Jim Thiebaud Talks Political Messages in Skateboarding in New Solo Interview

From his Hanging Klansman graphic right through the ongoing Actions REALized campaign, Jim Thiebaud has always been an activist. He’s the type of guy that’s never been scared to have an opinion or stand up for what he believes in. Thiebaud talks about the importance of having a message in skateboarding—and the hate that he receives as a result of it—in his new interview with Solo magazine.

Well, it is sad that 25 to 30 years later, a graphic like my first is still as relevant as it was back when we first did it. I would have hoped that things would have changed more. But with the new climate—with Trump sort of silently supporting questionable beliefs—it is just as relevant as it was, and it is sad to see. It sucks. I caught a lot of hate personally when we did that board. I got a physical death threat mailed to me. I caught a lot of hate when we first did it, and I catch a lot of hate when we do political things here at DLX. I get text messages and comments about, “You are ruining skateboarding!” or “Keep politics out of skateboarding!” I fully don’t understand that. When we started Real, it was to try and do really great shit with and for skateboarding. 

Head over to the Solo site to read the entire piece.

Image Via Solo