BORN BURN
I
N YOUR HANDS YOU HOLD THE GENUINE ARTICLE.
A record of two decades of unadulterated assault. In the history
of the sport this has never happened before. This media mile-
stone is guaranteed to be a collector's item. Twenty years of
Thrasher. 7300 days, or 175,200 hours, or 10,512,000 minutes,
or 630,150,000 seconds of skating's most momentous moments bro-
ken down and analyzed. The down low on the hardcore coming from
the oldest continuously active skate magazine. Number 20, here,
now, and forever, so see it how it was and how it will be.
Thrasher, besides being first and foremost, also is the only frontline
boarding publication that is not controlled by a major corporation.
This mag is still owned and operated by its founders, who are a
group of individuals interested in the activity of skateboarding.
Generations come and go, each making their respective marks upon
the sport. This magazine has chronicled all of the most influential
individuals in the evolutionary process of modern skating. Their suc-
cesses have been the thrust of Thrasher's editorial orientation.
Most of all, Thrasher has always stood for the honest anarchy
inherent to the basic gig of riding a skateboard. Where others mor-
alize and attempt to legislate personal taste, we say let each rider
decide for his or herself.
Once, before there was a before, there was a tree in a forest. It was
tall, strong, and sort of green and bushy on top. The tree had no
dreams and aspirations. All this tree ever wanted to be was a tree.
One day some men came and cut the tree down and quickly turned
it into useful products like 2x4's. These were men of simplistic
vision. They sent one little 2x4 to live in a city far to the south. The
sidewalks there were made of smooth cement.
To
Once there was a sister. All she wanted to do was play in her
pair of roller skates. She went to a roller rink where they played
organ music and she wore warm fuzzy sweaters. One day her
brother cut one of her skates in half and nailed it to the bottom
of the 2x4. He also attached an old fruit box to the front of the
apparatus. The sister was now a young woman of sorrow.
Once the boy was rolling he never looked back. He quickly dis-
pensed with the box and had a sidewalk surfboard. He found the
thrill in the hill. This was how our ancestors lived. Notice that
they never asked permission or apologized. Notice that there
were no dollars to be made. Nor was there any way to pretend.
The ancestors were men of steel-wheeled genius.
Some claim that the foundations of the sport/art are under
attack from legions of non-skating exploiters. It has been said
that it is bad that a number of pros choose to cash their checks
and carry on in silence. In our estimation, anybody who really
rides is a skater and is thus deserving of everybody's respect. Most
skateboarders just want to skateboard. They do not care about
anything except the utter realities of skating. Politics are irrele-
vant. Cashing in does not matter. Rolling in does matter.
Remember that skating will never die, because you cannot
take skating away from someone who cares about it. Ride any
way you want. Ride any place you want. So think of that tree
that gave it all up to be your deck. Honor the activity. Honor
the ancestors. Honor yourself. That's what our Twentieth
Anniversary Issue is all about.
-CR Stecyk III