Bermudez, Andrea

Southern California, home of almost every major action sports company, is also the birthplace of many a garage-band-turned-big-shot: No Doubt, Blink 182, Sugar Ray and The Offspring among them.

In fact, in this little corner of the world, the music and action sports industries are inextricably linked. For one thing, many top action sports execs, designers and team riders -- designer Paul Frank and skaters Chad Muska and Stevie Caballero, to name a few -- also have side gigs playing in bands. But perhaps more importantly, several action sports brands are either launching their own record labels or teaming up with established labels to co-brand albums.

For example, Santa Fe Springs-based Vans Inc. launched Vans Records in March, and Costa...