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Happy New Year! We’re a little behind schedule, but we’re excited to share a late holiday gift from Amy Mattes, author of Late September (which we featured in our very first newsletter). A huge thanks to Amy for offering this to our readers.
Late September: A Novel
by Amy MattesIf you are on the mailing list, you are automatically entered to win–nothing to do but hope for those lottery balls to fall your way. If you’d like to increase your chances to win (and help spread the word about this newsletter), share this email, post on social, or somehow make waves in the universe and tag @tailsofskateboarding (on Instagram). If you aren’t on Instagram (I understand), drop us a line and let us know where you shared the newsletter. If you share, you will double your chances to win. If you don’t want to risk it or can’t wait, buy the book now using the button below.
Three more books we thought you might enjoy
XO Flowers Summer 2024 by Mike Ballard$9.95 Technically this isn’t a book, it’s a magazine. At 324 pages, I’m not going to get technical, but it feels like a book. This issue
features Georgia Martin, Dylan Witkin, Gino Perez, Reef Orlando, Patrick Melcher, Nigel Alexander, Chase Gabor, April Jones, and Todd Huber, and much more. – Freeborn
€69,00
Shipping: April 2025 In the early 2000’s, the opportunities for a female skateboard photographer were bleak. Fortunately, by 2003, the Check it Out: skateboarding 4 girls (CIO) zine which had originated in Brazil, evolved into a glossy magazine and became an outlet for showcasing photos of talented female skaters throughout the Americas. I first noticed Magdalena (Magda) Wosinska’s work when she was added to the roster of contributing photographers in CIO, documenting the dynamic progress of women that the mainstream skate industry was unwilling to celebrate or acknowledge. Before CIO, Wosinska’s connection to skateboarding and photography began in 1991 when she emigrated to Tempe, Arizona, from Poland. She took up skateboarding herself but was mocked for being a
poseur based solely on the misconception that skateboarding was exclusive to men. In an interview with Monster Children, Magda discussed how turning to the camera to capture and interpret the scene was her coping method, and a means to gain acceptance. Magda’s photography book Fulfill the Dream (2024) is focused on this period and according to Robin Pailler for Wasted Talent, the book is a “raw, no holds barred account of a young girl,
arriving in America in the nineties and trying to integrate with a scene that essentially refused to accept her.” The images are also candid because, as Magda explained, “people had their guard down around me, and the photos in this book capture the world of skaters through the eyes of a little girl.” Wosinska is now a globally recognized photographer, involved with brand campaigns for major companies, creating portraits of leading musicians, actors, activists and artists, and it is so fantastic to witness what a powerhouse she has become. While the images in her book are beautiful, they do evoke feelings of vulnerability, pain, and rejection, and Magda herself acknowledged that the process of creating the book was cathartic since some of the photos are among her first, taken at the age of fourteen. Fulfill the Dream will appeal to anyone with an appreciation for 1990s skateboarding culture, as there are many recognizable faces like Harold Hunter, Erik Ellington, Ali Boulala, plus, there’s a forward by Chad Muska, and Ed Templeton has also vetted the publication on social media. Magda finally accomplished her dream of having one of her photos on the cover of a skateboarding magazine (Issue 49 of SOLO skateboard magazine with Austyn Gillette, March 2023), and her book is a testament to her perseverance and talent. – Porter
The Best of Skate Fate: 1981-1991 by Garry Scott Davis$21.97 Some people are beyond classification. GSD is one of these luminaries. Artist, musician, professional athlete, writer, publisher, and so much more. The first street skateboarding professional and creator of the longest-running skate zine, Skate Fate. This book pulls together some of the
gems from some of the 76 issues including interviews with Neil Blender, Steve Caballero, Steve Claar, Bill Danforth, Claus Grabke, Jeff Grosso, Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Marty Jimenez, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Corey O’Brien and Gavin O’Brien, Chris Miller, Stacy Peralta, Rob Roskopp, Billy Ruff, Skate Rat, John Smythe (Craig Stecyk), Kevin Staab, and Tod Swank. If you care about the creative source of skateboarding, this book should be in your collection. – Freeborn
Who’s putting this together, and why?John Freeborn & Natalie Porter
John Freeborn began skateboarding in 1986 and still tries to do tricks today. He is the publisher of Tails Of… an art and skateboarding zine that features a rotating curator for each issue. In the early days, John published The Media Locals Zine, The Kill Rocco Zine, Milkcrate Digest, and several others. During college, he founded Good&Evil skateboards. Later, he co-founded the artist co-op SPACE1026 in Philadelphia. In 2012, he self-published Big Kids/Little Kids which showcased the emerging art scene in Philadelphia.
Natalie Porter began skateboarding in 1995 and continues to skate today. She is a public librarian and founder of the Womxn Skate History archive and Instagram account @womxnsk8history. In 2003, she wrote the thesis, Female Skateboarder and their Negotiation of Space and Identity and has been collecting resources on women’s skate history ever since. Natalie also contributed to the skate zines Armpit (2002-2004) as an OG member of
the Skirtboarders crew in Montreal, and Idlewood (2009-2014) with Michelle Pezel of Antisocial skateshop in Vancouver. ECW Press will publish her book Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: a history of badass women skateboarders in Fall 2025.
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Tails of...
