I read my first skateboard magazine before I had even started skateboarding. When I was 12, my little brother had a crummy department store board that neither of us gave much thought to. That all changed on a trip across the border and into Maine from our home in New Brunswick. While there, I bought the Transworld Skateboarding October ‘97 issue with Chad Muska on the cover, featuring a Tony Hawk Pro Spotlight inside.
I had honestly never even heard of Tony Hawk until then, but I remember really enjoying his interview. It went well beyond skateboarding and got quite personal. It was a humanizing portrayal of a man that was about to become larger than life. Beyond that, Atiba Jefferson shot the portraits underwater, another thing I’d never seen done before. The whole magazine was brimming with creativity. I was hooked immediately.
Soon after arriving back in New Brunswick, I got my first skateboard. I also learned Tuesday was when newsstands received new stock. I would trek across town weekly to buy any skateboard magazine I could. I read and reread articles, analyzed photos, and developed not only favourite skaters, but also favourite writers and photographers. To see the lives these guys lived and shared in print was inspiring. The most striking thing was that a lot of the same people seemed to be involved at every level. Skateboarders were doing the graphics, editing the videos, shooting the photos, and writing the stories. There appeared to be no outside interference. Skateboarders had complete creative control.
It’s hard to say whether skateboarding makes creative types or creative types often choose to skateboard. It’s likely a meeting somewhere in the middle. Look at skateboarding as a whole, or even just look at your group of friends. It’s not uncommon for many of us to have sessions with artists, writers, photographers, musicians, and all other types of freethinkers. As popular as skateboarding is now, I think most people still think it’s a somewhat weird pastime or pursuit, so we generally accept anyone that shares our interest in skateboarding, despite where their head may be at outside of the session. A welcoming but weird bunch, we are.
I’ve always thought of my first time skateboarding as the biggest turning point in my life. It developed my interest in photography, gave me an appreciation for art and filmmaking, and a large part of what I’ve read in my life comes out of skateboard magazines. Everything traces back to skateboarding. To now be in a position to expose Canadian skateboarders to the new breed, as well as shine a light on the veterans and even those before them is not a job I take lightly. I am confident that with the great community we have here in Canada, we at SBC will continue to make a magazine that holds Canadian skateboarding in the highest regard.
See you at the newsstand on Tuesday.
—See you at the newsstand on Tuesday.
Words and photos by Jeff Thorburn
Pictured: Jed Anderson
Originally published in SBC Skateboard Magazine, Spring 2013