The name: Malchus
Malchus is Hebrew for "my king". Malchus was the servant of the high priest at the time of Christ's arrest. Malchus came as an enemy of the very King for whom he was named. Malchus had no motive but to murder his Maker.
Peter in his misguided zeal moved to kill Malchus to protect Christ. Though Christ could have called down legions of angels for His security, He chose to be arrested peacefully. Peter's will was not God's will. So Christ did as Christ does: he healed Malchus.
"When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave's name was Malchus. But Jesus answered and said, "Stop!" No more of this." And He touched his ear and healed him." (from Jesus the Messiah according to the Gospels by Nathanael Ben-Yehoshua Alrabí, p. 205)
Skaters often experience the rejection by society and the Church much of what Malchus received from Peter. So naturally skaters tend to hate society, churches, authority, rules, and even Christ. They approach these institutions as Malchus approached Christ. Our heart and hope is to reconcile skaters to Christ and the Church to skaters. Our hope is that the Church will respond to skaters not as Peter did to Malchus but as Christ did.
The icons: Crown
Malchus had three choices as to how to respond to Christ's mercy.
The first and best option: respond to Christ's literal healing by receiving spiritual regeneration. Accept Christ for who He is and crown Him with the crown He deserves. Call Him King of your life. Honor Him above all things. Glorify Him in your words and deeds. Enthrone Him on your praises.
The icons: Crown of Thorns and Crucifixion
The second option: respond to Christ's calling as the Roman soldiers did. Pretend to consider Him king, but deny your Lord by how you dishonor Him. Crown Him with a crown of thorns by calling yourself a Christian though you have no intention of crowning Him as He deserves. If you call yourself a Christian and you have truly not given Him your heart and your life, you are doing exactly as the Roman soldiers did.
The icons: Skull
The third option: respond to Christ's mercy by doing absolutely nothing differently than before. This is certain death. Life without Christ will result in an eternity without Him. This is the second death.
But the skull icon has so many other applications in skate ministry:
Christ was crucified on a hill called Golgotha. This name is from the Aramaic word meaning "skull". While it might seem to the world that we embrace something that seems to dishonor Christ, we actually intend to honor Him by acknowledging His death for us. For "(we) have determined to know nothing among men but Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2)
Skateboarding culture is immersed in such imagery. It is so commonplace to see skulls and skeletons and other such things macabre in skateboarding that it's actually more of a shock to be absent than to be present. Other ministries have even said that they will not use or associate with Christian brands that use skulls or skeletons in their graphics. We ask "why not?" We say that our God is the very God who created these bones for His glory. Our God intimately knit them together for our use while we were still in our mothers' wombs. Our God's greatest signature is mankind as we are made in His image. We refuse to turn over to Satan's use something he has co-opted illegitimately.
Lastly, we want to tell skaters that they don't have to abandon skateboarding and its culture to come to Christ. There is nothing more honorific of our King than living a life in Christ no longer afraid of death. Come Lord Jesus! Skate with us!