que Torque
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Above: After a night of painting
the town red, the bank-to-wall at
the 40-yard was ready to be rock-n-
rolled by Stormy Pruett. Right: Every
other street in Atlanta is named
Peachtree, so it's a pretty safe bet that
Matt Contreras is sinking into this backside
tailslide somewhere off Peachtree.
78 THRASHER
ממו:2
Cannes
HOTLANTA
WICENSI
DILNIE
KOTEM
Words and photos
by Andrew Hutchison
◉
VER THE LAST
year I've had the
privilege of vis-
iting Atlanta
more than a few
times. It seems
that each time
I'm there some-
one tells me Atlanta is going to blow
up and be the next big skateboard city.
After my recent visit I have no doubts
that it could happen. Atlanta has a lot
going for it.
To begin with, Atlanta has a rich skate-
board history to build from. Former
New Deal pro Andy Howell was one of
the first to put it on the map before
moving on to a successful art career.
Thomas Taylor, owner of Stratosphere
skate shop and Torque Skateboards, is a
well-known legend around town. Fred
Reeves has been ripping for years and
even continues to have a pro model for
Crown Skateboards. Back in the late
'80s Atlanta was home to the Skatezone,
one of the biggest indoor skateparks in
the country at that time. In more recent
years, Stacy Lowery, Sean Young, and
even Jamie Thomas are known for their
ties to Atlanta.
The second thing Atlanta has going is
the abundance of spots and the temper-
ate climate. The sweltering summer
months make skating during the day an
almost unbearable task, but winter is a
blessing. It rarely snows and the days.
usually warm up to a decent tempera-
ture so you never need anything more
than a sweatshirt or windbreaker. As far
as spots go, downtown, midtown,
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