Shred Games Creator Lynne Ruttkay: Behind the Podcast

First time producer-director and Shred Games creator, Lynne Ruttkay, has produced a 12-episode audio fiction podcast series, "Shred Games: The Legend of Kid Z," that has been years in the making.

That is an understatement.

Hi, I’m Lynne.

I was trained in screenwriting by Robert McKee and through the Act One Program in Hollywood. My background, however, is as an independent action sports apparel artist for the surf, skateboard, and snowboard industry. I have been doing that for the past 30 years. It’s been a lot of fun.

I began working as art director in San Diego, CA in 1988 for Larry Gordon, owner of Gordon and Smith, (aka.,G&S Skateboards as seen in the Lords of Dogtown film.) I’ve been very privileged to get know so many athletes, artists, musicians and writers in the surf, skate, snowboard culture since then. Writers and artist like Chris Ahrens and Wade Koniakowsky, Rick Rietveld, Eric Gordon, Neil Blender, Glenn Gravett, Erik Abel.  Many of the athletes from the original G&S went on to start their own companies --Chris Miller with Planet Earth, Rusty Surfboards, Mike Hill and Chris Carter with Alien Workshop, Danny Way with DCShoes, and of course Rob Dyrek. I pretty much stayed in the background, not into notoriety much, just enjoying the whole thing.

Since 1995, I’ve worked as an independent apparel artist in Southern California, freelancing for just about every brand from Quiksliver to Airwalk to Billabong to Arbor Snowboards. I also worked with Thom Hill co-founder of Iron & Resin for many years on his first business, “Coastal Classics.”

My friend, Mike Hill began designing paper mache sculptures that he would photograph and use for sublimation graphics on skateboard decks for Alien Workshop. I was always impressed by how much the skateboard community was into art. The inspiration to write a story began back then really, but it wasn’t until 2013 that a group of us did a Kickstarter hoping to produce an independent animated film, which eventually led to a production quality YA fiction audio podcast.

In 2025, “Shred Games: The Legend of Kid Z” was released as a 12-episode audio podcast series. It can be described as “Willy Wonka meets action sports, meets C.S. Lewis, meets Princess Bride.” It's like an audio comic. And since it is completely audio, you really get to use your imagination. And that’s a good thing.

I’m a believer in Jesus Christ. And I’ve discovered that the profound truth of the extraordinary love of God through Christ continually changes me. I can use the word “joy” or I can describe how those who know that love have an unbreakable bond even though they have never met. It’s undeniable that I want others to know that joy. It seems simple to share and yet it’s not so simple. So, I considered writers like C.S. Lewis with his Chronicles of Narnia, and the idea that we as people need to “discover” truth for ourselves. I think that’s how it works. So, whether its humor that cracks you up or a slice of beautiful truth, I tried to write this story in such a way that you could hear it over and over and always find something new to discover.

I hope you enjoy “Shred Games: The Legend of Kid Z.”

-Lynne Ruttkay

Lynne Ruttkay - Creator of Shred Games