Boneless Magazine

BONELESS SPRING 2018

202348724-23 02013 USA $5.99

#

QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

p. 9

We cut the bullshit with Lacey Baker, the unexpected darling of skateboarding in her most extensive interview to date. The industry; the entrenched status quo that is unwilling or unable to help women is the very industry supposedly built to include them.

DISPOSABLE ART

p. 20

There’s one group that has contributed hugely to the look and feel of skating’s lush, colorful landscape but is still treated like fourth-class citizens, one group that has never tasted the sweet nectar of skateboarding’s financial success: skateboard graphic artists.

12

UNITY SKATEBOARDING

p. 46

Conscious that bigotry towards queer people is still prevalent within both the skateboarding industry and wider community, we speak to Jeffrey Cheung about the origins of the project and bring it to a wider, hopefully receptive, audience.

2

SPRING 2018

SPRING 2018

WHAT?!

28

ROUND-UP

16

TECHNIQUE

FEATURE ALL OF ANDY ROY’S FAVORITE PROBLEMS

TALKING TECHNIQUE: HANDRAILS

Tattoos, skateboarding, jail, friendships and all of the other fun things that get fucked up; talkin’ bout the best kind of prollems with the king of them.

Get some courage and ride up at a 45 degree angle to the rail. Ollie up and turn your shoulders to get the nose of the board over the rail.

20

DISPOSABLE ART WITH SEAN CLIVER The one group that has never tasted the sweet nectar of skateboarding’s financial success: skateboard graphic artists.

06 // PRODUCT REVIEWS

All Hands on Deck

53 // PHOTO STORY

39 // HISTORY OF SHRED

Peggy Aoki Slicedv it Up

60 // COMIX & CRACKS Prompt: METAL ONLY

DIY Skateparks of Detroit

46 32 SOCIAL

INTERVIEW

09 3

SPRING 2018

TOP 5

UNITY QUEER SKATEBOARDING COLLECTIVE

AMERICA’S MOST GLORIOUS HIDDEN SKATE SPOTS

Talking queer community and the industry as a wider community, we speak with Jeffrey Cheung.

Texas, Kansas City, and Ohio make this list of unconventional skate spots you’ve never heard of.

LACEY BAKER: QUIT YOUR DAY JOB The industry; the entrenched status quo that is unwilling or unable to help women is the very industry supposedly built to include them.

WHAT’S INSIDE

BONELESS

AD

AD

BONELESS SPRING 2018/ ISSUE #12 MASTHEAD PUBLISHER

Mark Flood

EDITOR

Leslie Williamson

ASST. TO EDITOR

Jonny Negron

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Nadia Esseghaiar

ART DIRECTOR

Benjamin A. Meers

PHOTO EDITOR

Camilla Maloney

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Leuh Meltzer

COPY EDITOR

Mikaylah Bowman

ART ASSOCIATES

Harry Gould Harvey Grace McLarty

MUSIC EDITOR

Karl Scholz

PROOFREADER

Harris M. Greenwood

MARKETING

Mark Ancell

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Brian Schroeder

WRITERS

Sarah Bowen Shea Kristin Callahan Mike Gillter

emma warren/ 2014

Aaron Duran Andrea Sonnenberg

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sandy Kim Dash Snow ADVERTISING

Gunta Kaza

PRODUCT SALES

Conde Nast

CIRCULATION

Archive Action

ACCOUNTING

Bill Nye

RECEPTIONIST

Pee Wee Herman

SHIPPING

I. C. Stork

Copyright © 2018 by Boneless Magazine.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

Imaginary Press 1233 Pennsylvania Avenue San Francisco, CA 94909 www.imaginarypress.com Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Big Distribution: Tel: (800) 800-8000; Fax: (800) 800-

RIP RYAN RICHTER

8001 or visit www.bigbooks.com.

Printed in the United States of America.

6

SPRING 2018

WORD FROM THE EDITOR

1992 - 2017

FROM OUR EDITOR HAPPY NEW YEAR The season is now in full swing for everyone hope you're all getting plenty of sick lines and fresh pow! We're finally out of the office, too, and on the road getting all the amazing photos and stories for next year. But don't worry, even though we're no longer sitting in our cubicles, the magic of magazine making will have the last two issues at your house in no time. In the meantime, hooray for Summer! And skateboarding! And traveling!

And here's something to keep in mind: We want to hear about your favorite skateboarding experience of this season, so in the Summer 2019 issue, we'll print as many of the best letters that we can fit in the column. Sounds good. For this issue, our letter winners are Brian from Alberta, Canada, who's getting hooked up with an Option board, Nidecker bindings, and Airwalk boots, and Serena from Oregon, who will receive an entire setup from Nitro. So you best start having some incredible skateboarding adventures, because you could be the next letter winner.

2018 RESOLUTIONS

1

IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY THING NICE TO SAY — SHUT UP. THIS

2

BE MORE SOCIAL AND GET INTO TROUBLE. RESPONSIBLY.

3

START STRETCHING AND DOING YOGA AGAIN, YOU DUMMY. WALK IT OUT.

4

NO MORE PROCRASTINATING. DON'T TAKE ANY MORE BULLSHIT.

Good luck!

Nadia Esseghaiar

Here's a throwback photo of our CEO and editor in chief, Nadia, back in the summer of 2009. Just as a reminder that we were all kids once.

Nadia Esseghaiar at age 15, 2009. Photo cr. Sofia S. Hale

BONELESS MAGAZINE

7

ALL

HANDS ON

DECK

DID YOU KNOW: Changing the number of pieces in the skateboard or the thickness of the sheets will affect its flexibility, weight, and skating properties. Most skateboard decks end up with a thickness of around 10mm; or 7-ply.

SPORT STYLE CROSSOVER Nascar is the new go to inspiration source in menswear. That seems to have crossed over into skateboarding culture as well. primary-color combinations that we'd just as easily expect to see pop up on a Versace runway and in line with a slew of menswear trends we've been closely watching. One of Nascar's most iconic symbols (i.e. the checkered flag) is already this summer's essential pattern.

SIC K Quasi XR Sport

Blind TJ Rogers

8.25” X 32.375” WB 14.375”

8.00" X 31.6" WB 14"

$55

$50

7-ply Hardrock / Canadian Maple blend with Epoxy Resin Glue. Full Concave + Steep Kick. Stronger than industry standard.

7-ply Hardrock / Canadian Maple blend with Epoxy Resin Glue. Full Concave + Steep Kick. Stronger than industry standard.

