Thrasher (magazine)

Thrasher is a skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson, and Fausto Vitello, and published by High Speed Productions, Inc. of San Francisco, US.[3] The publication consists primarily of skateboard and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews. The magazine also maintains a website, which includes segments with names such as "Firing Line" and "Hall of Meat", an online store, a video collection, a radio show, and a forum for registered users.[4] The company also owns and operates the Double Rock indoor skateboarding facility, and the San Francisco skateshop, 66 6th.

Thrasher
November 2007 cover with Steve Nesser
EditorMichael Burnett[1]
Staff writersEddie Hobbs
CategoriesSkateboarding
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation250,000[2]
PublisherHigh Speed Productions
FounderEric Swenson, and Fausto Vitello
Year foundedJanuary 1981 (1981-01)
Based inSan Francisco, California
LanguageEnglish, French (from 2006 to 2012)
Websitethrashermagazine.com
ISSN0889-0692
OCLC13789617

History

Thrasher was founded in 1981 by Fausto Vitello and Eric Swenson, primarily as a way to promote Independent Truck Company, their skateboard truck company.[3] The magazine's first editor was Kevin Thatcher. In 1993, Jake Phelps was named editor of the magazine.[5] In 1999, the magazine sponsored a PlayStation game called Thrasher Presents Skate and Destroy.[6] Vitello's son, Tony, took over as owner of the magazine after his father died of a heart attack in 2006[7] and Swenson committed suicide in 2011.[3] On March 14, 2019 long time editor Jake Phelps died.[8][9]

Website

The magazine's website features regularly updated episodes of segments and hosts a forum in which registered users can engage in online discussion.[10]

Segments
  • "Burnout" (long-term photographic blog, operated by senior staff photographer, Michael Burnett)
  • "Double Rock"[11]
  • "Firing Line"[12]
  • "Hall of Meat" (Video segments featuring "outtakes" of skateboarders injuring themselves while they attempt to perform tricks.)
  • "Skateline" (hosted by Gary Rogers)[13]
  • "Bru-Ray" (some tour edits by Thrasher's filmer P-Stone)

Skater of the Year

The title of "Skater of the Year" is awarded annually by Thrasher magazine. The tradition was started in 1990, and the accolade remains one of the most respected awards in global skateboarding culture. The title is bestowed to one skater annually and announced by Thrasher's editor. Chris Cole and Danny Way are the only double recipients. Milton Martinez was nominated for and won Skater of the Year for 2019. [14]

Recipients

Partial Videography
  • Bake And Destroy (2012)
  • Prevent This Tragedy (2009)
  • Brutality (2008)
  • Beer Slave (2007)
  • Shotgun (2006)
  • Keg Killer (2006)
  • Beer Helmet (2005)
  • Beers, Bowls & Barneys (2004)
  • Rocket Science (2004)
  • S.O.T.Y. Video (2003)
  • Playing In Traffic (2002)
  • Jaded (2002)
  • Go for Broke (2001)
  • Timebomb (2001)
  • Firing Squad (2000)
  • Scorchin' Summer (1999)
  • Hall of Meat (1999)
  • Hillbilly Roadkill (1998)
  • Vidiot (1998)
  • How to Skateboard Better (1998)
  • How To Skateboard (1998)
  • Skate and Destroy (1996)
  • Raw (1996)
  • Hitting the Streets (1996)
  • Donut Duty (1995)
  • 911 Emergency (1995)
  • Feats (1994)
  • On The Road (1994)
  • Sponsor Me (1994)
  • Need For Speed (1993)
  • The Truth Hurts (1993)
  • Savannah Slamma II (1988)
  • Savannah Slamma (1988)

Thrasher also released a periodic King of the Road video most years between 2003 and 2019.

King of the Road
Main article: King of the Road (skateboarding)

In 2003, Thrasher started the King of the Road (KOTR) skateboarding competition. In the KOTR contest, a group of pre-invited teams of professional skaters are each given a booklet containing a series of challenges. Points are awarded at the completion of each challenge. The teams compete at the same time over a two-week period, in which they travel across the U.S. to complete as many challenges as possible.

KOTR has been held annually since its inception, with the exceptions of 2008 and 2009. In 2011, Thrasher and Converse hosted the competition in China, with the participation of the four biggest Chinese skateboard deck companies.[23]

Skate Rock

Thrasher released a music compilation series titled "Skate Rock" under the High Speed Productions label. The first release was in 1983, with Volume One, and continued until Volume Eight in 1990. The series focused primarily on punk rock and thrash bands, and most of the bands were made up of skateboarders, including well known professionals and community stars such as Steve Caballero, Tony Alva, Bob Denike, Brian Brannon, Mofo, Pushead, Chuck Treece, and Klaus Grabke.

Of the seven volumes of Skate Rock, all volumes were produced as a cassette available through Thrasher Magazine. Some volumes were also available as vinyl records.

