The skate world was largely introduced to the art of Don Pendleton through his prolific 7-year run at Alien Workshop. The likes of Rob Dyrdek, Heath Kirchart, Danny Way, Jason Dill, Steve Berra and many more all lent their names to Pendleton’s skateboard artwork through Alien Workshop. More recently, Pendleton created a run of skateboard decks for Paul Rodriguez’s Primitive brand.

If you’re not a skate rat from the late ’90s/early ’00s and you have no idea what Alien Workshop is, you’ve probably encountered Pendleton’s artwork through his many endeavors outside of skateboarding. Pendleton has worked on projects ranging wide and far from Pearl Jam album covers to music posters for bands such as Primus, The Pixies and Flight of The Conchords. But that’s not all: murals in West Virginia, Vans shoes, beer cans and eclectic enamel pins all adorn the artwork of Don Pendleton. And of course, there’s us at X Games too.

A few years ago, X Games tapped Pendleton to design a t-shirt graphic for X Games Minneapolis. Don obliged, then returned this year to design the medals for X Games Real Street. With the launch of Real Street quickly approaching, Brando’s World of X caught up with Don at home to discuss his artistic roots, working with Rob Dyrdek and what goes into designing an original medal for X Games.

Look for more of Don’s artwork HERE.