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Skate Book Club: November 2025 ![]() The end of the year is close at hand. It’s been a trying year for me personally, and with the loss of my friend, Rich Jacobs, this past week, it’s not getting any easier. Rich was a big part of Tails Of. He introduced me to Jai Tanju, who did the Books issue, which led directly to this project. We’re all connected, and Rich was the ultimate connector. He will be missed by skateboarding, zine folk, music nerds, artists, and many more. – Freeborn Dr. Neftalie Williams’ book ‘The Skateboard Life: Movers, Shakers, Makers & Rulebreakers: The Quintessential Story of Skateboard Culture’ was published in October by Artisan, and it’s an impressive feat, celebrating a diverse array of individuals who have made skateboarding what it is today, combining biography and iconic photographs, many of which were taken by Williams himself. On my first browse through this book, what impressed me immediately was that the stories of women and non-binary skateboarders were consistently included throughout the text. I’ve been disappointed in the past when skateboarding history writers offer a token gesture of inclusion, like a paragraph or a chapter on “the girls” at the back of a book, because it feels forced and like an add-on rather than part of the core story. But I’m not surprised that Dr. Williams took a different approach, considering that he has been an advocate for diverse voices and equitable representation in skateboarding media for his whole career. I also appreciated how, among some of the obvious skateboard legends and Olympians featured, aka Tony Hawk, who offered a blurb of support, The Skateboard Life gives equal attention to someone like Lisa Whitaker. Whitaker, as a skateboarder from the late 1980s, became a webmaster, filmmaker, and company owner, and has been incredibly influential in cultivating awareness of women’s participation in skateboarding and supporting their efforts, so her inclusion alone validates this book in my mind. Dr. Williams has a lyrical style of
narration that manages to break up cold, hard facts and Wikipedia precision because of his descriptive enthusiasm. Simultaneously, he avoids pandering to readers who may be outside of the scene and clueless to trick names and insider knowledge, but without alienating them. In fact, his energy invites people in to revel in the drama. The Skateboard Life also recognizes a variety of influential skateparks and contests, gives a nod to the artistry and fashion elements of skateboarding culture, and paints a rich, broad overview of what it means to be a skateboarder regardless of your age, gender, sexuality, race,
and culture. Overall, I regard The Skateboard Life as a must-have for your skateboarding book collection. It’s so much more than a stylish coffee table book thanks to the insight, passion, and wordsmithing of Dr. Williams. – Porter The Medium Picture By Roy ChristopherIn a mode appealing to members of any subculture, Roy Christopher’s dense but slim The Medium Picture charts the changes in culture as dictated by technology on both a personal and intellectual level. Like the history of our media itself, he first references large monolithic examples – radio/music and television shows – that have become embedded in our culture, then complicates and fragments our relationship to them. One example focuses on how the change from record to tape in the music industry helped to alter our cultural expressions and how we synthesize information. He moves through post-modern history and shows how more technology can create corrosive representations and information, like a copy of a copy of a copy. A sort of punk rock luddite – Christopher has never owned a TV and hasn’t had a car since the 1990s – he draws from subculture crossover icons like Gang of Four, Laurie Anderson, and Ian Makeye as well as well-researched academic theories from people like Marshall McLuhan to show how things like zines and mixtapes led to the tiny screens of today. The theory is sprinkled in references; I personally was drawn in with the often-cited works of William Gibson, a robust establishing of skateboarding’s relationship to his topic, and the dozens of chapter-opening quotations from films, poems, music, or authors like Kim Stanley Robinson. This vast collection of references is supported by well-referenced theory and research that mesh with the book’s easily readable format. Christopher’s claim of lifelong journaling seems very likely given the easy, conversational manner in which he delivers so much information. It is our insights into his own relationships to the theories at hand that make this book most compelling, and Christopher exudes a real love for the things he talks about. I maintained interest through loftier, hard-to-grasp ideas with clearly illustrated connections between seemingly disparate topics like metaphor and technology, while receiving new insight into everyday things such as walking. The Medium Picture probes many of the questions and desires that we feel as people and may not have words for. The extremely clever title gives a very accurate idea of what the book is about – a play on words that folds in on itself from multiple angles. There is even a nicely designed title page logo calling attention to these interlocking angles, not to mention the pleasing chapter and section headers. Importantly, at only 162 pages, Christopher makes a seemingly intimidating topic appear tackleable and packs a lot into his punch. Perhaps the best thing A Medium Picture does, though, is recognize that it is a piece of a larger hole – a very important and often forgotten thing for cultural theory to do. For that and much more, it is worth your read. – Abada Rich Jacobs R.I.P.Rich Jacobs was prolific, and while most of these are sold out, the first one, After Portrayal and Such : Pencil Drawings, is still available. Tails Of… #5 is not available anymoreWe’ve closed the books on issue #5, Tails Of… Photographers. The work has started on #6, and I can’t share too many details just yet, but it’s going to be good. Trust me. Every subscription helps keep Tails Of alive and growing, subscribe now and support the Tails Of project. 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. Now you know who’s responsible for this, why is this email newsletter even a thing?In the Fall of 2022, Jai Tanju led the charge on Issue #3 of Tails Of… Books. This issue spawned the ‘Every Skateboard Book We Could Find’ book page on TailsOf.org, and ever since, we’ve been maintaining this page and trying to keep up with the amazing output of the skate community. The new books that are added (yes, we are always behind) get shared on Instagram, but the algorithm is a fickle beast–so, what if we just created a newsletter for those who care and want this information more directly? This is the first issue of that newsletter. Please let us know what you like, hate, or want more of and what books we should feature. |