Volume 1[24]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1983
Format: Cassette
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk

  • Los Olvidados - "Listen To You"
  • The Big Boys - "Red/Green"
  • Riot .303 - "Murder The Prime Minister"
  • Minus One - "Bored Of It"
  • The Faction - "A.U.K."
  • Skoundrelz - "Exterminator"
  • Drunk Injuns - "Program"
  • J.F.A. - "Great Equalizer"
  • Riot .303 - "Skate Punx"
  • Minus One - "I Remember John"
  • Los Olvidados - "Don't Cry"
  • Minus One - "The Kids Don't Skate Here"
  • Skoundrelz - "Jimmy Closet"
  • Riot .303 - "Depression Session"
  • Drunk Injuns - "Your Mama"
  • Black Athletes - "Die Laughing"
  • The Faction - "Boredom Awaits"
  • Los Olvidados - "You're Dull"
  • Minus One - "Nick of Time"
  • Riot .303 - "Nightmares of Another Kind"
  • Drunk Injuns - "Pumpshank"

Volume Two: Blazing Wheels And Barking Trucks[25]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1984
Format: LP
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk

  • McRad - Prevent This Tragedy
  • T.S.O.L. - Other Side
  • Big Boys - Lesson
  • Anvil Chorus - Blue Flames
  • The Faction - Friends And Enemies
  • Kingpins - Ready To Rip
  • Los Olvidados - Something New
  • Borscht - Bye-Bye
  • Free Beer - Pigs In Space
  • J.F.A. - Beach Blanket Bongout
  • J.F.A. - Johnny D
  • T.S.O.L. - In Time
  • Free Beer - Start the Ark
  • Tales of Terror - Gods from Outer Space
  • Ancestors: Gods Of Sound - Treasures of Mankind
  • Big Boys - Assault
  • McRad - Tomorrow's Headlines
  • Borscht - Enemy
  • Drunk Injuns - She Gots a Gun

Volume Three: Wild Riders Of Boards[26]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1985
Format: Cassette/LP
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Thrasher, Hardcore

  • Slam - Wild Riders of Boards
  • Boneless Ones - The Keg Kept A Flowin
  • Christ on Parade - Don't Draft Me
  • Septic Death - Thaw (Cold War)
  • Slam - Jorden Den Ar Var
  • No Rules - The Fall
  • Christ on Parade - My Life
  • Beyond Possession - Skater's Life
  • Septic Death - Burial
  • Corrosion of Conformity - What?
  • Accused - Take No Prisoners
  • Beyond Possession - My Disease
  • Corrosion of Conformity - Not For Me
  • Corrosion of Conformity - Citizen
  • Accused - Splatter Rock
  • Accused - W.C.A.L.T.
  • Gang Green - Skate To Hell

Volume Four: Smash[27]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1986
Format: Cassette/LP
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Thrash

  • Skate Master Tate - "Skaterock Rap"
  • Steve Caballero - "You Will Go"
  • McSHRED - "McShred"
  • Tupelo Chain Sex - "America"
  • Skip Engblom - "The Other Side"
  • Scram - "Fear"
  • Shredded Steale - "Unsolved Mysteries"
  • McSHRED - "Taz"
  • Cargo Cult - "Amusement Park Disasters"
  • CARGO CULT - "Cargo Cult"
  • SCREAMIN' SIRENS - "Heartbreak Train"

Volume Five: Born to Skate[28]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1987
Format: Cassette, Compilation
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Thrash, Hardcore

  • SNFU - "Visiting The Bad Again"
  • Racer X-AZ - "Happy Go Happy"
  • Stupids - "Born To Built To Grind"
  • Eight Days A Week - "What's So Strange About Me?"
  • Condemned Attitude? -"Homeless Crew"
  • No Mercy - "Die Or Be Killed"
  • Naked Lady Wrestlers - "Scraping The Top Of The Barrel"
  • J.F.A. "1-10"
  • Excel - "Insecurity"
  • Dehumanizers - "Shu Du Vwa"
  • The D.I.'s - "Pray For Surf"
  • Condemned Attitude? - "When World's Collide"
  • Racer X-AZ - "Blarin' In The Chair"
  • Eight Days A Week - "Different Worlds"
  • J.F.A. "Turkeys Carved By UFO's"
  • SNFU "Time To Buy A Futon"
  • Stupids - "Wipeout"
  • Beowulf - "Hussy"
  • Dehumanizers - "Halfpipe"
  • Screamin' Lord & His Heavy Friends - "Kings Of Trash"

Volume Six: Road Rash[29]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1988
Format: Cassette, Compilation
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Hardcore

  • Thee Forgiven - "I Want My Own Highway"
  • Skatemaster Tate - "Jolt Skate Mix"
  • Ungh! - "Funky Joe" and "Falling Tinker Bell"
  • Iveys Vine - "Coming On Down"
  • House Of Wheels - "No Matter"
  • Odd Man Out - "Trial By Fire"
  • Hells Kitchen - "Ain't No Beer"
  • Hells Kitchen - "Bloody Knees"
  • Fratricide - "Dangerous Class"
  • Septic Death - "Disinfect"
  • Six Feet Under - "Unearthly Fate"
  • Six Feet Under -"Love And Hisses"
  • Drunk Injuns - "Not Forever Yours"