7-ply

7-ply

CAPSULE SKATE : THE MOST DURABLE SKATEBOARDS EVER Rated to be as much as 6 times stronger than conventional skateboards and longboards, Capsule aims to give the same exact experience as with traditional boards with added longevity. It also ensures that you'll have the most compliant ride on a skateboard, whatever the surface – this is made possible by the material being able to absorb as much impact from the ground as it can. All-weather

SPRING 2018

https://capsuleskateboards.com decks starting from $55 to $75 resistance comes standard with Capsule, improving over conventional wooden boards that tend to degrade and break apart with prolonged exposure to moisture and heat. There's also no need to worry about de-lamination – Capsule is engineered from the ground up to be 100% free from breaking and chipping, so it'll stay looking new -- longer.

Powell Peralta OG Ripper

8.25” X 32.375” WB 14.375”

10W” X 31L”

NASCAR is super boring, but it's also super gnarly. DGK and Josh Kalis start their own league with this Stock Car Deck. 7-ply maple blend that’s perfect for street, pool, park and vert. Medium concave deck with a symmetrical popsicle shape works for any skate style.

8

www.tactics.com

DGK Josh Kalis Stock Car

$55

RAD

www.tactics.com

$69 Talk about #TBT! This Powell Peralta old school deck is the perfect way to honor the rad skaters who came before you. This professional quality Powell Peralta OG is suitable for every skill level, from beginner to advanced. This is a totally versatile deck that's perfect for cruising, pool, and vert.

Snatch this limited edition.

Mini Logo Small Bomb Pizza

Chocolate Skiduls Rainbow

8.75W” X 33L”

8.25” X 32.375”

$30

$48

Skate in style on this fresh Mini Logo Small Bomb Pizza Skateboard. This professional quality deck is ideal for every skill level, from beginner to pro.This is a totally versatile skateboard deck that's perfect for street, pool, park and vert. It's rock-solid with tons of pop and ready for a staircase near you.

Skate in style on this fresh Chocolate Skateboards deck designed by Kenny Anderson. Medium concave deck with a symmetrical popsicle shape works for any skate style. Includes separate grip tape for manual application. 7-ply maplewood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT:

INSANETHANE WHEELS Essentially some of the hardest wheels in the game. Designed for advanced skating and made to withstand flat-spotting, which can result from excessive sliding with softer durometer wheels; for hard-charging, fast skating in mind. Smooth wheels have less surface friction than treaded wheels and are easier to slide. Most urethane skate wheels generally range from 75a-101a, the numbers increase with the hardness of the wheel.

Narrow wheels have the least traction and are intended for advanced, tech riding.Since their surface is smooth, there is less friction as compared to the treaded wheels. Hence they are easier to slide, in case you love to do some crazy stuns. What makes them stand out from its competitors is the Formula Four Urethane.

It offers a unique abrasion resistant to fewer flat spots. Not only that, but you also get more grip, lasting speed and a smooth anti-slick

These narrow and hard as f*** wheels are made for hard and fast skating.

And since the material is so durable, they'll retain color.

OJ COLOR BERRIES INSANEATHANE WHEELS (4 PACK) available on www.tactics.com 65x51mm $45

5/5 user rating

slide which gives you the best skateboarding experience ever.

Finally, its classic shape is something worth mentioning. Not only do they offer more speed, but you’ll also get maximum control during those sharp turns and downhill rides.

BUILD IT HIS WAY: DJ Paris Smith Escovedo 1 2 3

GO TO THE SKATE SHOP WITH A BAG OF WEED AND YOUR LAST PAYCHECK. MAKE SURE YOU ROLL IN THERE REAL SLOW.

MEANDER AROUND AND WAIT TIL THEY ASK YOU WHAT YOU'RE TRYNA DO IN THERE SO YOU CAN FLEX ON THEM WHEN THEY THOUGHT YOU WERE FINNA STEAL. BUY WHATEVER YOU WANT, THE DESIGN ON THE BOARD DOESN'T MATTER. IT'S GONNA GET THRASHED ANYWAY. SPLURGE ON WHEELS AND TRUCKS, NOT DECKS.

Paris Escovedo is a lanky Texan street skating, son of a punk. Designed for hard-charging, fast skating in mind. He prefers his wheels super bouncy and fast wheels which roll smoothly over the roughest terrains. The modern shapes make them light in weight and not much bulky. If you love cruising around the town, need a maximum grip on the sharp turns and perform some crazy skateboard stunts, these items are perfect for you.

BRO

PARIS’S SET UP Paris Escovedo, Austin TX.

find links to purchase this set up on http://www.boneless.com/setups

Photo: Grace McLarty.

+

YOU’RE EITHER A GENIUS OR A IDIOT.”

GIRL WHEELS 8.06 X 51 cm $34

+ KRUX K4 TRUCKS 8.25 / 333 G $40

SK8MAFIA 8.06 X 32.0 $49

BONELESS MAGAZINE

9

An interview with

Lacey Baker Text by Mackenzie Eisenhour Photos by Cameron Strand

Skateboarding and the skateboard industry — no matter how polished parts of it may look today — were built on twin cornerstones of “Fuck You” and “I’ll Do It Myself.

When roller-skate manufacturers, the surf industry, and mainstream America at large failed to produce the products we needed to excel in the ‘70s (urethane wheels, precision bearings, trucks that turned, et cetera), skateboarders rolled up their sleeves, hoisted a middle finger, and built it themselves. Now, some 50 years since the dawn of our “industry,” girl and women skateboarders worldwide face a similar scenario. Except this time, the entrenched status quo that is unwilling or unable to help them is the very industry supposedly built to include them.

Lacey Baker has tried playing her position. She rode for Element and a few other establishment pillars only to feel like she was continuously the bastard stepchild on the team. She has tried to live off of the meager contest earnings set up by Women’s X Games and most recently Women’s Street League--only to return to school for two years before working a nine-to-five in order to finance her skate “career.” Now 24, Lacey is determined to take matters into her own hands. With Lisa Whitaker, Vanessa Torres, Amy Caron, and her crew at Meow Skateboards--in the DIY tradition of the industry’s original pioneers in the ‘70s--Baker has decided to give up trying to find a place in the existing industry and instead simply up and build her own. Here’s her full story to date.

What’s been going on lately?

I just recently quit my job so that I could skate more. So that’s kind of a big deal because I’ve been working full time for the last two and a half years. It makes it kind of difficult to skate. I think I can progress more and maybe even... It would be nice to get paid, but I don’t really get that right now, so I’m working freelance and just trying to skate as much as I can. I’m heading to New York in a bit to skate out there.

