Never work when you do what you love

Artist Series: Eagle Barber

Eagle Barber - a longtime friend of Freeman - is the Art Director and Brand Manager at Madrid Skateboards. A former resident of Seattle with a background in filmmaking and graphic design, he’s spent years combining art with passion through skateboarding, music and graphic design.

From the DIY music scene to DC Shoes and now Madrid Skateboards (and many more stops along the way), Eagle’s built a career by staying true to what he loves, something we strive for at Freeman.

At Madrid, Eagle leads the brand’s visual direction. He’s the mind behind board graphics, apparel, and artist collabs. His style blends hand-drawn illustration with graphic precision, pulling from skate culture, tattoo tradition and West Coast iconography resulting in an aesthetic uniquely his own.

Madrid Skateboards has built skateboards in the United States since the 1970s. Based in Huntington Beach, they’re one of the last U.S. manufacturers still doing everything in-house and by hand.  Madrid has maintained their focus on craft through decades of change, and this has cemented them in skate history (along with supplying Marty McFly’s board in Back to the Future).

Recently, Chrissie Good photographed Eagle at Madrid HQ wearing some of Eagle’s favorite Freeman pieces, including the Studio Pant in Charcoal; Weathervane Shirt in Olive Twill and Hemp Chambray; and Essential Tee in Sand.