BUILT FOR SPEED
Ihrasher started because it had to. In 1981, skaters needed something that spoke their language, listened to
their music, and did what they did. Thrasher was born. It became much more than that over the years. Good,
We're crusty, gross, dirty, bloody, crass, and sarcastic, but guess what? We've been doing it for 20 years. Can any-
body or anything say that they did it first or better? Nope. Think about it, suckers. -Jake Phelps
THRASHER
THRASHER
SOUTH
SLUGGO
TEXAS
SICK SWITCH VERT LAH
THRASHER
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THRASHER
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THRAX
Bod
LONDON
BOYLE
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THRASHER
THE
THRASHER
FORSHED
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'91 '92
January 1991
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'81
'82 '83 '84
'85 '86 '87 '88 '89
'90 '91
THRASHER
LE
THIER
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Fre
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SF STREET
BATTLE
THRASHER
SPEYER
TWENTY YEARS
AND GRINDING
January 1981
• KT's vision
fueled by likes of
THRASHER
Alva, Adams, Blackhart.
Shut up and skate,
skate and destroy.
The heart is forged,
and life begins.
February 1988
• H-Street crew
better than most.
• Nation's children suffer
McSqueeb hair plague.
• Vision gear at Macy's.
Punk is out, pink is in.
RHCP tight with mag.
June 1984
THRASHED
• Punk rock
begats skate rock.
• Pipes, parks, pools,
street, downhill, ditches
-skate it all.
Gator rips the first full-
color photo on cover.
June 1989
• 100th issue.
• Cover won
award for design.
Enrico Chandoha R.I.P.
Upturned front bolts
helps kids ollie?
• Spoon noses.
November 1984
• Capitola
Classic and
Midwest Melee.
Pegged pants and
backyard ramps reign.
No-names Gonz and
Natas define street skating.
December 1989
• Rails, copers
come off.
• Münster was
moshed and London
sacked.
Kendall gets cover dur-
ing his salad days.
June 1986
Punk rock
lives, thrives.
THRASHER
July 1986
• Danzig photo by
Pushead makes dark
minions rejoice.
Skating is heating up.
Future Primitive.
April 1990
• Rip-Grip.
• Sequential
street action courtesy of
Karma Chameleon.
Skating takes a shit.
Bullet 66's, puffy high
tops, Guns 'N' Roses.
• Pure form
amidst chaos.
Sacto Street Burnout.
Jesse Martinez gets
three sequences, three
ads, and the cover.
Worst clothes ever.
May 1990
• Frankie Hill
leaves the
caveman-era and ollies
onto handrails.
Kickturn noses no
longer seen as gimmick.
August 1986
• Streetplants
were in and
Metallica was on.
Gator got arrested
five minutes after
Vallely cover shot.
Back to the Future.
November 1990 T
Skateboarding
gets slower.
EMB establishes its
skate Mecca status.
Carroll king of SF.
Sanch's shoes and
Lottery-flip step-hops. board tell the story.
• Biggest selling
issue of all time.
Transitions still hot. Vert
skaters busy, content.
Tony Hawk popular even
without having done 900°.
February 1996
Even die-hards
admit, hip-hop's
here to stay.
THRASHER
Slept-on Strubing is new
breed of all-around rippers.
Skating gets fast again.
September 1998
• Muska deified.
• Marc Johnson
has the best feet.
'93 94 95 '96 '97 '98 '99
April 1992
• Street explosion
fully realized.
Many companies and
'80s vert skaters seen run-
ning for their lives.
Bertino gets blunted.
July 1996
• Skating gets
X Games enema.
THRASHER
If it's not "caught clean"
don't even bother.
Pointless to describe gnar
of Phil Shao's Miley grind.
THRASHER October 1998
Penny turns his back on
the hype, gains enigma status.
NB becomes AD.
• Skatepark boom.
February 1993
THRASHED
October 1993
• Jake Phelps
becomes editor.
• Video grab on cover.
• 35 mm wheels
not uncommon.
Wearing big pants accept-
Janky flip-in, flip-out skat-able alternative to skating.
ing is standard fare.
East Coast vs. West Coast.
March 1997
THRASHED
• 20 year SOTY
retrospective causes
some pros to frown.
Koston dynasty emerges.
Anything goes: wallies,
tré flips, even vert!
THRASHER February 1999
• Titans of Tech
drops new school science.
Hesh vs. Fresh ranks
among all-time great covers.
Flip-in, flip-out is back.
• Joe Pino?
• Rap, rock, vert,
street, tech, burl...
Fuck it. Dowhatchyalike.
Geoff Rowley comin'
down the mountain.
Why skate when you can'
just look like you do?
October 1997
"Poached" stirs up
industry shitstorm.
THER
D. Way's helicopter jump
ushers in era of mega-stunts.
Signature shoe floodgates
wide open, changes the game.
April 2000
Brian Anderson
SOTY cover off the
hook. Bling! Bling!
How to Quit Skating.
Curtis Hsiang R.I.P.
"Step to the Mitch..."
'00 '01
May 1995
Michael Burnett
hits the road.
Max Schaaf keeps NorCal
vert scene alive.
White shoes, white shirts.
Sensitive skaters abound.
November 1997
TRACEY
• Jeremy Wray
jumps off a building.
Phil Shao destroys Europe.
Big, tech-tech gnar.
Slim Jim and the Marines
sponsor contests. Holy shit.
January 2001
• Twenty fuckin'
years. What you got?