Adam Arunski is one of my favorite skateboarders. His work ethic is something to admire. His talent is undeniable. And he’s just a straight up skate nerd, like most of us are. Simply put—the dude loves skateboarding and it shows. Off the board, that same passion and drive can be found in all of his other hobbies, including running his brand, Sloth Materials, which is actually why we’re here.
Arunski’s got a full plate these days—and he’s making it look easy. I mean, how many people do you know who juggle being a pro skater, a skateboard-slanger, a small-business hustler, and still manage to hit the road, travel, and actually enjoy life? It’s a lot to balance, but Adam handles it all like a true professional.
I caught up with Adam recently to learn more about how Sloth came to be, what the future is looking like, and what life has been looking like so far in 2025. Let’s get it.
Related: Adam Arunski Is Officially Pro For Zero Skateboards
So, for those who might not know, let’s get the basics outta the way real quick—where are you from, how old are you, how long have you been skating and what do you do for a living?
Ohio born, Arizona raised. I’m 35 now. Started skating around ’99… so yeah it’s been over 25 years that I’ve been falling down and getting up again. For a living, I skateboard as much as I can and sell skateboards to a skate shops across the United States for ZERO.
Alright—let’s talk Sloth. Tell me why you chose the name, for one. And what inspired you to start a company? Do you consider it a “skate” company? Or is it for everyone?
Sloth Sleep Materials was the original name. I wanted to make just sleeping and lounging-related products. Not wanting to feel any restrictions, it just became Sloth Materials… There are multiple reasons I liked the name Sloth. One, is being a term for laziness. Which after many years of doing nothing with a vague idea for the brand, seemed to fit the bill. It also is one of the 7 deadly sins. Paradise Lost and Dante’s Inferno were big inspirations for the look and feel. The Materials portion was taken from my favorite novel “His Dark Materials”. I also just loved the strength and flexibility of the word ‘Materials’.
Starting a brand was just a way to get some very specific creative interests out that I had brewing in my head that I didn’t see fit anywhere else. It really wasn’t intended to be a skateboard brand but being a skateboarder it’s always going to seep into those roots and use those connections. I intended it to be more broad for sure. Blending music, mythology, and comfort. It’s probably not for everyone honestly [laughs]. I think Sloth is lurking in it’s own niche corner.
Related: Look: Adam Arunski’s New ‘Turquoise Single Skull’ Zero Deck Just Dropped
Are you the one coming up with the designs and marketing? Tell me about that process. What’s the best and worst part about running a small brand? Or, maybe not the “worst” but what are some of the struggles most folks might not realize?
Yeah for sure. Everything you see is me just fumbling along a path picking up sticks and dropping other sticks. I do everything. So the struggles I have running a brand are that I have to do EVERYTHING. The best part is getting to do anything I want when I want. I get to make the things I see in my head come to life and that to me is the best part. There are no limits to what I can do with it.
The worst part would be that I often struggle with doing the most basic of things. For example, learning illustrator and those tiny details behind the scenes were the biggest delay of starting up. Things like…how do you make a vector logo? How do you take something and put it on a shirt? How do you change colors of that thing? How do you build a tech pack? It’s not just going from A to B to start. It’s more like going from A to Z. There’s a lot more to it all than I anticipated.
Related: Adam Arunski’s ‘Anti-Depressants’ Video Part You Don’t Want to Miss
I had all the thoughts everyone does when they want to start something of their own. Wanting to do literally everything myself. Screen my own products, hand sew pillow cases, and pour my own candles. Sourcing blanks was difficult. Finding a company that would sell me wholesale prices without having a proper resale license was a big hurdle. I quickly learned that wasn’t going to be for me. So outsourcing for those tasks was what I went with once I found a screen printer and embroider shop willing to work with my small requests.
Time and consistency are also some of the hardest things for me to manage to operate Sloth properly. I’m distracted a lot by skateboarding and being lazy at the end of the day.
Well, that’s certainly understandable. Is this the first company you’ve started?
Yes. It’s the gateway drug for sure. It won’t be the last I don’t think. I constantly have other ideas I want to do that don’t necessarily fit Sloth’s image even. The early embers of an idea are so intoxicating.
On that subject, I know the brand is new—how long have you been doing Sloth and how have things been going, generally speaking? Are you also doing sales, fulfilling orders, hitting up shops, etc.?
It’s relatively new in a sense.. It’s going slow but I see the potential. I have moments that I focus on it a lot and make some sales, and then I get busy with Zero or life stuff and it falls into purgatory. So yes, a one man show is definitely the case here.
Did you start the brand because you felt like there was something missing out there in the industry/world, or is it just a fun passion project, like, “Hey…why not?”
2016 is when I first came up with the joke that I was gonna start a sweatpant company. It sounded funny. At the time, it didn’t feel like that was a hot commodity. I floated around that idea for years jotting down names and concepts. I was starting to get serious about it in 2019 but never acted on it. The pandemic hit in 2020 and I saw every brand I followed making dope sweatpants to chill in and I got extremely mad at myself for not acting on it before. I’m not pretending that nobody was making sweatpants before this, but it really started to boom around then with everyone staying home is all.
