Rick, Mike, and Lakai Bid Farewell After 25 Years

"Hard to put 25 years into words or a paragraph," they began. "We want to take this moment to THANK EVERYONE that rode the Flare, held the Flare, waved the Flare, and shared the Flare. What a run with the best humans, wouldn’t have done it any other way. Until we meet again." 

Lakai videos—from their groundbreaking full-lengths like Fully Flared to their tour videos like (my personal favorite) Beware of the Flare and literally everything before, after and in between—always made me feel like I was somehow a part of the squad, you know? They were always fun, personal and the skating obviously spoke for itself. 

25 years is no small feat, especially when you're constantly fighting giants, but Lakai always kept the flare lit. All good things must come to an end, and while it's never the right time, I'm excited to see what's next either way.

Carroll hopped on Instagram giving a little more straightforward of a message, but we wouldn't expect anything else from one of the realest in the game:

"All I’ll say is that on October 29th, Rick and I were let go from Lakai by the new owner because we refused to cut the team," he wrote. "I feel like we failed the team and everyone who loved and worked for Lakai. For that, I’m sorry to everyone I love. I appreciate all of you and thank all who supported Lakai and everyone we crossed paths with over the last 25 years."

Gone but never forgotten, the new powers that be can try and take the brand from its rightful owners but they'll never be able to do what Mike, Rick and everyone involved at Lakai have done over the last two-plus decades. 

It's a bittersweet goodbye, but we'll all have the videos, memories and some bangin' shoes to look back on for years to come. We salute you, Rick and Mike. Thanks for everything.