| 1988 |
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 Donald Cassel invents and introduces the worlds first skateboard kingpin designed specifically for grinds. Since it is a "grinding kingpin", he shortens the name to Grind King. |
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| 1989 |
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 Invention of the bridgebolt makes Grind King more known as an innovative company. |
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| 1990 |
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 Started to design the first truck with the intention of having the kingpin on the reverse side to be completely out of the way of grinds. |
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| 1991 |
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 After almost a year of tinkering and testing, the idea of a reverse side kingpin was (fortunately) abandoned and in September the first Grind King truck was introduced to the market. The truck was different in that it had a hollow curved baseplate that was extremely strong yet very lightweight. The axles on this truck had a problem of slipping after being ridden for a while. |
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| 1992 |
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To solve the problem of slipping axles, the GK2 was introduced. This very innovative truck had a floating axle that slid back and forth with no resistance.  This prevented the problem of having the axle getting stuck to one side but created another problem of vibration and a rattling noise that was very irritating. The axles also had internal threads at the ends to hold the wheels on..Although that worked and looked super cool, it was not an industry standard that would be accepted and shops did not want to have to deal with the different parts and special tool that would be necessary to service that design. That plus the fact it still had the old four hole base plate pattern right when the industry decided to switch to the new four hole pattern was a death nail for that design. Quickly that same year Donald went back to the drawing board and came out with the GK3. |
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| 1993 |
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 The GK3 is the first successful truck from Grind King. It was the lightest truck out there and had an axle that was guaranteed not to slip. This was accomplished by casting the axle into the hanger rather than pressing it in as was the standard at the time. Now all trucks follow this method. The hanger on this truck proved to be not quite strong enough for hardcore skaters. |
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| 1994 |
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The GK4 was a refinement of all the issues at that time including a stronger hanger. By then Grind King had established itself as a legitimate truck company known for being innovative. Introduction of colored base plates and an ad campaign that emphasized the technical advantages of the GK trucks led to a drastic increase in sales. |
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| 1996 |
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 The GK5 truck is introduced with minor changes such as the logo and its location, A higher axle model was also added to the line called the High 5. The GK5 continued to remain a good seller and raised the brand popularity for the next few years. |
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| 1999 |
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 A completely redesigned and new looking GK6 is released with refinements in every part except the nuts and washers. This truck really solidified Grind King as a top contender in the truck world. |
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| 2000 |
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 Grind King develops the worlds first Kustom graphic truck. Flames, skulls, the U.S. flag, camouflage, and other graphics add a unique look to really make Grind King trucks stand out. It takes years for other trucks to figure out a way to copy this innovation and jump on the bandwagon. Another major side project that was launched this year was Kre-per trucks. This new truck company from Grind King was heralded the "anti-truck" because of the dramatic look of it. The first truck to really step out of the that looked like a bat wing. It turned out to be very controversial and had a sort of cultish type following.box in terms of a new look that featured a skull in the baseplate and a radically sculpted hanger. |
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| 2001 |
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 The Grind King AXL truck is unveiled as the flagship model truck. This truck was the pinnacle of Donald’s truck innovations. The AXL featured a V-beam axle that was flattened and bent down to form a sort of V shape with holes through the flattened area. This not only accomplished an axle that was impossible to slip, but also made it stronger and lighter. The bent shape allowed for more grinds before one would grind down to the axle. A special sleeve-nut was also developed to stabilize the kingpin and to keep the nut in place. The truck was extremely light yet surprisingly strong for its radical outside appearance that had a lot of holes in it. |
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| 2002 |
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 Donald invents Rims. These were special nuts that not only held the wheels on, but incorporated a large flange that covered the wheel bearings. This design prevented dirt from getting into the bearings as well as from common tool damage from dented bearing seals. The biggest reason for there success though was that they looked cool, with four different patterns of rims to choose from.
 The Grind King Titanium truck is introduced as the lightest truck ever with a titanium kingpin and axle. The truck sell relatively well even though is is twice the cost of others.
 A Jay Adams Signature pool skater truck is released. This is the first of the signature trucks that now has become another trend in skate trucks. |
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| 2003 |
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 The Gk7 truck hits the market. This truck is a refinement of the GK6, which also came standard with the exclusive kingpin sleeve-nut. This was a very solid and mid-height truck. |
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| 2004 |
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 A completely new looking street truck is brought in to cater to the vast majority of street skaters. This truck called "the low" featured a new more suitable geometry and lower axle height combined with lightweight. A very engineered and tested nose slider baseplate is a prominent feature of this truck. The development of this truck was more focused on the skate teams input. |
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| 2005 |
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 Based on the style of the well accepted low truck, this year came "the mid" truck. This truck was more focused on all terrain riding and the geometry was better for turning and less wheel bite. |
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| 2006 |
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 The long awaited AXL II truck is finially unveiled and has more innovations than any truck Donald Cassel has ever designed. The sexy fluid shape of it combined with unique performance features put this truck in a category of it’s own. Not only did this truck have the V-beam axle and sleeve nut, but featured the first truck ever to include dual-durometer bushings, and the patented radial bushing seats that add noticible improvements in rebound and recentering.
 Dub Series trucks are also introduced as the first trucks to have axle nuts that have bearing protection as well as a steel covering to protect the axle threads at each end. |
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| 2007 |
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New technological developments in Kustom graphics are now pushing the boundaries to what can be done as well as a whole new slew of exciting graphics are in the pipeline. Not to mention some top secret new developments are on the way! |
...Stay tuned. |
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