When I got that first stimulus check, I put it all into making Sloth a reality. I spent hours every night just researching fonts, pouring myself into learning the programs, designing logos, sourcing clothing samples. Simply, creating the brand I imagined, and doing so all in secret. The funny thing was that after 2020 I fell into a depression and lost the drive to put it out. So I stopped working on it, stored everything in my garage, and kept it hidden for the next few years. I finally committed to it again in 2023. That’s when I made the website public and told people it existed.
Related: Watch: Zero Skateboards’ Latest Video ‘Heaven’s Gate’ Playing Now
Crazy, I had no idea! I know you’ve done some apparel drops as well. Do you have plans to do more stuff like that? Socks and sweatpants rule. If you are looking to expand more, tell me a little bit more about that if you can. I will say this—the candles are super dope.
[Laughs] Yes! The mini-candles and Bic lighters were the first thing I actually got produced. But Sloth Socks have been the newest and biggest investment that I’ve made towards the brand; making it my main focus for a few months now. Socks also felt like I wasn’t competing with that many others if I were to get into any shops. (Shoutout to my 3 accounts: Freedom Boardshop in Mesa, AZ, Sidewalk Surfer in Scottsdale, AZ, and Eastern Revival in Painesville, Ohio.) When I get people to wear them, I’ve had multiple folks say they’re the best socks they own and that makes me extremely happy because I didn’t just buy a blank, I worked with a manufacturer to produce the sock I wanted to wear for the rest of my life.
Having said all that, I had a whole slew of blank garments in my garage still from that 2020 buying spree. And I decided to make all those finally! I’ve got embroidered hoodies, t-shirts, pillowcases and beanies all coming out this week. It’s a really cool drop that I’m excited to finally bring to life. So please check ’em out now if you read this! Website: www.slothgoods.com and follow along on Instagram @slothmaterials.
Very dope. Where do you hope to see the brand in, say, 5 years from now? What are some of the things you’re trying to accomplish? Or, in fairness, are you just going with the flow?
Oh I’m going with the flow everyday. I’d like to be more routined in the social marketing aspect. Producing content that feels worth posting is hard. I don’t know how to make socks that interesting to look at over and over again [laughs]. If I just keep messing around with it every day, it’ll all work out.
Related: Skater’s Favorite Skater: Adam Arunski
On Instagram, the bio says, “Comfortable merchandise for an imaginary world.” I like that. In your mind, what are you saying there?
Maybe it just means that I wanna make stuff that Link from Zelda would be into.
Okay, so you’re a professional skateboarder, you have a full-time gig at the Zero HQ, you’re still skating/progressing constantly and now you also run a business. Where do you find the time to do it all? Is it hard to balance these responsibilities? And what keeps you inspired to do so?
I find it incredibly difficult to balance everything I want to do. I think the method that works best for me is putting 100% of effort into something for a small period of time and then coasting on the residue for a bit while I do the other stuff until it’s time to work on that thing again. Does that make sense? [laughs]
That makes perfect sense! I feel that, for sure. Well, since we’re here, what else do you have planned this year? Whether Sloth-related or not?
More Sloth drops will be in the future. I have a new pro model ‘Dragon’ graphic dropping this weekend on ZERO that I’m extremely hyped on! There will be some signed gold editions that are looking beautiful! Trying to skate more and feel comfortable on my board. Film when it feels good and not be pressured by it. I do have a bunch of old VX footage that was leftover stuff from the Damn It All era that I made into a part. I find it entertaining enough to watch so that will be something I would like to finally put out this year. There’s a short Fallen video in the works and I might have some tricks in, if i’m lucky. Oh, I got a pro wheel supposed to come out with PIG this summer! Thats a pretty sick dream-come-true for me. Shout out Dermbot for that one! Yeah, just keep skating and staying positive.
What would you tell a kid out there who wants to start their own brand in a similar fashion as you?
Nothing will be perfect. So if you have an idea, act on it now. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Adrian Lopez told me that.
Related: Look: Zero Skateboards Drops New ‘Fast Times’ Board Series—Hitting Skateshops Now
Okay, few quick strike questions to end this:
Favorite skate video?
Videoradio, Sorry, New Blood, Lurkfest…
Favorite skater?
Arto Saari and Nick Trapasso
Favorite band/musician?
This one is hard. Currently I’ll go with the boys in Beartooth
Favorite movie?
Midnight in Paris
Go-to dinner meal?
Buffalo Wings or a New York Strip
Best van/road-trip snack?
Liquid Death and sour gummy worms mixed with pretzels
Favorite trick?
Kickflips are sick
Least favorite trick?
Not sure I have a least favorite. Gotta Catch ’em all
Dream skate destination?
Norway
Zero or die?
Zero til Death
Thanks, Adam!
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Follow Sloth on Instagram: @slothmaterials
Hit their website and peep the new gear: slothgoods.com
Go buy Adam’s pro model: zeroskateboards.com
