A Secret History of the Ollie


Book Description

Every culture has a creation myth, and skateboarding is no different. The Ollie forged a new identity for skateboarding after its invention in the 1970s, and it lies at the root of nearly every significant move in street skating today. This groundbreaking no-handed aerial has also affected the evolution of surfing and snowboarding, and has left a permanent impression upon popular culture and language. This, then, is the story of the Ollie, the history and technology that set the stage for its creation, the pioneers who made it happen, and the skaters who used it to start a revolution.







Skateboard Mom


Book Description

An eight-year-old boy gets a skateboard for his birthday, but when his mom tries it out, she has so much fun that she won't give it back.




Silver. Skate. Seventies.


Book Description

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 and the City


Book Description

Skateboarding is both a sport and a way of life. Creative, physical, graphic, urban and controversial, it is full of contradictions – a billion-dollar global industry which still retains its vibrant, counter-cultural heart. Skateboarding and the City presents the only complete history of the sport, exploring the story of skate culture from the surf-beaches of '60s California to the latest developments in street-skating today. Written by a life-long skater who also happens to be an architectural historian, and packed through with full-colour images – of skaters, boards, moves, graphics, and film-stills – this passionate, readable and rigorously-researched book explores the history of skateboarding and reveals a vivid understanding of how skateboarders, through their actions, experience the city and its architecture in a unique way.




The Handmade Skateboard


Book Description

Build a custom skateboard of any shape and size, from a high-performance street deck to the classic longboard, that will turn heads everywhere you go. When you make your own skateboard from scratch you have the opportunity to create something that is perfectly tailored to you: a deck that matches your height, your weight, your center of balance, your skill level and your intended use. More importantly, making your own skate deck allows you to design a perfect ride to fit your style and makes a statement about who you are. There's nothing wrong with choosing off-the-shelf and mass produced, but who doesn't prefer to stand out. Be different. Be one of a kind. That's what you get with a custom handmade skateboard. Whether you are an accomplished woodworker or an absolute beginner, The Handmade Skateboard guides you step-by-step through building five skateboard designs; from a simple Hack Board built in a few spare hours to a high-performance street deck pressed from seven layers of high-quality Maple veneers. A design guide covers everything you need to know about sizing and shaping your deck and choosing the right trucks and hardware. And helpful photos, illustrations and detailed written instructions throughout provide all the information and motivation you need to make your own skateboard from scratch.




Push


Book Description

The dynamic images from the analog era found in PUSH demonstrate why Grant Brittain has become one of the most widely-recognized skateboard photographers on the planet. Brittain has been at the epicenter of California skateboarding since landing a job at Del Mar Skate Ranch in 1978. Brittain started shooting Kodachrome at Del Mar in 1979, and within a few years he was submitting photographs to TransWorld Skateboarding magazine, going on to become Photo Editor there shortly thereafter. In 1987, "The Push," a photo of Tod Swank made the cover of TransWorld, becoming one of the most recognizable photos in all of skateboarding. J Grant Brittain has mentored dozens of budding photographers while achieving the status of icon to skateboarders around the world. It's high time the world gets a chance to see this collection of his work from the 1980s that has inspired so many. PUSH includes a foreword by Tony Hawk, an introduction by Miki Vuckovich and a fold-out timeline by Gary Scott Davis.




Skateboarding Is Not a Fashion


Book Description

The way apparel has been worn and created by skateboarders has had a tremendous impact on popular culture at large. Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion documents all aspects of this aesthetic movement; from its roots in the 1950s as an offshoot of surfing culture, to the 1980s. Nearly every area of garment design was touched by skate wear's aesthetic - influencing the design and fashion of innumerable media from printed T-shirts to board shorts and denim to track suits along the way.




Disposable


Book Description

Long time skateboard artist Sean Cliver has put together this staggering survey of over 1000 skateboard graphics from the early 80s to the start of the 00s, creating an indispensable insiders history as he did so. Alongside his own history, Sean has assembled a wealth of recollections and stories from prominent artists and skateboarders such as Andy Howell, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Steve Caballero, and Tony Hawk. The end result is a fascinating historical account of art in the skateboard subculture, as told by those directly involved with shaping its legendary creative face. Now, 10 years after its first printing, the graphics and stories within are as provocative as they day they were first conceived.




The Disposable Skateboard Bible


Book Description

The skateboard decks documented in this special collection are immaculately photographed and laid-out for maximum graphic glory. In "The Bible", the visuals take center stage, but the fascinating vignettes and recollections provided by an A-list of skateboarding personalities from Tony Hawk to Mike Vallely, Mark Gonzales to Stacy Peralta bring context to the aesthetic mayhem. The board graphics within The Disposable Skateboard Bible are broken down by decade: (beginning in 1960) documenting some of the earliest deck designs; through the 70s and the game-changing advent of urethane wheels; the 80s with its ups and downs, big decks and mass-market popularity; finally, the graphic chaos of the 90s through the turn of the millennium. This book is a blue chip, must-have reference for any graphics library.