Inside the complex and misunderstood world of professional street skateboarding On a sunny Sunday in Los Angeles, a crew of skaters and videographers watch as one of them attempts to land a "heel flip" over a fire hydrant on a sidewalk in front of the Biltmore Hotel. A staff member of the hotel demands they leave and picks up his phone to call the police.Not only does the skater land the trick, but he does so quickly, and spares everyone the unwanted stress of having to deal with the cops. This is not an uncommon occurrence in skateboarding, which is illegal in most American cities and this interaction is just part of the process of being a professional street skater. This is just one of Gregory Snyder's experiences from eight years inside the world of professional street skateboarding: a highly refined, athletic and aesthetic pursuit, from which a large number of people profit. Skateboarding LA details the history of skateboarding, describes basic and complex tricks, tours some of LA's most famous spots, and provides an enthusiastic appreciation of this dangerous and creative practice. Particularly concerned with public spaces, Snyder shows that skateboarding offers cities much more than petty vandalism and exaggerated claims of destruction. Rather, skateboarding draws highly talented young people from around the globe to skateboarding cities, building a diverse and wide-reaching community of skateboarders, filmmakers, photographers, writers, and entrepreneurs. Snyder also argues that as stewards of public plazas and parks, skateboarders deter homeless encampments and drug dealers. In one stunning case, skateboarders transformed the West LA Courthouse, with Nike's assistance, into a skateable public space. Through interviews with current and former professional skateboarders, Snyder vividly expresses their passion, dedication and creativity. Especially in relation to the city's architectural features-ledges, banks, gaps, stairs and handrails-they are constantly re-imagining and repurposing these urban spaces in order to perform their ever-increasingly difficult tricks. For anyone interested in this dynamic and daunting activity, Skateboarding LA is an amazing ride.

Modern roller derby has been theorised as a gendered leisure context, offering women opportunities for empowerment and growth, and enabling them to carve a space for themselves in sport. No longer a women-only sport, roller derby is now played by all genders and has been heralded as a model of inclusivity within sport. Identity, Belonging, and Community in Men's Roller Derby offers an insight into how men's roller derby culture is created and maintained, how members forge an identity for themselves and their team, and how they create feelings of belonging and inclusivity. Through in-depth ethnographic study of a specific, localised roller derby community, this book examines how practices of skills capital intersect with different configurations of masculinity in a continual struggle between traditional and inclusive models of sport. An interrogation of the ways a DIY sport can be seen to be achieved, experienced, and understood in everyday practice, this book will appeal to scholars of men, masculinities, and sport. Additionally, the methodological discussions will be of value to ethnographers and researchers who have had to deal with a disruptive presence.

Join photographer and skater Andreanna Seymore on her fearless journey through the world of roller derby, beginning with her serendipitous introduction to the sport in 2008. Modern roller derby is a vibrant, empowering, and revolutionary movement transitioning from obscure subculture to mainstream pastime on both a national, as well as global, stage. Action-packed and emotionally provocative photographs taken over a five-year period reveal the joy, pain, and dedication of these athletes on and off the track. Enriched by riveting and often touching commentary from nearly one hundred skaters, coaches, fans, and referees, this book captures the daring, entrepreneurial spirit of the participants, the extraordinary bonds that form, and the invigorating and infectious fanaticism that characterizes every bout. An increasing number of male, co-ed, and junior leagues all share a strong, do-it-yourself ethic that combines fierce athleticism with elements from punk, camp, and third-wave feminist aesthetics. In part because of this non-discriminatory nature, roller derby is currently the fastest growing sport in America."

Sophie Friedel explores the action of skateboarding in her book as a way to escape cycles of despair, not only in war torn environments and regions affected by poverty. The author critically reflects on her involvements of teaching skateboarding in Afghanistan within the context of youth empowerment and peace work. By way of personal experiences, Friedel illustrates how skateboarding can be understood as an elicitive approach to peace work and conflict transformation that unfolds the extraordinary human potential inherent to all of us.