I’m working on a video part.

Are you still working in graphic design?

Yeah. For the past two and a half years I was working in-house at a company.

So I was working like nine-to-five in the marketing department there. I did a lot of their promos, flyers, catalogs, and all that good stuff. But I’m getting into freelance now with a friend of mine, John, who owns a branding agency, helping him to do logos, flyers, and the same types of things at a little bit of a better pay rate.

Is it scary to step away from the nine-to-five to live off skating?

Yeah, it is. Because I’ve given it a shot in the past where there were basically no opportunities for me to do anything. That was why I originally went back to school. I was going to go back for four years and get my bachelor’s. But at school, I just had no income at all, so I got an associate’s degree

to graduate sooner and get a job. I was getting paid for a little while by a few of my sponsors, but the industry kind of shifted since then and I was no longer getting paid. I felt like I didn’t know anyone in the industry, so I just worked for a while and skated in my free time. But I feel like it might be a good time to give it another try.

I suppose when times are good the industry has more money to spread around.

Yeah. Even companies that aren’t skateboarding companies originally but are trying to get into it. They try it out and then realize like, “Oh, we’re not a skate company, so we won’t make money here.” And then they cut the whole team.

It would be nice to get paid... but I don’t.

I also read that he died of AIDS from IV drug use. It sounded pretty gnarly.

Yeah. It was unrelated to the foster care situation. He just wasn’t around by then. My mom just needed to get her shit together.

I just became obsessed. I didn’t see my first video until I was maybe 10. I saw Baker 2G.

When did skating really click for you?

I would skate all the time growing up. In the yard and shit. Try to do ollies. But I would also fuck around on bikes and stuff like that. Whatever was around. Then I became really obsessed with skating by about seven or eight. I started trying to learn kickflips, and that was pretty much all that I cared about.

What attracted you to skating specifically?

I never saw videos or anything, but I just became obsessed. I didn’t see my first video until I was maybe 10. I saw Baker 2G [‘00]. I didn’t know shit about skating. My brother’s friend that lived at the end of the cul de sac--he skated. But really I was skating on my own. I finally met a friend of mine called Evan; he’s still one of my best friends. We grew up skating together, so we learned how to do tricks together. I met him at an NA [Narcotics Anonymous] meeting when I was going with my mom. His mom was in the program too, so we would both go skate together. He was a big inspiration. But a lot of the time I was just skating alone. left: Laceys’ portrait in Germany, 2017.

above: Lacey street skating with friends, CA. above, right: Lacey lacing her Nike’s that birthed her sponsorship.

I’ll go back and do the standard stuff. I read that you got your first board in foster care. Is that accurate?

That’s as far as the story goes. Somebody made this video saying that I grew up in foster care and making it this whole big deal, but it really wasn’t. The only part of my story that that contributes to is the fact that I got a board while I was in foster care. But my mom got her shit together and got us back really quickly. There wasn’t like some weird struggle with that.

I read that your dad was a guitarist for a couple of bands and that he passed away. Was that when you were younger?

I know the name.

He’s my brother. We have the same dad. Jeff obviously rips at skating, but he hasn’t really been doing much with it lately. Our dad was in T.S.O.L. and some other rockabilly bands [The Cruzados, Dino’s Revenge].

Was he in the movie Road House [‘89] with Patrick Swayze.

He was. I don’t know exactly what scene though. I think it was just a bar scene where he was playing guitar as an extra or something. He was definitely a ripper on the guitar. But yeah, he passed away when I was in high school.

He passed away when I was a high school freshman. But he also wasn’t really around before that. Do you know Jeffery Marshall.

BONELESS MAGAZINE

13

I feel like from the girls’ side of it, we’re sort of on the outside looking in. At this point we’re just trying to do our own things, start our own companies and do our own thing.

Because the overall feeling is that there is no place for us here in this industry.

above: Lacey wins 1st place at 2017 X-Games, CA. right: Lacey skating a bowl somewhere in Anaheim, CA.

14

SPRING 2018

INTERVIEW

Did you get psyched on the Baker name after you saw Baker 2G? [Laughs] I was in elementary school and everybody would tell me like, “You should get sponsored by Baker because your last name is Baker.” But regardless of my name, it was just one of my favorite companies because of that video and also Andrew Reynolds is just one of my biggest inspirations. I watched Flip Sorry [‘02] a lot too. We had a little VHS player that we recorded a bunch of skate videos on. It was like Flip, Sorry, and Yeah Right! [‘03]. We would watch those on repeat and just skate the front yard.

When did you first get a sponsor or even the idea that it might be something you would pursue for real?

I remember skating the front yard one day and I would always tell my mom that I wanted to be a pro skater. She says I ran in the house one day, all hyped and shit telling her about it. Eventually we met this guy Ryan Miller who is still a really close homie. He was doing these skate classes and my mom enrolled me in the classes as like a Christmas gift when I was like 10. Then I

CASL [California Amateur Skateboard League] contests. So that was kind of how I got into competing. Like my mom would take me to all the contests around SoCal and do that whole game. It was fun. I loved it.

Did you get psyched on the Baker name after you saw Baker 2G? There was no girls’ division; there were just age groups. So I skated in the age 10 to 15 group. I don’t think I ever did that well. I remember one year I got second at the Chula Vista one. I don’t even know how that happened. But I remember thinking it was pretty sick like, “Damn!” Because I was the only girl in the contest.

I wish I could just get a fucking check. But that’s just the reality right now.

That’s sick. That was actually one of my later questions. Do you think they should even have a girls’ division?

Yeah. I mean the difference between men and women--men are just biologically stronger than us, so they can take harder slams and jump higher and do more shit like that. But the ability to understand skateboarding and the physics of it doesn’t really change. I feel like if I was a dude, or had the body that could take a slam like that, I would probably be doing gnarlier shit. As far as working hard and skating every day, we don’t do anything different than the guys do.

They just do gnarlier shit.

Sometimes that can add to the style side. Like I always thought Elissa Steamer had one of the raddest styles, period.

For sure. That’s kind of how I try to skate.

Just approach it in a more creative way or different way so that I don’t have to break myself off. I can’t afford to get injured anyways. I don’t even have insurance right now.

I read your interview from last year getting at the sexism in the skate industry. I suppose it’s part of a wider societal problem. But has your opinion changed at all? had done some of his classes and he would just start taking me to skate. He would drive all the way from the I.E. [Inland Empire] to pick me up in Covina [California], then drive all the way back to skate Chaffey with him and all his friends. They were all way older than me, and I was just this little girl trying to get up on the ledges at Chaffey.

