Action Sports: The Bible of Skateboarding
Written by playerpress.com, Thursday January 08 2009
Thrasher Magazine hasn’t been around as long as skateboarding, but it watched it go from a hobby to a sport to a lifestyle to a money making business. Through it all Thrasher has catered to the hardcore skater, the shredder who will still be destroying decks when others are watching the skaters on the X-Games, or getting their kicks from Tony Hawk’s video games.
Thrasher started in 1981 when riding a skateboard was the equivalent of being a member of Hell’s Angels. It is an irreverent, witty, articulate and sometimes tasteless chronicler of skateboarders and their way of life. That’s who Thrasher is written for, the kid who lives to skate. The skater who doesn’t care about the latest fashion, or if the shoe he wears is the top seller at Pac Sun. Thrasher is for skate punx, not mall rats.
In fact, Thrasher can supply a skater with all of her worldly needs. With everything from “skategoat” panties to hoodies, a young woman can dress herself in the stuff necessary to take to the rails and ledges. Likewise, she can pick up stickers to decorate her deck, all prudent skaters know blank decks are cheaper, and use the savings to buy a bag to tote her board.
Guys can grab t-s, hoodies, watches, wallets, caps and practically everything he needs to cover his body. Okay, they don’t sell pants or shorts, so you will have to find a work clothes place in your neighborhood and score some Dickies.
Thrasher is skating. They offer dvd’s of pros going harder than you see on TV and cds to get you cranked for skating, or mellowed to chill during sessions. Of course they also provide the latest issue and coveted back issues that are harder to find than a ledge without a skate guard.
Recently they named the 2008 Skater of the Year. The SOTY is highly coveted since it names you as the best of the bunch and you are the guest of honor at the debauched affair thrown to celebrate the award. This year the first 100 women to attend were admitted free, so you can see they were trying to stack the odds in favor of a good night. Silas Baxter-Neal was crowned SOTY and his cover shot shows him attacking a huge rail.
Street skating is the heart and soul of Thrasher. Rails, ledges, curbs and ramps constructed of plywood and saw horses are their fodder. They never met a barricade they didn’t want to Ollie. Hell, they’ll kickflip over a 30 pack before tearing into it. Pools are sacred and anyone who knows the location of one that is available to session will be held in high esteem. They will report on parks, but parks cost money while the streets are free. That is until they erect skate guards or the cops chase you off.
Thrasher is for the type who get “Skate or Die” tattooed on themselves. Their products are durable and affordable and their magazine is chock full of useful information to the hardcore skater. They could lighten their attitude and appeal to the casual skater who would rather hang at the park and hit up the skate Betties, but that isn’t who they want to reach. They are an institution in skating and will be around as long as there are kids who would rather flip you off than just leave when you ask them to stop grinding on the brightly polished rail on the bank across the street from where you live.
Instead of calling the cops, just give the little miscreant a copy of Thrahser. Pausing long enough to check out the contents is the only thing that will take him away from shredding.
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