Eric Koston Net Worth

What is Eric Koston's Net Worth?

Eric Koston is a Thai-born American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $12 million.

Eric Koston is widely considered one of the most influential street skateboarders of all time. Known for his smooth style, technical precision, humor, and competitive dominance, Koston helped define modern street skating through landmark video parts, major contest wins, signature shoes, and business ventures. He has been sponsored by some of the most important brands in skateboarding and sneakers, including Girl Skateboards, éS, Lakai, Nike SB, Spitfire, and Supreme. He also co-founded Fourstar Clothing with Guy Mariano and co-founded The Berrics with Steve Berra, turning a private indoor skatepark into one of skateboarding's most important media platforms. Koston's wealth has come from decades of sponsorships, pro-model boards, signature shoes, royalties, brand ownership, media ventures, licensing, video-game appearances, and investments rather than from contest winnings alone.

Early Life

Eric Koston was born on April 29, 1975, in Bangkok, Thailand. His father was American, and his mother was Thai. His family moved to the United States when he was still very young, and he was raised in San Bernardino, California.

Koston began skateboarding in the mid-1980s, during a period when street skating was evolving rapidly. By his teens, he was already standing out for a mix of technical consistency and natural style. He turned pro in the early 1990s and quickly became part of the generation that changed skateboarding from a ramp-dominated sport into a street-driven culture.

Skateboarding Career

Koston's early sponsors included H-Street and 101 Skateboards, but his career reached a new level when he joined Girl Skateboards. Girl became one of the defining companies of the 1990s skate scene, and Koston became one of its central riders. His video parts in projects such as "Goldfish," "Mouse," "The Chocolate Tour," "Yeah Right!," and "Pretty Sweet" helped shape the way street skating was filmed, studied, and copied.

Koston's skating was known for its combination of difficulty and effortlessness. He could make advanced tricks look casual, and he had a rare ability to succeed in both video parts and contests. He won major events including X Games gold, Tampa Pro, Gravity Games, and other high-profile competitions. In an era before Olympic skateboarding and modern million-dollar prize-purse marketing, Koston was one of the few street skaters whose contest record matched his video reputation.

He also became a major presence in skateboarding video games, appearing in multiple titles from the "Tony Hawk" and "Skate" franchises. Those appearances introduced him to younger fans who may not have first discovered him through traditional skate videos.

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Signature Shoes and Nike SB

Footwear has been one of the most important financial pillars of Koston's career. Before Nike, he was closely associated with éS Footwear, where his pro models became some of the most respected skate shoes of the late 1990s and 2000s. He later rode for Lakai, another important skater-owned footwear company tied to the Girl and Chocolate ecosystem.

In 2009, Koston joined Nike SB, a major move in both his career and Nike's skateboarding history. His Nike SB signature shoes included the Koston 1, Koston 2, and Koston 3 Hyperfeel, and he has continued to work with Nike on special releases and heritage-inspired models. For a skateboarder, a long Nike relationship is one of the clearest signs of top-tier earning power. Signature shoes bring base compensation, royalties, global visibility, and long-term brand value.

Koston's role at Nike SB also went beyond simply wearing shoes. He contributed design input and helped bridge skate culture with sneaker culture, making him valuable not just as an athlete, but as a tastemaker.

Business Ventures

Koston co-founded Fourstar Clothing with Guy Mariano in the 1990s. The brand became one of the key apparel companies connected to the Girl/Chocolate/Crailtap universe and was worn by many of the era's most influential skateboarders.

He was also associated with Lakai, the footwear company founded by Mike Carroll and Rick Howard, and later co-founded The Berrics with Steve Berra. The Berrics began as a private indoor skatepark in Los Angeles, but it became a major online media platform through daily skate content, original series, interviews, trick features, and the "Battle at the Berrics" game-of-S.K.A.T.E. contest. For years, it was one of the most trafficked and culturally relevant skateboarding websites in the world.

Koston was also part of the group of action-sports figures connected to Saint Archer Brewing, the San Diego craft-beer brand that was sold to MillerCoors in 2015. His exact stake and payout were not publicly disclosed, but the sale likely added to his overall business income.

Personal Life

Koston has kept much of his personal life relatively private, though he has long been known for his dry humor and playful personality. He has a daughter and has spoken over the years about family life, surfing, sneakers, golf, and the challenge of staying active as a professional skateboarder ages.

Real Estate

In September 2007, Eric paid $2 millon for a home in Los Angeles. He sold this home in January 2024 for $4.8 million

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