In January 2012, creative writing professor and novelist Kyle Beachy published one of his first essays on skate culture, an exploration of how Nike's corporate strategy successfully gutted the once-mighty independent skate shoe market. Beachy has since established himself as skate culture's freshest, most illuminating, at times most controversial voice, writing candidly about the increasingly popular and fast-changing pastime he first picked up as a young boy and has continued to practice well into adulthood. What is skateboarding? What does it mean to continue skateboarding after the age of forty, four decades after the kickflip was invented? How does one live authentically as an adult while staying true to a passion cemented in childhood? How does skateboarding shape one's understanding of contemporary American life? Of growing old and getting married? Contemplating these questions and more, Beachy offers a deep exploration of a pastime-often overlooked, regularly maligned-whose seeming simplicity conceals universal truths. THE MOST FUN THING is both a rich account of a hobby and a collection of the lessons skateboarding has taught Beachy-and what it continues to teach him as he struggles to find space for it as an adult, a professor, and a husband.

'captures the sensation of flight and movement within heavy, confining spaces, and the sweeping colors of the boards, the graffiti, and the riders as they fly between the gray sky and grayer pavement' -The New Yorker Skateboarding in New York City is a singular experience. It is impossible not to feel the magnitude of the landscape, and with the city in constant motion, skateboarding is both exhilarating and extremely dangerous. There is no right or wrong way to navigate this vast terrain. Only one thing is certain - the skaters and images produced in New York City are wholly unique. The shots in Full Bleed span 30 years, with contributions from over 40 photographers. This tenth anniversary edition is a comprehensive overview of one of the most diverse and rich skating locations in the world, bringing together legendary skaters and iconic photographers. Featuring the work of: Giovanni Reda, Jessica Bard, Ivory Serra, Tobin Yelland, Miki Vuckovich, Thomas Campbell, Larry Clark, Ed Templeton, Jerry Hsu, Atiba Jefferson, Bryce Knights, Angela Boatwright, Athena Currey, Kenneth Cappello, Charlie Samuels, Andy Kessler, Mike O'Meally, Sammy Glucksman, Allen Ying, and more. Edited by Ivory Serra, Alex Corporan, Andre Razo

In ever-increasing numbers, girls and women are gathering at skate parks and competing in skateboarding events on nearly every continent. In stunning photographs of remarkable female skaters in action, this book celebrates the incredible range of styles, ethnicities, and ages that make up a rapidly growing community. Skate Like a Girl features professional skaters, pioneers and newcomers, skate photographers and filmmakers, downhill skateboarders, longboarders, and gold medalists. You'll meet skaters who are moms, models, artists, and engineers. What they all have in common is that skating is their way of life. Hailing from all over the world, each woman is profiled in her own words of wisdom about going after her dreams, falling hard, and getting right back up. Filled with empowering images and inspiring words, this book will encourage girls and women of every age to get on a board and shred!

Sweeping contest wins since the age of thirteen, Gonzales quickly went from teen star to skate legend when he took to the streets. Widely revered as the inventor of street skating and for his groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind style, throughout the years Gonz has remained one of the most prolific innovators in skateboarding. Today he rides for iconic brands Supreme, Adidas, and Krooked and has cemented his place in skateboard and pop-culture history. Hailed for a sense of fearlessness and creativity that has influenced skaters around the world, Gonz s talents stretch far beyond the skate orbit. His long-standing collaborations with brands including Adidas, Supreme, Thrasher, RETROSUPERFUTURE, JanSport, and Etudes, all gathered in this volume, showcase his rebellious vision. This is the first comprehensive book devoted to the Gonz s pioneering work in skateboarding as well as streetwear, fashion, and art a bold collection of work straight from the mind of the artist, as seen through exclusive work by the creator of some of his most iconic images, Sem Rubio. Much of the book shows off his legendary tricks and a portfolio of his many worlds. With contributions by Hiroshi Fujiwara, KAWS, Ed Templeton, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Stan Smith, Gus Van Sant, and more, this indispensable volume gathers over thirty years of creation by a man widely recognized as the most influential skateboarder of all time.

