Outsiders
Curated by John Freeborn
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Tails Of… Outsiders
The idea for this issue was to create something about what drew me into skateboarding at the beginning. I was an outsider before I started skating–I didn’t fit in. I tried different things to blend in, but nothing really clicked until I discovered skateboards.
We all enter into this activity through different paths. For some, it’s simple joy and freedom of rolling around. For others, it’s a sport buttressed with competitions and glory. For me and many of my friends, skateboarding (and everything that came with it: punk rock, art, DIY) was more about leaving the “normal” culture behind. It was about discovering and forging our own world. They call this a “subculture”. I didn’t know that word back then and I wouldn’t have mattered if I did. We created our own art shows, contests, games (S-K-A-T-E), not to mention a totally different way to play in the streets. We didn’t need courts, expensive clothes or approval. We lived outside the mainstream and in this other world, the one we crafted with stolen wood, shoelace belts and duct tape, we were happy.
Today, outsiders – the subculture – have been pulled into the mainstream. Skateboarding is everywhere, even the Olympics. While it may have made skateboarding less of an activity for outsiders, I still believe that what remains at the core of skateboarding is adaption. It’s still radical (in the dictionary definition way) to approach terrain that was not intended for skateboarding and through creativity inject that mundane object with energy and create something entirely new. The act of skating can change the way you see the world around you. Ask any skater and they’ll tell you that they can’t see a curb, a rail, or a handicap ramp without feeling that itch of potential. You see the lines, you imagine what might go down if you could jump out of the car and get a few hits in. Normal people don’t see the world this way. They never will. The outsiders can, though. Skateboarding has influenced me in so many ways, but more than anything, it’s helped me live a productive life. I don’t see walls–I see wallrides. I don’t see barriers–I see a need for some Quickcrete and a new DIY spot. I don’t get bummed at little kids at the skatepark–I think that someday, with the passage of time, we’ll have more people like us in the world.
I don’t know if this issue hits the theme ‘outsiders’ in the way I intended but I hope there’s something in here that will speak to you. I’ve come to terms with the fact that skateboarding means many different things to each of us and, at the heart of it all, that is the spirit of Tails Of…
John Freeborn
Table of Contents
Tails Of… is a print magazine and we’d love for 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 could get released over time, eventually… if we get around to it.
12 : 7 From Jim Goodrich
18 : Bobby Puleo: Current Processes
20 : Sam Cunningham
30 : Shop Stories: Philadelphia & The Suburbs
00 : Spike’s Skates
36 : Fairman’s
40 : Jim Houser: Art Stuff
44 : Between the Lines
52 : Wrench Pilot
54 : Jason Farrell
62 : My East Coast Wall of Fame
64 : Skateboard Carioca
78 : Something About Dogs
Contributors
Copy Editor
Mo Hayes
The Core Counsel
Rich Jacobs, Jai Tanju, Jim Houser, Ben Horton
Contributing Photographers
Fernando Menezes Jr., Kurt Hodge, Julia Rowe, Ken Nagahara, Jim Goodrich, Sean Cronan, Tyler Richardson, Brian Baade, Brian Simmons, Pat Graham, J-Hon Poellnitz
Contributing Artists
Brian Ralph (cover), Brian Lynch, Jim Houser, Ben Horton, Andy Jenkins, Ben Woodward, Aaron Frisby,
Ed Syder, Travis Milliard
Contributing Writers
Hanna Fushihara, Rich Jacobs, Matt Shultz, Michael Stein