That’s rad you got to skate Chaffey.

Yeah. When I first went there I was like, “Oh my God, this place is amazing.” They would tell me about the manual pad that used to be there, and I’d just be like, “I wish I was born in the ‘90s!” So he was the one who suggested like, “You should skate

Well, I think what’s happening now is that there is some progress because people are speaking out about it. So people are maybe paying attention more now. But you’re right, I think it is a construct-it’s just how the world is to a degree, and it bleeds over into everything. Skateboarding obviously having been a male-dominated sport, as much as I hate saying that and hate hearing it, it is what it is. I feel like from the girls’ side of it, we’re sort of on the outside looking in. At this point we’re just trying to do our own things — start our own companies and do our own thing. Because the overall feeling is that there is no place for us here in this industry.

BONELESS MAGAZINE

15

I did see a lot more women connecting on Facebook and stuff like that. Connecting with the older girl skaters from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s to truly create your own network and companies.

Yeah. It’s really cool. There is just nothing here currently to support us, so Lisa Whitaker started Meow Skateboards for that purpose. And people are stoked on Meow Skateboards. Its super DIY, it’s a really small company. It’s not like we have some big warehouse with a skatepark in it or anything. We just don’t have the money for that. But it’s rad to be a part of something that is so authentic. I was trying really hard to get on companies after what happened with Element. Back then Lisa had told me she wanted me on Meow but that I should try and get on something bigger because she thought I’d be able to. I tried to get on like five other companies, and I literally couldn’t even get a hold of anybody. I was just like, “What am I doing wasting my time trying to be in this industry that has no space for me?” I called Lisa and told her I wanted to be a part of Meow.

You have talked about Street League adding the women’s division. Any thoughts on them plugging it into the Olympics now in 2020? Any thoughts on the Olympics at large?

I have mixed feelings on the Olympics. On one hand, it’s the Olympics. I guess it’s still a big deal to people.

But on the other hand, to us it’s just another skatecontest too. I think it will help women’s skateboarding because at least in that setting men and women will hopefully be treated equally. At least it’s a requirement to have both divisions in everything they do.

I suppose the girl skaters at the Olympics will certainly look far different from the girl gymnasts or something.

Yeah. We’ll be up there dressed like garbage--wearing dirty clothes from yesterday and bleeding [laughs].

You mentioned all the girls needed long hair and push-up bras too to get scored highly at contests.

Is that still an issue for you?

Skateboarding obviously having been a male dominated sport, as much as I hate saying that and hate hearing it, it is what it is.

I feel like being a girl skater is more punk than being a dude in skating now.

16

SPRING 2018

INTERVIEW

Yeah. I feel like once the Boardr guys started judging the X Games, we were judged more fairly. But it was definitely that year [LA X Games 2013] other people were just coming up and telling me like, “You should have won.”

Even months afterwards, they were still coming up to me.

I really do wish it was fair. But it isn’t. I don’t know.

It sucks, but it happens. It’s happened to me twice. I think judging skateboarding is always really difficult at the same time, so who knows? Everybody is different. But there is a fine line. And it’s nothing where I would blame the other people for wearing more feminine clothes or anything. I just blamed the industry and the people who

above: Lacey competes in New York, NY.

FEATURE: LACEY BAKER INTERVIEW

were judging. I have the utmost respect for every one of my peers out there. We all do our own thing, and that’s what’s so rad about it. But it does suck because contests are really the only way we can make money. I wish that weren’t the case.

I wish I could just get a fucking paycheck. But that’s just the reality right now.

For what it’s worth, the younger generations now do seem more gender neutral, as much as I hate that word.

Yeah. I think it’s important to have shit that is gender neutral. Gender is a social construct to begin with. The whole reason why girls wear pink and boys wear blue is because that’s been ingrained in our society. It doesn’t really need to be like that. And there’s actually a huge gray area for people that maybe were born female but don’t feel that way or vice versa. What about those people? They’re alive too. And they matter. I feel like skateboarding could be a good place for them, for us--because it’s such an individualistic sport. There really should be no constructs, but I feel that the way the industry has gone, it only allows for you to be one way if you want to be in it. So hopefully, we can break those barriers down and be more accepting.

What attracted you to skateboarding specifically?

I never saw videos or anything, but I just became obsessed. I didn’t see my first video until I was maybe 10. I saw Baker 2G [‘00]. I didn’t know shit about skating. My brother’s friend that lived at the end of the cul de sac--he skated. But really I was skating on my own. I finally met a friend of mine called Evan; he’s still one of my best friends. We grew up skating together, so we learned how to do tricks together. I met him at an NA [Narcotics Anonymous] meeting when I was going with my mom. His mom was in the program too, so we would both go skate together. He was a big inspiration. But a lot of the time I was just skating alone

It seems like the punkest thing you could ever do would be to put a girl on your team.

Thank you punk than corporate that, but

for saying that. Yeah, it is. I feel like being a girl skater is more being a dude in skating now. Because dudes have all these fucking sponsors just waiting to pour money down their throats. We don’t have we still skate every day because we love it.

•

TALKING TECHNIQUE:

HANDRAILS

A conversation led by

TIMOTHY SWISHER Interviewees include:

01. Pat Duff

04. Jamie Thomas

02. Kyle Walker

05. Cole Wilson

03. Nyjah Huston

06. Dane Burman

Conceived in the Santa Monica-bred Natas and Gonz melting pot of progression that boileth over so many years ago, handrails have always served as the proper separation between “casual fun” and “serious shit.”

hell, this ever-dangerous obstacle remains the proving ground for pushing limits and snatching glory. How far we’ve come.

One of street skating’s longest-standing lines in the sand, try taking that same trick from cuddly curb to serious seven-stair and watch the eyebrows raise. Oh, you fancy now! One can largely measure the timeline of street skating’s progression by the measure of their rails. Varieties of banister formerly seen as pure fantasy in the past have now become daily staples in the warm-up routines of precocious ten-year-olds everywhere.

From the three-stair pokers of the late ‘80s to current day skating’s erector set bullet trains to

For this first installment of Technique, we invited a legendary roster of rail chompers past and present to individually field a quick questionnaire on the subject of skateboarding’s most unforgiving terrain. Each subject received the same list of 13 questions and had no knowledge of their colleagues’ corresponding responses. Enjoy.

above: Dane Burman watching sick handrail footage recorded by “Big” Mike.

