Ten stories of people who revolutionised skate culture

  • Text by HUCK HQ
Ten stories of people who revolutionised skate culture
Best of Huck — From the trailblazing work of Palestine’s Skate Pal to the scene’s LGBTQ pioneers, we round up the most inclusive, radical and game-changing groups from across the skate world.

Piss Drunx: The legendary skate crew lucky to be alive

In 1998, a mob of young skateboarders descended on an ordinary street in Huntington Beach, California. Spread across four apartments, they quickly gained notoriety not only for their on-board antics, but for embracing a lifestyle of excess. The Piss Drunx, as they came to be known, adopted a ‘fuck everything’ attitude that turned them into skateboarding icons within just two years. But looking back, many of the original members have mixed feelings about their legacy.

6-34-Ali-brass-knucklesV2-EDIT-958x559

Stef Nurding is bridging skate’s gender divide

Pro skater and model Stefani Nurding is using her unique set of skills to shake up a male-dominated industry. “If people think it’s just for girls and it ends up staying that way, it’s not going to be quite as powerful,” she says. “I don’t want to make loads of money; I want to spread this message that it’s for everyone.”

944100020006c2-958x559

Meet the pioneers of Palestine’s skateboarding scene

Learning to skate can be one of the most important cultural moments in someone’s life, and, thanks to projects like SkatePAL, it could be one of the most powerful forces in the cultural development of Palestine.

Skate-Palestine-Sam-Dearden-Huck-C1-958x559

Snapshots of an enigma: Keeping up with Mark Gonzales

Mark Gonzales and The Gonz are two sides of the same fable. There is the man and the myth, the artist and the skateboarder. And then there’s the enigma that somehow binds it all. As a kid he rewrote history with an otherworldly instinct. As an artist he still finds ways to transcend the adult world. This story is just one piece of him – our version of The Gonz.

mark-gonzales-huck-1-958x559

Tim Von Werne: Out and proud

The Last Taboo: Why are there so few openly gay pro skaters? In 2012, we caught up with Tim Von Werne, whose career was cut short under a veil of ‘controversy’, to find out if skateboarding is stepping away from the closet and allowing more pros to be out and proud.

NBselects02

How Skateistan is creating spaces for gender equality around the world

Thanks to the non-profit skate school, young women can find an escape from the realities and stresses of growing up in extremely difficult situations.

Give-Her-Five-Campaign-Image-Safe-spaces-unbranded-3

Countercultural history, through the lens of Glen E. Friedman

What unites skateboarding, punk and hip hop? “It’s all about the fucking attitude,” says photographer Glen E. Friedman.

Screen-Shot-2015-01-14-at-12.14.131-958x559

Clyde Singleton: A skate legend too radical for the industry

Clyde Singleton has been a transgressive force in skateboarding history – a tell-it-like-it-is character who has zero time for bullshit. Two decades after making his dream a reality by turning pro, he’s still committed to pulling off the unexpected. This is a snapshot of his life.

clyde0019-958x559

The skater who became a shaman

Greg Carroll revolutionised the skateboard industry, taking him from rags to riches and back again. Now he’s disrupting on another level: helping people make sense of their lives.

012817_GREG-CARROLL_00061-958x559

Why Nora Vasconcellos is the future of skateboarding

After her parents lost the family home and her friends went off to college, Nora Vasconcellos headed west in chase of a dream: turning pro on her own terms. But now that she’s become the first female rider on Adidas Skateboarding, the 25-year-old believes it’s time the industry caught up with reality.

norahvasconellos_zacher04842018-958x559

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Latest on Huck

Ghais Guevara: “Rap is a pinnacle of our culture”
Music

Ghais Guevara: “Rap is a pinnacle of our culture”

What Made Me — In our new series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that have shaped who they are. First up, Philadelphian rap experimentalist Ghais Guevara.

Written by: Ghais Guevara

Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest
Activism

Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest

Art and action — The global project, which presents the work of over 60 Palestinian artists, will be on view outside the art institution in protest of an exhibition funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Written by: Cyna Mirzai

Ragnar Axelsson’s thawing vision of Arctic life
Culture

Ragnar Axelsson’s thawing vision of Arctic life

At the Edge of the World — For over four decades, the Icelandic photographer has been journeying to the tip of the earth and documenting its communities. A new exhibition dives into his archive.

Written by: Cyna Mirzai

ATMs & lion dens: What happens to Christmas trees after the holiday season?
Culture

ATMs & lion dens: What happens to Christmas trees after the holiday season?

O Tannenbaum — Nikita Teryoshin’s new photobook explores the surreal places that the festive centrepieces find themselves in around Berlin, while winking to the absurdity of capitalism.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Resale tickets in UK to face price cap in touting crackdown
News

Resale tickets in UK to face price cap in touting crackdown

The move, announced today by the British government, will apply across sport, music and the wider live events industry.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Nearly a century ago, denim launched a US fashion revolution
Culture

Nearly a century ago, denim launched a US fashion revolution

The fabric that built America — From its roots as rugged workwear, the material became a society-wide phenomenon in the 20th century, even democratising womenswear. A new photobook revisits its impact.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Sign up to our newsletter

Issue 81: The more than a game issue

Buy it now