Death Skateboards
- Text by Niall Neeson
- Photography by Jason Larkin
Death Skateboards has survived it all. Inspiring clannish loyalty from its ratty following, Death has come to characterise British skateboarding at its most resilient and boisterous.
The chap behind this whole circus is Nick ‘Zorlac’ Orecchio – a resolutely unfashionable Italian rascal who created Power Distribution in 1996, a precursor to Death Skateboards. Their suburban Harrow headquarters – the House of Doom – is part distribution centre, part playground and part sanctuary for strays.
Welcome to the first in our This Is DIY series – tales of independence in an interconnected world. In an age of top-down hierarchies and follow-my-lead regimes, more and more people are striking out on their own and igniting projects with the spark of hard graft instead of waiting for corporate say-sos. There are stories of independence in every corner of the globe – people who keep things small and DIY.
Watch out for the print feature in Huck 43.
You might like
The last days of St Agnes Place, London’s longest ever running squat
Off the grid — Photographer Janine Wiedel spent four years documenting the people of the Kennington squat, who for decades made a forgotten row of terraced houses a home.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How Japan revolutionised art & photography in the ’60s and ’70s
From Angura to Provoke — A new photobook chronicles the radical avant-garde scene of the postwar period, whose subversion of the medium of image making remains shocking and groundbreaking to this day.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In west London, Subbuteo is alive and flicking
London Subbuteo Club — The tabletop football game sees players imitate vintage teams with tactics and tiny painted replica kits. Ryan Loftus takes a trip to Fulham to meet a dedicated community and witness a titanic Brazil vs Coventry City showdown.
Written by: Ryan Loftus
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Leticia Bufoni is one of the greatest skaters ever. Now she’s tearing up asphalt.
Vamos, Leticia! — The Brazilian trailblazer helped rewrite the rulebook for women in skateboarding – and now she’s setting the pace behind the wheel for Porsche. For Huck’s 20th Anniversary Issue, she reflects on shredding stereotypes, building a career in male-dominated spaces, empowering the next generation, and the lessons that defined her journey.
Written by: Tracy Kawalik
The lacerating catharsis of body suspension in Hong Kong
Self-Ferrying — In one of the world’s most densely packed cities, an underground group of young people are piercing their skin and hanging their bodies with hooks in a shocking exploration of pain and pleasure. Sophie Liu goes to a session to understand why they partake in the extreme underground practice.
Written by: Sophie Liu