rent-now

Rent More, Save More! Use code: ECRENTAL

5% off 1 book, 7% off 2 books, 10% off 3+ books

9781648291517

The Skateboard Life Movers, Shakers, Makers & Rulebreakers: The Quintessential Story of Skateboard Culture

by
  • ISBN13:

    9781648291517

  • ISBN10:

    1648291511

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Copyright: 2025-09-30
  • Publisher: Artisan
  • Purchase Benefits
List Price: $40.00 Save up to $0.04
  • Buy New
    $39.96
    Add to Cart Free Shipping Icon Free Shipping

    NOT YET PRINTED. PLACE AN ORDER AND WE WILL SHIP IT AS SOON AS IT ARRIVES.

Summary

A highly-visual celebration and cultural overview of skateboarding through the voices of the biggest names in the sport. 

Skateboarding is more popular than ever. In the last 5 years, and especially, since the 2020 Olympics, where skateboarding debuted as an official sport, skateboarding has gone mainstream.

The sport was put on the map in the late 70s when legendary skater Rodney Mullen created one of the most famous skateboarding tricks, the ground Ollie, and became popularized in the early 80s when Thrasher magazine, with its counterculture vibe, was established; and, then, in 1982, a little known skater named Tony Hawk came onto the scene at just 14 years old, changing the face of the sport forever. Since then, skateboarding has gained traction, but was always portrayed from a one-dimensional perspective, when in reality, the sport and the stories of prominent skaters are extremely diverse.

Enter Skate Board Life. Through 65 dynamic profiles of skaters and over 100 striking images, Dr. Neftalie Williams reveals how skateboarding has permeated every inch of our global culture. From the legends: Tony Hawk and Paul Rodriguez; to the Olympians: Nyjah Huston and Sky Brown; to the artists: Mark McKee, most celebrated skateboarding artist of all time; to the activists: Briana King, Vogue model, artist skater, and women's and queer skateboarding advocate. Never before has this mega-roster of skaters been featured together.

In addition to the profiles, there are interstitials that include famous skate parks around the world and the coolest looking boards. Skate Board Life will appeal to skaters of all levels: dreamers, beginners, and experts alike.

Author Biography

Dr. Neftalie Williams is the Director of San Diego State University's Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change. With a background in both academia and a deep personal connection to skateboarding, writing, and photography, Dr. Williams has made significant contributions to the study of skateboarding culture. He has published scholarly works, written op-eds for mainstream publications, and provided commentary for various traditional news outlets and documentaries, including The New York Times, CNN, ABC, Forbes, and the documentary Reaching the Sky featuring Olympian Sky Brown. His research on race and skateboarding, conducted as part of the 2019-2020 USC x Tony Hawk Foundation project, was prominently featured in The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

Dr. Williams’s extensive experience also includes positions at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, as well as serving as a Yale Schwarzman Center Visiting Fellow in Race, Culture & Community. His scholarly expertise is complemented by his personal history as a skateboarder, writer, and photographer, which has led to features in publications like Transworld Skateboarding Magazine and Thrasher Magazine.

Currently, Dr. Williams provides consultation on skateboarding and action sports for Disney Studios and Burton Snowboards. He is also a co-founder of the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation (CSEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing scholarships for young skateboarders pursuing higher education. Furthermore, he serves on the boards of the Tony Hawk Foundation/The Skatepark Project, Skateistan, McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, and chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for USA Skateboarding.

Table of Contents

Introduction
 

The Uberists

The Culturalists

The Artists

The Documentarists

The Activists

The Technologists

The Futurists

The Olympists
 

Acknowledgments

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Rewards Program