Photo: Josh Ellis

LEAN IN THAT BACKSEAT. BUT NOT TOO FAR. AND CROSS THEM FINGERS. BONELESS MAGAZINE

19

What’s a tip you can give to someone about to try their first handrail? Is there anything specific that you should or shouldn’t do?

was the same rail that Heath had back lipped years earlier. We kept screaming, “Do it for HK!” Cory handled it first-try, no problem.

01. Pat Duffy: Hesitation is your worst enemy. You have to clear your head and believe that you’re going to make it. If you hesitate at all, you’re fucked.

06. Dane Burman: Ed Duff’s kickflip boardslide down the Hollywood 16 comes to mind. So many things could go wrong with that one. James Brockman’s switch grind went down in that same session, which was also a scary one to see. Both of those are in Cold War.

02. Kyle Walker: If you think you’re going fast enough, take one more push anyway. And bottom line, no hesitation. Just say fuck it and hope for the best.

03. Nyjah Huston: I remember being six years old and wanting to try rails so badly. I’d roll up over and over again for hours but I couldn’t get myself to try it. I just wasn’t ready and not being ready is how you get hurt. Skate some park rails first, too. Skating as many different types of rails as possible will help your confidence going forward. You’ll know how to adjust to any situation.

04. Jamie Thomas: Skate a flat bar religiously and then skate a skatepark rail. Once you get that figured out, try to find a similar rail out in the real world. For me, confidence comes from preparation and experience.

05. Cole Wilson: Make sure to fully Ollie. I see kids that don’t seem to think about that, which can be deadly. Clip on the way up and you’re getting tossed, straight to the sack.

06. Dane Burman: For your first rail, always go fast enough to where you won’t sack or land on the stairs. You want to be able to get to the bottom. And don’t second-guess yourself.

I’ve seen people jump off their boards to sack so many times because they had doubt in their mind. What’s the gnarliest thing you’ve ever seen go down on a rail in-person?

04. Jamie Thomas: I wasn’t there but in my opinion, Dane’s 50-50 at Philly City Hall in Cold War is the gnarliest rail stunt ever done.

05. Cole Wilson: I watched Cory Glick overcrook this triple-set rail in honor of Heath Kirchart’s birthday one time. It

20

SPRING 2018

HOW TO

What’s the secret to kinked handrails anyway?

01. Pat Duffy: People always bring up my 50- 50 in Questionable but honestly, those were mellow kinks. I think that you just have to absorb it. Use your spine and your knees to get through it.

02. Kyle Walker: Lean in that backseat… but not too far. And cross them fingers.

03. Nyjah Huston: It takes a while and experience definitely helps. I tried to back 50 my first kinked rail, a perfect triple kink, when I was 11 and almost got killed. I flipped out but luckily, it was only grass on the side. So yeah, I was really scared of them for a while. You have to find some mellow ones and build your way up. You’ll get the hang of it. Because it does take some time figuring out how to really compress into that first kink if it’s a decent-size set.

04. Jamie Thomas: Relax and try to absorb the kinks. It’s like a pole jam but not as severe.

05. Cole Wilson: You basically have to think of it like rolling

YOU HAVE TO CLEAR YOUR HEAD AND BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE IT. IF YOU HESITATE AT ALL, YOU’RE FUCKED.

Describe your worst slam on a rail. What happened and what was the aftermath, injury-wise? Did you get back up and get it? down a bank. You just have to pump through where it goes flat. It’s basically the same concept.

06. Dane Burman: I love big kinks. As long as I have time to feel the kink and the change of direction, there isn’t a better feeling. My best advice is to watch Cole Wilson. He gets on with his weight dead on-top every time and he stays squatted with a low center-of- gravity to keep balance. That’s how you do it.

01. Pat Duffy: I was shooting with Giovanni Reda at the Brooklyn Banks and we had a police barrier down the 16 there.

I’d already feeble grinded it and was trying a back lip. I’m not exactly sure what happened but I caught my heels and got completely knocked out. Reda can tell you the story, it was one of those coming-out-of-the-fog type of deals where I had no idea where I was. It was like 110 degrees that day, too. Just terrible, man. I went home after that. We’d already got the feeble, I had to let that backflip go.

article cont. page 86

From left; Pat, Kyle, Nyjah, Jamie, Cole, Dane. Photo: Josh Ellis

MY KNEE IS STILL SWOLLEN AND MY WHOLE GROIN ZONE WENT BLACK. FULL PURPLE DICK.

Who or what inspires you to skate rails? What’s the motivation to risk life-and-limb?

01. Pat Duffy: Jeff Petit and Ray Simmonds in Shackle Me Not. They were from Marin County where I grew up and they were amazing. Ten-stairs with one push. So gnarly.

STEP-BY-STEP

02. Kyle Walker: The Cardiel front board that he did in Sacramento. That’s always stuck out in my head. Skating with Ishod always gets me hyped, too. David Gravette. And skating with the homies, of course. It’s always a time.

1

03. Nyjah Huston: Geoff Rowley, 100-percent. I’ve always loved Arto Saari, too. Chris Cole skated a lot of kinked rails back in the day and I’ve always looked up to him as well.

When it comes to handrails, that’s just the type of skateboarder I am. I’m always trying to challenge myself. Scaring myself to get that adrenaline rush. It’s so exciting.

2

06. Dane Burman: Kirchart. Always. If I want to try something and I’m a little shook, throw on “Nights in White Satin” and that always helps. Ben Gilley was another one who I always loved watching. He had so much passion to just fucking get some. I loved that. I like skating rails because I’m definitely not the most talented skateboarder out there. Other types of skating just end up frustrating me a lot of the time. Handrails are a direction that I feel like I can really push myself in. I like being scared and overcoming that fear… and then taking it and controlling it and using it to my advantage.

3

Get some courage and ride up at a 45 degree angle to the rail. Ollie up and turn your shoulders to get the nose of the board over the rail.

Bend your knees as you jump up. Once your nose is over the rail land flat in the middle of the board and slide along.

On the rail, focus on the end and keep your balance by keeping your knees bent and leaning back slightly.

4

To dismount the rail, shift your weight to your tail as you swing your upper body around to face forward.

5

Roll away.

BONELESS MAGAZINE

21

D S

O I D SP SAB LE ART

SKATEBOARDING LEGEND SEAN CLIVER TALKS SKATE HISTORY, ECONOMICS, AND DEVIANT GRAPHICS

INTERVIEW BY CHRIS NIERATKO

BONELESS MAGAZINE

23

THERE IS STILL ONE GROUP THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED HUGELY TO THE LOOK AND FEEL OF SKATING'S LUSH, COLORFUL LANDSCAPE BUT IS STILL TREATED LIKE FOURTH-CLASS CITIZENS, ONE GROUP THAT HAS NEVER TASTED THE SWEET NECTAR OF SKATEBOARDING'S FINANCIAL SUCCESS: SKATEBOARD

GRAPHIC ARTISTS.