From the hard-ridden half-pipe of a suburban driveway to teens doing boardslides down stairway handrails in Rio de Janeiro, from the bright-light glare of ESPN's X-Games to the groundbreaking street-skating videos of Spike Jonze, skateboarding has taken the world by storm -- and if you can't deal with that, get out of the way. In The Answer Is Never, skating journalist Jocko Weyland tells the rambunctious story of a rebellious sport that began as a wintertime surfing substitute on the streets of Southern California beach towns more than forty years ago and has evolved over the decades to become a fixture of urban youth culture around the world. Merging the historical development of the sport with passages about his own skating adventures in such wide-ranging places as Hawaii, Germany, and Cameroon, Weyland gives a fully realized portrait of a subculture whose love of free-flowing creativity and a distinctive antiauthoritarian worldview has inspired major trends in fashion, music, art, and film. Along the way, Weyland interweaves the stories of skating pioneers like Gregg Weaver and the Dogtown Z-Boys and living legends like Steve Caballero and Tony Hawk. He also charts the course of innovations in deck, truck, and wheel design to show how the changing boards changed the sport itself, enabling new tricks as skaters moved from the freestyle techniques that dominated the early days to the extreme street-skating style of today. Vivid and vibrant, The Answer Is Never is a fascinating book as radical and unique as the sport it chronicles.

This book explores the cultural, social, spatial, and political dynamics of skateboarding, drawing on contributions from leading international experts across a range of disciplines, such as sociology and philosophy of sport, architecture, anthropology, ecology, cultural studies, sociology, geography, and other fields. Part I critiques the ethos of skateboarding, its cultures and scenes, global trajectory, and the meanings it holds. Part II critically examines skateboarding in terms of space and sites, and Part III explores shifts that have occurred in skateboarding's history around mainstreaming, commercialization, professionalization, neoliberalization and creative cities.

Since 1935, roller derby has thrilled fans and skaters with its constant action, hard hits, and edgy attitude. However, though its participants' athleticism is undeniable, roller derby has never been accepted as a "real" sport. Michella M. Marino, herself a former skater, tackles the history of a sport that has long been a cultural mainstay for one reason both utterly simple and infinitely complex: roller derby has always been coed. Richly illustrated and drawing on oral histories, archival materials, media coverage, and personal experiences, Roller Derby is the first comprehensive history of this cultural phenomenon, one enjoyed by millions yet spurned by mainstream gatekeepers. Amid the social constraints of the mid-twentieth century, roller derby's emphasis on gender equality attracted male and female athletes alike, producing gender relations and gender politics unlike those of traditional sex-segregated sports. In an enlightening feminist critique, Marino considers how the promotion of pregnancy and motherhood by roller derby management has simultaneously challenged and conformed to social norms. Finally, Marino assesses the sport's present and future after its resurgence in the 2000s.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. How did the skateboard go from a menacing fad to an Olympic sport? Writer and skateboarder Jonathan Russell Clark answers this question by going straight to the sources: the skaters, photographers, commentators, and industry insiders who made such an unlikely rise to worldwide juggernaut possible. Skateboarders are their own historians, which means the real history of skating exists not in archives or texts but in a hodgepodge of random and iconic videos, tattered photographs, and, mostly, in the blurry memories of the people who lived through it all. From California beaches to Tokyo 2020, the skateboard has outlasted its critics to form a global community of creativity, camaraderie, and unceasing progression. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

This limited-edition edition version of Silver. Skate. Seventies. is sure to become a valuable collector's item. Only 500 numbered copies of this special package are available worldwide. Drawing design inspiration from vintage photo packaging, the 12x15 inch box features a metallic printed sticker on the cover and includes the following: * A numbered copy of Silver. Skate. Seventies., signed by Hugh Holland. * A never-before released, 9 x 12 inch black and white, gelatin silver print entitled Deep Canyon Drive, stamped and signed by Hugh Holland. This print is packaged in a clear acid-free archival envelope for protection and is suitable for framing. * A custom sheet of 1970s skateboarding inspired silver metallic stickers. In the 1970s, photographer Hugh Holland masterfully captured the burgeoning culture of skateboarding against a sometimes harsh but always sunny Southern California landscape. This never-before-published collection showcases his black-and-white photographs that document young skateboarders sidewalk surfing off Mulholland Drive in concrete drainage ditches and empty swimming pools in a drought-ridden Southern California. From suburban backyard haunts to the asphalt streets that connected them, this was the place that inspired the legendary Dogtown and Z-Boys skateboarders. With their requisite bleached-blond hair, tanned bodies, tube socks and Vans, these young outsiders evoke the sometimes reckless but always exhilarating origins of skateboarding lifestyle and culture.

