It’s no secret that the fashion world has a major crush on skateboarding right now. You can’t turn around without seeing another instance of cultural appropriation. It’s a double-edged sword. In some ways, it’s awesome to see skating getting the recognition it deserves. But it’s hard to miss how often stylist, photographers, and casting directors get it completely wrong. Paper Magazine’s recent editorial on the New York scene is an example of getting it right. Kind of surprising coming from the publication that’s probably most famous for its Kim Kardashian Breaks the Internet issue.
Written and shot by Ryan Borque, the piece does a noteworthy job of portraying the feeling that you get from skateboarding in the city. It also has some great quotes from legends like Spencer Fujimoto, Alyasha Owerka-Moore, Jamie Reyes, and more. We’re particular fond of how Spencer sums up the mental aspect of skating:
Every pro has their bag of tricks that they can not do. Once you really start trying to do tricks, you figure out that the more you think about it, and the harder you try the further away the trick gets. You start thinking of the fall. See, now you’re so in you’re head, you’re not even there anymore. You’ve already defeated yourself.
“Skateboarding From New Yorkers Who Live It” is highly recommended for those of you that are into that sort of thing. And by that sort of thing, we mean reading.
