Skate and Destroy Book
3/03/2009
SKATE AND DESTROY
The First 25 Years of Thrasher Magazine
From the skaters who brought you Insane Terrain comes Skate and Destroy: The First 25 years of Thrasher Magazine, a jam-packed retrospective that illustrates and recounts all of skateboarding’s milestones, twists, and turns of the last 25 years.
In January of 1981, a group of skateboarders in San Francisco put together the first issue of Thrasher magazine. Today, Thrasher is bigger and better than ever—its name synonymous with both skateboarding’s roots and constant evolution. International corporate bigwigs try to buy Thrasher’s credibility, while kids tattoo the magazine’s mantra, “Skate and Destroy,” into their skin.
Skate and Destroy: The First 25 years of Thrasher Magazine, is more than just a 288 page retrospective of Thrasher’s first quarter century. The magazine’s staff past and present left no file cabinet unturned or old pro unearthed in seeking out the lost photos, the covers that never were, outtakes from interviews that defined the mag, never-been-told stories of secret skate missions, and accounts from skateboarding’s top riders of what Thrasher has meant to them. Like those tattoos carved into the arms of skaters world-wide, Thrasher is forever. This one’s gonna be gnarly!
Easy-to-read chapters break down Thrasher’s history, year by year, and are interspersed with “Best Of” sections, profiling the departments and columns that have made up the magazine over the years:
Mail Drop
Comix
Photograffiti
Hall of Meat
Trash
Somethin’ Else
’Zine Thing
Featuring skateboarding, interviews, and stories with:
Duane Peters on Tony Alva
Tony Hawk on Christian Hosoi
Mark Gonzales on Neil Blender
Jeff Grosso on Lance Mountain
Mike Carroll on Wade Speyer
Julien Stranger on John Cardiel
Rick Howard on Eric Koston
Neil Heddings on Tony Trujillo
...plus tons more!!!
288 pages, 9-1/2" x 11"
Color photos throughout
PURCHASE THIS BOOK HERE
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1/25/2025
"Humidity X Thrasher" Video
Philly, Jordan, and the Humidity family bounce through NOLA, showcasing the city’s new talent and amazing spots. BIG LOVE. -
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Trey Wade's "YERT" ACE Trucks Part
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T-Eddy Awards 2024
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Burnout: THE LAST POOL PARTY
On Saturday January 18, 2025, the infamous Vans Combi Pool in Orange, CA was opened for one last bash. End of an era? The icing on the cake? Yes and yes. Thank you, Steve Van Doren -
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ROUGH CUT: Kevin Bækkel and Felipe Nunes in "Down Straight Up"
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1/25/2025
This Old Ledge: USC Blocks
Once upon a time these ledges on the edge of USC’s campus were among the most famous, heavily sessioned blocks in the world. Though skate-stopped, their story lives on in a new form. Let Ted explain... -
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Thrasher's DIY: Rosebud DIY
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1/25/2025
This Old Ledge: Arco Rails
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1/25/2025
Tired’s “Solo” Video starring Mike Condello
It doesn’t matter how you skate or what you skate, what matters is that the fire still burns. Mike Condello inspires us and stirs up the stoke in this Thrasher x Tired holiday special. -
1/25/2025
“The Final Plaza” by Brian Panebianco
The last months of Muni produced incredible sessions, as the Philly crew navigated an iconic plaza right in the middle of the demolition process. This video captures those final, epic days.