The Promo(tional) Issue
Letter from the Editor
It seems like five years ago that this zine was just a nebulous thought. The first wave came in March of 2019 when Transworld Skateboarding ceased printing. At that time, the message that came to me was simply, “Shit, another print mag down. Someone needs to do something.” Tails Of… is not a replacement for TWS, The Skateborard Mag, Slap or others.
Months later, I started having conversations with my collaborators. My first question was, “Is this the worst idea ever?” Who even reads anymore? Magazines? Really. I primarily deal with the digital world for work. But, I still love books, prints and well designed physical objects. No one I spoke to told me to stop and instead everyone gave me some motivation and added to this project.
What is Tails Of…
Half art zine and half skate mag. The content aims to be universal and timeless. We probably won’t ever have the hot new tricks and riders. Thrasher does this and does it damn well. Each issue of Tails Of will have a theme created by a photographer and an artist in tandem. Once the theme is defined, the contributors will go to work creating content. The creative leads will shape the issue’s final appearance. This might make each issue feel very different. This is all part of the plan. Skateboarders come with a wide array of ideas, styles, and influences. The goal is to showcase the diverse vantage points of our culture.
This page here is an attempt to explain Issue #0, AKA the promo issue. There is no theme this time around. The directive with this issue was to show the breadth of what Tails Of might become. I say might, because I have no concrete idea where this will end up. I fully expect my perspective to change as this develops.
Who are the contributors?
Skateboarders, pure and simple. If you skate and take photos, make art, write, archive or do anything that adds to the whole. We have a crew and I’m hoping that this crew expands a lot as time goes on. Reach out if you want to join us.
Huge thanks to Rich Jacobs, Jai Tanju, Ben Horton and Jim Houser who helped drive the concept. Thanks to Justin Santora (who did the cover art), Sean Cronan (back cover photo), Adam Wallacavage, Will Owens, Adam Crawford, Russ Pope, Norma Ibarra, Andy Jenkins, Akira Yonekawa, Kelly D. Williams, Sean Reddy, Julia Rowe, Kurt Hodge, Keith Meek, and many more for making this real. I hope that in all of the chaos of 2020 this zine you smile and motivates you to push a little harder.
John Freeborn
Table of Contents
Tails Of… is a print magazine and we want you to experience it in that form if possible. We also understand that we can’t reach everyone in that way so we’ll publish some of the articles online. These may get released over time–we gotta keep ya’ll interested, right? But for real, maybe it’s just cause we didn’t get around to it yet.
10 : Jai Tanju on the road with Santa Cruz
20 : Adam Crawford
22 : Norma Ibarra
30 : Kelly D. Williams
34 : Skateboarding Family Tree
37 : Abberation
54 : Rich Jacobs
58 : Woodlead – Scott Minton
68 : Julia Rowe
72 : Fallen Euro Tour – Will Owens
82 : Akira Yonekawa
86 : Justin Santora
106 : Ender:Sounds Dangerous by Shan Reddy