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This month, we’ve got a wide-ranging batch of print materials for you. Natalie did a deep dive on some new materials from the academic side of skateboarding. Skateboarders are a creative bunch, and I’ve been seeing a lot of art-related books coming out. They aren’t about skateboarding (exactly), but all by skateboarders. Adam Abada reviews a new book by Skate Bud Zachary Moldof. The Skate Book Club keeps growing–thanks to you all for sharing it. – Freeborn
Without Permission: 1000 Years of Independent Jewish Skateboard Writing by Zachary MoldofForward by Ted Barrow 2023
146 Pages Without Permission begins with a correspondence between two skateboarders of the same generation. In the form of the book’s foreword and intro, respectively, Ted Barrow and the book’s author Zach Moldof give their own account of their very post-social media internet beef that, for better or worse, became a defining and galvanizing moment in both of their lives. This written word connection between the virtual and the printed help to situate the following collection of essays as a first-hand document coming very much from deep within the heart of our culture of skateboarding.
Drawing from years of his previous writing for his own magazine Stoke Much and other outlets, Zach Moldof weaves together a collection of essays addressing his life in skateboarding from his experience as a Jewish skater, ranging from sensitive profiles of hard-working professionals to calling out abuse and discrimination in the industry. There are also philosophical meanderings through the facts of our culture in an attempt to find the skater’s place in the world, an overview of methods and concepts from art history (that I’m only assuming are the author’s personal favorites). Like essays should, the thoughts and viewpoints raised by Moldof are not all obvious or conventional. They may echo your own, skew drastically different, or cause concern where perhaps there wasn’t any before. They are all clearly expressed with the purpose and conviction that make for good
and useful reading no matter where you stand. Individually, they read like the impassioned and well-formed theories of an enthusiast at a shop. Together, they have the ability to remind readers of many different experiences that come together to form skateboarding and connect them back to that vast constellation of lives and places. – Abada
Academic Round-up by Natalie Porter
It’s always fascinating to see how academic skateboarders are merging their research specialities with skateboarding, and there’s been several interesting books recently published to be aware of, all with their own unique spin on our favorite topic!
Rezballers and Skate Elders: Joyful Futures in Indian Country by David Kamper$60.00
Hardcover, 272 Pages Professor David Kamper, with the San Diego State University (cofounder of the Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change) has released Rezballers and Skate Elders: joyful futures in Indian country (June 2025) with University of Nebraska Press. The book explores the impact of both basketball and skateboarding within Indigenous communities. Kamper noted on Instagram that this book is a culmination of over ten years of research and community
engagement. The title alone has got me stoked! And the emphasis is on how these two activities instill hope and joy and even combat intergenerational trauma.
Skate and Research
by Benjamin Büscher, Veith Kilberth, and Hagen Wäsche$60.00 Over in Germany, a book with a cover reminiscent of the painting “Dance” by Matisse was published in March by Benjamin Büscher, Veith Kilberth, and Hagen Wäshe called Skate and Research: skateboarding als bewegungskulturelle praxis und interdisziplinäres forschungsfeld (translated as “skateboarding as a cultural-movement practice and interdisciplinary research field). There are several contributors, but most notably there’s an essay be Lea Schairer who is an accomplished skater herself and is
now the street coach for the German Olympic team. A few months back there was a sick video released by Pocket Skate Mag called LEA, so I would be intrigued to read about her perspective if it was ever to be translated.
Skateboarding and the Senses:
Skills, Surfaces, and Spaces
by Sander Hölsgens and Brian Glenney$69.99 And finally, last year, Professors Brian Glenney of Norwich University (recently interviewed on the podcast Beyond Boards) and Sander Hölsgens of Leiden University (co-organizer of the Pushing Boarders conferences in Malmö, Sweden) released a title with Routledge Press. Their book Skateboarding and the Senses: skills, surfaces, and spaces
(September 2024), was described as “brilliant” and “compelling” within a review from SDSU. The abstract explains that the book is grounded in theory and “examines how skaters acquire somatic knowledge and socio-emotional resilience through their sonic and vibratory experience of the city streets,” and that includes bruised heels and scabbed elbows!
By Skateboarders,
But Not Necessarily About Skateboarding
Who’s putting this together, and why?John Freeborn, Natalie Porter & Adam Abada
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.
Adam Abada is a skateboarder, artist, filmmaker, and writer from New Jersey who is currently living in Los Angeles, CA. Along with lifelong friend Zach Baker, he has directed the travel skate documentaries Backstreet Atlas and The Backstreet Atlas Guide to New Jersey. He’s also a contributing writer at Quartersnacks and has done commercial work for Vans, ESPN, Sundance TV, Bon Appétit, Pepsi, Nickelodeon, MTV, Adidas, and too many more to name.
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Tails of...