The annals of skateboarding are filled with hundreds of names that have contributed, for better or worse, to skateboarding’s growth to the global, Olympic-sized level it is in 2014. If not for names like Tony Alva, Rodney Mullen, Mark Gonzales, John Cardiel, Geoff Rowley, Eric Koston, and numerous others pushing the limits of what was possible on a skateboard, skaters might still be “walking the dog” on the way to hang ten. And thanks to people like Stacey Peralta, Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Ryan Sheckler, and Nyjah Huston presenting skateboarding to mainstream audiences in a safe and palatable way, skating is bigger than ever and skate companies are making more money than they ever imagined.

Yet with all the influx of corporate cash there is still one group that has contributed hugely to the look and feel of skating’s lush, colorful landscape but is still treated like fourth-class citizens, one group that has never tasted the sweet nectar of skateboarding’s financial success: skateboard graphic

24

SPRING 2018

FEATURE

artists. In the 80s, these unsung heroes made roughly $400 per design, and every design would mean weeks of painstaking work. In the 90s, Steve Rocco—one of skating’s most influential businessmen—saw the importance of the skateboard as a canvas and upped the rate to $500. Here we are, 20-plus years later, and nearly every town in America has a skatepark and skate contests have prize purses of over $150,000 —yet somehow the rate our artists make on a design has slipped to $300 or less.

Could you imagine a world without the iconic Powell Peralta Ripper or Santa Cruz Screaming Hand or the Anti Hero Eagle or any of a dozen other graphics that our hearts and minds conjure up when we think of the art of skateboarding? It’s a dreadful thought.

But just as the US government has slashed funding to the arts, the skateboarding industry has made it so the next Vernon Courtlandt Johnson or Marc McKee can’t afford to support a family, let alone feed themselves.

I recently sat down with Sean Cliver, one of the most prolific artists in skateboarding and author of Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art on the eve of the tenth anniversary re-release of his book to discuss the unethical treatment of our artists, among other things.

BONELESS: Over the course of your storied career you’ve worn many hats: editor of Big Brother, artist of many naughty and subversive skateboard graphics, producer of Jackass.

Although you’ve always surrounded yourself with raucous cohorts, you’re rather quiet and reserved. How does that kind of personality work in a Jackass dynamic? What exactly is your role and how is it that you’re the only that doesn’t get tortured or fucked with?

Jim Phillips: Yeah, I’ve been an anomaly in most every setting I’ve professionally found myself. Not to get all Far Eastern or Jeff Goldblum, but I believe it is nature’s way of balancing things. So I’m like the diplodocus to all the T-rexes running around shitting and pissing themselves. Fortunately there’s

way more of them, so I get left out of the food chain for the most part. Occasionally, yes, I will get peed on, but come on, who hasn’t in the workplace? But I’m the straight guy who gets the work done, or whatever it is I need to do. At least while working, that is, because I do have my more notorious moments after hours.

Being so understated and yet being responsible for some of the most devious and demented skateboard graphics in history, I can’t help but wonder about what sort of naughtiness you get into behind closed doors.

What are your fetishes, Sean?

​ nfortunately, I think that is my fetish? Or at U least I’ve found a way to satisfy all my fetishes in a professional, career-minded manner. I just like to be around or involved in creating absurd, silly shit. But in all seriousness, I think I sometimes get wafted in with all the hot shit fumes that Marc McKee created in the early 90s. Our names get lumped together in print so it sounds like I was responsible for way more shit than I actually was. So many times I’ve had someone come up to me all stoked and say, “Hey, I really loved that board you did where the kid had the gun and the kid was the floor and the parents were like all ‘fu-u-u-u-ck’ in the background.” And then I make it all awkward by telling them, “No, that was actually a McKee.” So then they feel weird and mention another graphic I did that they loved and I have to tell them

again, “No, that was a McKee too.”

Of all the subversive graphics you actually did over the years which have been the most fucked up in your opinion?

In terms of “fucked up,” I’m really not sure.

Not that I have a broken moral compass— it’s more indifferent than anything—but I just don’t put a lot of stock into what bums a lot of other people out. I guess that recent HUF “Last Party” project I did was the most I’d ever seen anyone get bent about, but that was just gleaned through scrolling comments posted on Instagram. Mostly I just found it interesting that McKee and I were simultaneously working on that theme without even knowing it, his being for Cliché.

What are your favorite graphics you’ve done?

above: Sean Cliver design for Santa Cruz.

Speed Wheels Advert 1982.

My personal greatest triumph, I think, is still the World Industries Chico Brenes “Nude Beach” board. It should never have been produced. Any mind with an iota of marketing would have squashed the concept in a heartbeat. Unbecoming naked old people playing volleyball on a beach? Not at all what the teenage libido wants to see, let alone buy. The Supreme stuff I’ve been pretty happy with, too. They’re awesome to work with and it’s great to be able to put some illustrative time and effort into graphics. And any time I get the chance to work on a graphic for Ray Barbee. It’s true: You

BONELESS MAGAZINE

25

”

WE USED TO RECEIVE LOTS AND LOTS OF NEAT THINGS FROM OUR READERS. . .

KIND OF COOL TO THINK THAT THE CONCEPT OF DICK PICS PRE-DATED THE WHOLE INTERWEB CRAZE.”

never do forget your first, and luckily my first is something I am genuinely proud of to this day. Couldn’t have asked for a better rookie pro to break out with.

Have there been any you can recall that you flat out refused for any reason?

​ o, not for any reasons of morality. If anyN thing, just because it was a fucking dumb idea—not that I haven’t had a hand in many of those to be produced though. A man has to eat. But I think I did draw the line at some Shaun White stuff when he first turned pro for Birdhouse. That was a sour time for me, mostly because they removed Jeremy Klein from the art director position then and I really enjoyed working with him.

We had a good rapport and system going.

I only stayed on for a few more months before quitting my position there.

You got your start by winning a Powell Peralta art contest from an advertisement in the back of Thrasher back in the late 80s and relocated from Wisconsin to Southern California. Do you ever think about how your life would have panned out like if you never won that contest?

What do you think you would be doing?

​ y life took off on such a ridiculously M diverse tangent that it’s almost impossible to imagine what it could have been like had I not won that contest. I’ve always said I’d be doing technical renderings of nuts and bolts, most likely still within the Midwest, but even that may be too wildly optimistic.

