Rodney Smith is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and skate company founder from New York City.
[2] Shortly after its founding, Shut Skates moved its operations from Southern California to New York City, due to the urban, street-savvy attitude of the streets of the East Coast, compared to the former's emphasis on surf culture.
The brand went dark in the 1990s when Smith co-founded Zoo York with Eli Morgan Gessner and Adam Schatz.
SHUT relaunched in 2006, and in 2007, the company reopened their flagship skate shop on the Lower East Side.
[3] In 1993, Smith, Eli Morgan Gesner, and Adam Schatz founded Zoo York.