Volume Seven: Noise Forest[30]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1989
Format: Cassette, Compilation
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Hardcore

  • Mass Appeal - "Fun Again"
  • Instead - "Tell Me"
  • Instead - "Be Someone"
  • SNFU - "Appraise the Lord"
  • Subvert - "Atrocities"
  • Subvert - "A Turn Away"
  • Exit Condition - "Blood from a Stone"
  • Exit Condition - "Fear for Tomorrow"
  • Unity - "Roses For You"
  • Unity - "Blood Days"
  • Brotherhood - "Breaking the Ice"
  • Brotherhood - "Get Involved"
  • Half-off "On Your Own"
  • Underdog - "Frontside Grind"
  • Underdog - "Reach Out"
  • Hellmenn - "So Bad"
  • Wrecking Crew - "Confusion"
  • Wrecking Crew - "My Mind's Diseased"
  • Uniform Choice - "Indian Eyes"
  • Uniform Choice - "Cut of a Different Cause"
  • Ghoul Squad - "Chamber Of Horrors"
  • Head First - "We Have Changed"
  • Head First - "When It's Over"
  • Malicious Grind - "Polyester Paranoia"

Volume Eight: Pierced Ears[31]

Label: High Speed Productions
Released: 1990
Format: Cassette, Compilation
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk

  • Flower Leperds - "Fast Red Cars"
  • Funk Face - "Tarzan"
  • Six Feet Under - "Sentiments Of Mortality"
  • MCM And The Monster - "Jimmy Thiebaud"
  • Mad Dog Theatre - "Surf Jam"
  • MCM And The Monster - "Teen Queen"
  • Housequake - "Memory Lane"
  • Skatemaster Tate - "More"
  • MCM And The Monster - "Meltdown"
  • Bad Mutha Goose And The Brothers Grimm - "1"
  • Citizen X - "Drowning In A Sea Of Shit"
  • Tattoed Love Dogs - "Dark Of The Night"
  • D.I. - "Cocktail Flu"
  • Six Feet Under - "Running Out Of Air"
  • Funk Face - "Backwards Motion"
  • Skatemaster Tate - "Skateboarding Isn't A Crime"

References
  1. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Jmqyvhgih/
  2. Carlson, Michael (June 30, 2011). "Eric Swenson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  3. Weber, Bruce (June 23, 2011). "Eric Swenson, Co-Founder of Thrasher Magazine, Dies at 64". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. Thrasher Magazine (August 20, 2012). "Home". Thrasher Magazine. BNQT Media Group. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  5. Staley, Willy (March 24, 2016). "Thrashed". The California Sunday Magazine.
  6. Perry, Doug (December 6, 1999). "Thrasher: Skate and Destroy Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  7. Fox, Margalit (April 27, 2006). "Fausto Vitello, 59, Is Dead; Made Skateboarding Gnarly". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  8. "Success at High Speed". SF State Magazine. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  9. Staley, Will (20 March 2019). "Jake Phelps Dies at 56; as Thrasher Editor, a Skateboarding Guru". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  10. Thrasher Magazine https://www.thrashermagazine.com/. Retrieved 30 April 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ThrasherMagazine (February 3, 2011). "Double Rock: Almost". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  12. ThrasherMagazine (June 8, 2012). "Firing Line: Lewis Marnell". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  13. "Skateline". Thrasher Magazine. High Speed Productions, Inc. December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  14. "2019 Skater of the Year". June 10, 2020.
  15. "Thrasher Skateboard Magazine - April 2001". Thrasher Magazine. High Speed Productions, Inc. April 2001. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  16. "Leo Romero - From Birth To SOTY - Full Length" (Video upload). ThrasherMagazine on YouTube. Google, Inc. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  17. LUCAS WISENTHAL (December 13, 2014). "Thrasher Just Announced the 2014 Skater of the Year". RIDE Channel. Complex Media. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  18. "Thrasher Magazine".
  19. "Kyle Walker Is Thrasher 2016 Skater of the Year".
  20. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/jamie-foy-wins-thrasher-mag-2017-skater-of-the-year
  21. "Update: Tyshawn Jones Wins 2018 Skater of the Year". skatenewswire.com. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  22. "SOTY 2019 Party Photos". Thrasher Magazine. December 16, 2019.
  23. "Thrasher Magazine".
  24. "Various - Skate Rock!". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  25. "Various - Skate Rock Vol. 2 - Blazing Wheels And Barking Trucks". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  26. "Various - Skate Rock Volume 3 - Wild Riders Of Boards". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  27. "Various - Smash - Skate Rock Vol. 4". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  28. "Various - Born To Skate (Skate Rock 5)". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  29. "Various - Road Rash - Skate Rock Volume 6". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  30. "Various - Noise Forest - SR7". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  31. "Various - Pierced Ears - Skate Rock Vol. 8". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
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