During your stint as at Powell did you ever, you know, gay off with the Bones Brigade?

​ o, but I sincerely cherish the opportunity N to be asked that question. Though this one afternoon we were all in a sandwich deli in Goleta, California, where I want to say Bucky Lasek may have done something involving his wiener and his butt on a dare. They never really did address the Powell-Peralta Skate Zone “After Hours” happenings in that documentary, I don’t know -- did they?

opposite: An essential design by Phillips.

Est. 1978.

above: Jim Phillips beside his own designs in home studio. Santa Cruz, CA. 2018.

Rosk #5 skateboard design by Roskopp.

photo cr: Mikaylah Bowman, 2016

Tremaine left Big Brother to start Jackass in 2000. Why didn’t you take Rick Kosick with you?

​ o be fair, I quit first to start a full-time art T gig at Birdhouse in January 2000. I still hadn’t been formally asked to participate in the germ that was Jackass then. And Tremaine didn’t quit until the summertime once he knew that Jackass was picked up at MTV. Besides, he still loved the magazine and didn’t want to yank its legs out altogether. And Kosick had very big legs at the magazine.

In the past few years Tremaine bought the rights to Big Brother from Flynt. What are the plans for the magazine? And do you think a magazine like Big Brother could ever possibly work in the current sanitized, PC skate culture we exist in?

​ ere was never any plan of bringing it back Th to life, but it only seemed right and natural for it not to languish at LFP until the end of time. I honestly don’t know what the current skate media landscape is like, so I will have to defer to your knowledge on that. I do know I was recently told I could not equate publishing a book to an epidemic in West Africa and forthrightly edited as such, so maybe you’re right. But that made me mad and I stomped my foot like a little bitch for a bit, because it is a very queer and different world than when I left. Then again, I’m also a spoiled child in certain ways as I never really had anyone tell me before what I could and could not say. If we wanted to write something in Big Brother we wrote it. Sure, we may have had to answer for it later, but it was nice to be able to make that mistake for ourselves and not kowtow to corporate fears or biases or because x-amount of people might take offense.

Life with Steve Rocco and Big Brother may have caused some irreparable long-term life damage for me.

You were also an in-house artists at the notorious World Industries camp. Millions of great stories have come from that era. Any that haven’t been told?

​ ate one night, which may have been the L beginning of the end of the Torrance Del Amo days, Marc McKee, Megan Baltimore, and myself went to a store and bought a butt-ton of spray paint cans. We went back to the office and spray painted all the upstairs walls with just really stupid shit.

The next morning when Steve Rocco saw our handiwork he was a little peeved, but what could he do? We were like his top three employees aside from Rodney Mullen.

Anyway, once all the riders saw the walls it turned into a fucking free for all. First it was harmless tagging, then it was leaving snide comments, and from there I think Henry Sanchez may have punched a hole or two in the wall? The memory isn’t what it used to be, that’s for sure, and it’s easy to romanticize the lawlessness of the time period. But I still readily recall Matt Schnurr pooping on the art room floor while Tim Gavin was making photocopies of his penis on the Xerox machine. That was a peach of a night!

One thing I recall vividly from the Big Brother offices at the Larry Flynt building was the pole of shame in Jeff Tremaine’s office with all it’s unsightly nudes and bloody penises. What was the story with that thing?

​ ou know, I’m not sure how that started. A Y lot of it came through the mail. I remember that. We used to receive lots and lots of neat things from our readers... kind of cool to think that the concept of dick pics pre-dated the whole interweb craze. Mail in magazines were wild.

BONELESS MAGAZINE

27

”

artists, but if you hear the stories on the inside it’s a completely different matter: a sad, frustrating, and scary one for any who hope to have a sustainable career in skate graphics. And it’s not like anyone is trying to get rich, many are just trying to survive, support families, and continue doing what they love. I’ve had a few young artists contact me after getting their first fresh licks in the industry, asking how things can get better for them. And I don’t know what to say. I was told in 1996

by Frank Messman, the then CEO of World Industries, that the industry standard rate for a graphic topped out at 500 bucks. Nearly 20 years later it’s still that amount or less— even by half from what I’ve recently been heard from one manufacturer—which may make this the worst profession in which to try and earn a living. Artists aren’t businessmen.

Most couldn’t negotiate their way out of wet paper bag. If there was any group that needed a union to stand up for them, this is it. Not that any of us could afford the dues, obviously of course.

NOT THAT I HAVE A BROKEN MORAL COMPASS, IT’S MORE INDIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING, BUT I JUST DON’T PUT A LOT OF STOCK INTO WHAT BUMS A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE OUT.” Knowing that it costs the larger skateboard companies who manufacture their boards in China and Mexico $10 to make a skateboard that they then turn around and sell to retailers at $36, how do you feel about skate graphic artists rates never having increased from $150 to $300 per deck regardless of the margins and influx of money into skating?

Why is this so? Is there even a negotiation or is that number the end of the conversation?

​ is is actually a very serious issue. It’s Th hard, too, because I came from a time and place in skateboarding when each new pro graphic was a big deal and treated as such, and I was allowed to work on a graphic for over a month. And who didn’t wait to see what the next board would be to come from World Industries, Blind, or 101 then? Rocco knew the art was more than just a bean to be counted at the end of the day and he respected his artists as such. And that history is proven. The graphic legacy remains. But everything has since been commodified and boiled down to a manufacturing cost at many companies. The paradox?

It’s still an industry that on the outside boasts its creative heritage and love for

28

SPRING 2018

FEATURE

alize the image on a skateboard often helps sell the board more than the pro’s name on the bottom?

I​ wish I could say the latter, and that was one of my main reasons for the Disposable books—to spotlight the artists and the importance of their work to a company. What would Powell-Peralta have been without VCJ? Santa Cruz without Jim Phillips? World Industries without Marc McKee? For that matter, hell, skateboards in general without Todd Bratrud or Todd Francis? It’s open to debate, I suppose, but all those images had an indelible impact on the culture that is still being felt, and even produced, 20- or 30-plus years later.

Do you think it will continue with the uninspired logo driven graphics that no longer warrant an artist but rather a skate-graphic generating app?

​ t the rate the digital world is going there A will be an app for that and I’ll soon be a barista at Starbucks. But if the world holds true to fucked form, the maker of that app will probably make a million-billion bucks.

Your book, Disposable, the defacto bible of skateboard graphics, is celebrating its ten-year anniversary. What can people expect from the anniversary edition?