"Sewing for Skaters" is the second title in Marie Porter's "Spandex Simplified" series, and is all about designing and creating spectacular and durable figure skating dresses. It combines techniques taught in two of Marie's early manuals ("Skaters and Gynmasts and Dancers... Oh My " & "The Skating Dress Style Book"), updated with new styles and techniques... now in beautiful full color, featuring many photos and sketches This book is appropriate for beginner to advanced levels of sewing ability, and is written from both a designer, and former figure skater's point of view. It will teach everything from the basics, to tricks of the trade. "Spandex Simplified: Sewing for Skaters" will prepare the reader to design and make almost any design of practice or competition dress imaginable. Given the cost of decent competition suits - or even practice dresses - this manual will more than pay for itself with the savings from just one project The entire book is written completely in laymans' terms and carefully explained, step by step. Only basic sewing knowledge and talent is required. Learn everything from measuring, to easily creating ornate applique designs, to embellishing the finished suit in one book

In the 1970s, photographer Hugh Holland masterfully captured the burgeoning culture of skateboarding against a sometimes harsh but always sunny Southern California landscape. This never-before-published collection showcases his black-and-white photographs that document young skateboarders sidewalk surfing off Mulholland Drive in concrete drainage ditches and empty swimming pools in a drought-ridden Southern California. From suburban backyard haunts to the asphalt streets that connected them, this was the place that inspired the legendary Dogtown and Z-Boys skateboarders. With their requisite bleached-blond hair, tanned bodies, tube socks and Vans, these young outsiders evoke the sometimes reckless but always exhilarating origins of skateboarding lifestyle and culture.

Skateboarding originated in California, and early board designs were simple. By the 1980s, skateboarding had reached all corners of the country and was becoming popular worldwide, as kids adopted the culture and took over public spaces to practice the sport. This book highlights the work of forty-four artists who exemplify the seemingly boundless evolution of skateboard design.

At the age of twenty-nine, photographer Thomas Sweertvaegher spends most of his life on the road with friends, indulging his dual passions of photography and skating. Years of travelling the world together - always on the move and often carrying nothing more than a skateboard - have yielded the poignant photographs collected in this volume, where the skateboard remains a constant symbol of freedom, an extension of their identities and the mark of their strong friendship. Rolling on the margins of society, exploring the limits of life and his own young adulthood, Sweertvaegher captures whatever is happening around him during his travels. His shots take the reader on a journey, showing the highs and lows, bruises and stitches of skating and street life, and ultimately celebrating the beauty such a life can bring. While it captures Sweertvaegher's odyssey from a highly personal perspective, The Journal of a Skateboarder is at the same time a visual documentary of the skating world, and features key figures such as Axel Cruysberghs, Arto Saari, Dylan Rieder and Rodney Mullen.

Taking place at real street locations, this photographic collection provides readers with the information necessary to take skateboarding abilities to a higher level of performance. Progression of style and technique in skateboarding has led to the cutting-edge use of real-world terrain such as curbs, stairs, and handrails. Beginning with instruction on how to properly negotiate curbs and escalating to the endless ways a skateboarder can maneuver up, over, and down the cement and asphalt that make up the urban and suburban landscapes, these step-by-step photographs will help skateboarders master the streets of the world.

Providing updated and revised chapters on safety, equipment, and basic skills, this instructional guide discusses the fundamentals of skateboarding. Presented in a helpful question and answer format, beginners will find information on buying a first board, where to plant one's feet, how to stay safe while learning new stunts, and the history of this exciting sport. From ollies to kickturns, detailed techniques are presented on the 15 tricks every skater should know. Honest and humorous interviews with skating professionals are included, along with an invaluable list of resources - including books, camps, museums, skate parks, shops, websites, and magazines. With more than 500 new images, step-by-step instructions and photographs illustrate the foolproof methods to turn skateboarding novices into experts.