The skateboard “Zine” was most popular in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s but with the emergence of new non-profit Skateboard Magazines such as 43 Magazine, Skate Like a girl and Scallywag Zine the 21st Century is seeing a revival of the DIY publication. The Internet, of course has impacted on this – online versions are free to read and cost little to publish. The availability that online shopping offers, also means that the Zine is more widely available worldwide. The Zine offers a counter vision of the homogenous view of professional skateboarding. The self-published publications capture the “voices of the many who skate in anonymity” (Finnell, J :2013)
“The haphazard cut and paste production method” of the early 70’s-90’s zines look like “vandalised skate photo collages, but it seems a skate zines overall sloppiness just made them even popular.” (Caines, J: 2015). Pure Fun Zine was first published by Larry Ransom and Eric Shugats in 1990 and 1991 in New York. Originally nine issues were published but a tenth issue was released in July 2012 for the zine’s 22nd anniversary. An example of a British 90’s Zine was Skate Muties.Mark Preston describes the Zine as “intense Dadaist explosion of clippings, home penned cartoons and genuinely side-splitting, copy.” (Preston, M: 2015)
Amid the budget underground modern Zines, remain the current and historical mainstream magazines. Many mainstream magazines have evolved from the Zine and still play homage to the format: e.g. RAD Magazine evolved out of BMX Magazine and over time, the magazine evolved into one of the most renowned modern Skateboarding publications Sidewalk Skateboarding Magazine. Thrasher Magazine has been in publication since 1981. It includes a column by Wez Lundry entitled, “Zine Thing.” Lundry created the Pool Dust zine (www.pooldust.com ) and uses the column to showcase and review reader submitted skateboard zines from around the globe.
Pool Dust Zine Vol #23 (1994)
Some Zine’s have remained truly underground and cannot be found in a ‘Google search’. Brighton Based Skaterboarder/ Artist Ben Gore’s Radulthood Zine is an example of this. The Zine features artwork from local artists such as Elouise Dorr and is a celebration of the worlds of skateboarding and artists that inspire my own project for ‘Practice 1’. I will be using the aesthetic of the traditional ‘Zine’ to create an alternative essay on “Defining Skateboarding as an Art Form”. I hope to be able to include original art work from young skater/ artists from the UK. My goal is to create a Zine reflective of the Youth Culture element of my work and to embrace the young and often underestimated talent associated to skateboard culture.
Radulthood Zine Vol #1 (2015)
Radulthood Zine [Image] http://radulthood.bigcartel.com/product/radulthood-1[accessed 14-2-16]
A directory of current skateboarding zines of all types http://skatezines.com/ [accessed 14-2-16]
Pool Dust Zine [Image] http://store.beercity.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BCOS&Product_Code=pd23&Category_Code=dvsk8 [accessed 14-2-16]
Caines J, (2015) “How UK Skate Zines Pushed the Envelope of DIY Culture” https://sidewalkmag.com/featured-article/how-uk-skate-zines-pushed-the-envelope-of-diy-culture.html#sslUrOSbWFBtg6Qp.97[accessed 14-2-16]
Pappalardo, A. (2012) “Pure Fun Was the Epitome of 90s Skateboarding Zines” http://www.vice.com/read/pure-fun-was-the-epitome-of-90s-skateboarding-zines [accessed 14-2-16]
Finnell, J (2013) SK8 zines “The craze and menace of skateboards” http://crln.acrl.org/content/74/3/154.full [accessed 14-2-16]
43 Magazine homepage http://43magazine.com [accessed 14-2-16]
Pure Fun Zine homepage http://purefunskatezine.com/ [accessed 14-2-16]
Skate like a Girl Homepage http://skatelikeagirlsf.bigcartel.com/product/escape-route-zine-1 . [accessed 14-2-16]
Scallywag Zine homepage http://issuu.com/jollyrogerskateboards . [accessed 14-2-16]
When We Was Rad: Skateboard History from UK Vintage Magazine “History of Skateboarding (UK): Vintage R.a.D Magazine Official Archive http://www.whenwewasrad.co.uk/ . [accessed 14-2-16]
Kane, A (2015) How to start a kick ass zine that stands for something real. Dazed http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/26646/1/how-to-start-a-kick-ass-zine-that-stands-for-something-real-polyester [accessed 14-2-16]
Jones, S (2015) Radulthood Zine Scene http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/print/zine-scene-print/radulthood/ [accessed 14-2-16]
