Erskine Forde, commonly known as Skin, was raised in a strict West Indian household in the semidesert valley of Kamloops, B.C. Surrounded by sagebrush covered mountains, majestic lakes, lush orchards and set against the soundtrack of 1960’s soul music from his father’s record collection he developed a passion for reading and a natural gift for writing. Skin’s restless imagination made him a stranger to sleep from an early age and his nights were spent devouring books or listening to prime time TV shows on the radio. The late night darkness became an opening frame where he would imagine his own scenes accompanied by the voices of some of televisions biggest stars.

A chance encounter resulted in a 20-year-old Skin working as a stand-in on a film with Laurence Fishburne, Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen. This introductory experience of being on a film set was a new catalyst for his soaring imagination and he soon found himself working with Vancouver’s Sepia Players Theatre, where he wrote and directed three plays. A desire for more intricate storytelling and his love of music lured Skin from theatre to music video’s and commercials where he began working his way up the Assistant Director ladder and it wasn’t long before Skin was writing and directing music video concepts.

Eager for more opportunities to direct, Skin moved first to Toronto and then to South East Asia where he worked as a 1st Assistant Director on international spots with Directors from around the world. His time overseas saw him win awards for Best Copy in 2005 and a Kancil Award in 2014 for his work with Honda before eventually finding his rightful place in the Director’s chair creating films for both Unilever and Malaysian property conglomerate, YTL Corporation. Having returned to Toronto, Skin currently works on NBC’s Suits as a 1st Assistant Director while continuing to craft his own projects for the large screen.