​ nifty metallic cover wrap on the hardback A edition. That’s the only change I made. I’m just happy as hell to have it back in print after a four-year stint in OOP purgatory.

•

How can an artist even survive in skateboarding if they’re not churning out a plethora of graphics on a consistent basis?

​ onestly, I have no idea. I always have H people approach me and say, “Hey, we want you to do something like that early 90s stuff you did,” which is great, I love to do those, but that style of graphic often takes me one and a half to two weeks to accomplish, not including any time spent spitballing ideas until one is finally decided upon. And no, that’s nothing that can be done for a meager amount. But if a company is just trying to move 300 units of fill-in-the-blank’s pro model for the third quarter fall catalog offering, then that’s exactly what it will be remembered as.

Do you think this old boys club mentality of literally starving our skate artists will always be the norm? Or will companies re-

opposite: Wide variety of Santa Cruz decks from a 1980’s advert.

AD

AD

ANDY ROY’S

FAVORITE PROBLEMS Jim Phillips in his studio. Photo: Chrsi Bounty

We caught up with Andy Roy. Basically, all the shit that he was doing; bugging, pestering people, and being a shithead, getting paranoid that someone eventually was going to try to hurt him real bad.

So he moved to San Francisco. The most lovable freakshow in skateboarding.

I TOTALLY FLIPPED FROM BEING A FUCKING ASSHOLE AND HAVING A HIT LIST AND WANTING TO FUCK UP EVERYBODY, TO, “MAN, EVERYONE’S ALL RIGHT. WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. WE’RE ALL ONE BIG FAMILY.” IT’S A FUCKING GOOD PROBLEM, HAVING SO MANY HOMIES.

1

FRIENDS

I've caused a ruckus with so many people, but my friends have always been there for me—always had my back. I got these good friends who bring out the best in me. I get fired up when I'm around.

Before, I was so closed-minded. I hated everyone.

I was such a dick. I was an asshole to everybody.

Then, you know what? Man, you get older, you start mellowing out, there are good people everywhere, and you just open your mind. Hey, man, people aren't so bad. It's better not to be a dick, nowadays. It's cool to have some fucking good friends around the world. Instead of trying to beat me up, they want to give me a hug or something instead which is nice.

We’re all one big family. It’s a fuckin good problem, having so many homies.

32

SPRING 2018

ROUND UP

2

SAN FRANCISCO

I grew up in Santa Cruz. It's a real small town.

Everybody knows what you're doing. Basically, with the shit that I was doing, bugging, pestering people, and being a shithead, I was getting paranoid that someone eventually was going to try to hurt me real bad. So I moved to San Francisco.

San Francisco was my outlet to get away from Santa Cruz—go skate and get away from it. It's just one big, huge skatepark. I was lucky to have San Francisco so close to me. It's my second home. So it's a pretty goddamn good problem to have: a lot of homies who have your back and a place to get away from all the bullshit that I used to run into in Santa Cruz.

3

TATTOOS

I'm addicted to the tattooing deal. My mom hates it. "Oh my gosh, you're going to regret this." Like, "It's a little late, Mom. I've gone a little too far, so I'm just going with it."

5

I just was all about holding on to shit. I don't care what it is; I'm collecting it. Anything that deals with skateboarding, even if it's the toy that comes out of the Cracker Jack box—if there's a dinosaur on a skateboard—I'm saving it. My mom got mad at me because I was taking up space in her garage. She was like, What are you doing? We can't even park our cars.

It's a problem having all this stuff, and figuring out where to put it. The flip side of it, the good problem of it, is I got too much cool shit. I want to start a museum. Thats what my life goal is now. Its amazing for me to know that I got all this stuff, and one day I will make it happen.

Even though I'm a broke motherfucker, I will make it happen somehow.

UDE, I’M “D

WINNER.”

Now that I'm getting older, I'm getting wrinkles.

I've got these crow's feet around my eyes. I gotta think of something. Maybe a black-eye tattoo.

When I was a shithead kid, I would get a black eye, and that was like a trophy to me. And if I got two, I was like, "Dude, I'm a winner, winner. I got two trophies." So maybe I can get a black-eye tattoo, and that will cover some of those wrinkles.

COLLECTING

A

When I was a kid, I was skinny. All my friends were bigger than me. So I said, "Screw it. I need to get tattoos to cover up my little fucking weird body." I wanted to distract people from tripping on my little getaway sticks—my legs. I tried to cover them up with tattoos. And I had a tiny head. So I went and fucking got a spider web tattooed on my head.

4

lower opposite: Andy Roy showing off just a few of his missing teeth.

P: Jamie Fletcher. below: Andy in Santa Cruz.

P: Chris Bounty

SKATEBOARDING

Look, man, I did almost ten years in prison. Near the end of my going to jail, I was getting Thrasher, and just like seeing Julien "Stranger" and "John" Cardiel and Coco "Santiago" still skating. I was like, "Man, I'm a skateboarder. I'm not some fucking junkie. I'm not some convict."

My ex-wife talked me into hitting Julian back up.

I was so embarrassed of what I did by bailing out on them—taking drugs and doing crimes instead of skating with the raddest dudes in skateboarding.

And it's worked out - even though you could get in trouble for hopping a fence, emptying a pool, getting a trespassing ticket—there are so many different little problems—skateboarding is doing the reverse now: It's keeping me from doing those crimes.

I'm telling you, it saved me. If I didn't have skating, I'd be in prison for the rest of my life. But because of skating and how rad all the fucking skateboarders are, that's what I'm picking right there. I want to be a fucking skateboarder.

I SAID, “SCREW IT. I NEED TO GET TATTOOS TO COVER UP MY LITTLE FUCKING WEIRD BODY.”

BONELESS MAGAZINE

33

BONELESS FALL 2018

202348724-23 02013 USA $5.99

#

SKATE PUNX COAST 2 COAST

p. 18

We explore the underground of the underground in this extensive article exploring the gutter of skating.

Skateboarding draws the out the freaks, and it’s a beautiful thing. We visit squats and DIY skate spots across the country to meet the best of the worst.

ALL GIRL SKATE SKOOL

p. 28

The skateboarders breaking from centuries of Indian tradition — and proving girls belong on the streets.

Girl Skate India is going up against a formidable cultural force. They’re not only building confidence for girls, they’re showing boys that they’re tough too.

14

INDEPENDENT COMPANIES

p. 54

Time to hightlight the little guys. These indie skate companies are often times the biggest innovators.

Within this feature, we take a look at independent businesses worldwide that are improving, shaping, and challenging the status quo of pro skateboarding.