Skateboarding Special II: stories of independence
- Text by Shelley Jones
![Skateboarding Special II: stories of independence](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/Screen-Shot-2015-09-16-at-14.24.55_2023-03-27-082242_csjy.png?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
In Volume II of our Skateboarding Special – a part editorial magazine part lookbook in collaboration between Levi’s® Skateboarding and Huck magazine – we explore the standalone spirit embodied by most in skateboarding’s savage solar system; from the European cast adrift in California to the individuals pioneering a new scene in a totalitarian state.
Skateboarding attracts outlaws – the act itself disrupts the physical and cultural landscape – but the skateboarding community has laws unto itself. Together, these artists and photographers and writers and explorers, are more independent than alone; from the group of volunteers building skateparks to unite the kids of a war-torn country, to the girl who found herself mothering a skate empire after she got bored of her ballet lessons.
Skateboarding is kind of like prison: You arrive wayward, you eat shit, you get back up again and you leave reformed. What you choose to do with that experience, like any independent mind knows, is totally up to you.
Featuring: Third-culture kid Marius Syvanen, Zen master Pat Moran, Antisocial head honcho Michelle Pezel, Palestine skateboarding charity SkatePAL, Tommy Zhao and the Shanghai skate scene, K-Dub’s community skatepark in Oakland, and more.
You can find The Skateboarding Special at select skate stores around the world and a selection of stories and videos inspired by the issue will be published at huckmag.com over the next month.
Latest on Huck
![Is skateboarding really a subculture anymore?](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/Huck81_Socials_HeroImage_SkateboardingIsNotASubculture_240618_V2-1.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Is skateboarding really a subculture anymore?
With skate’s inclusion in the Olympics, Kyle Beachy asks what it means for the culture around the sport, and whether it’s possible to institutionalise an artform.
Written by: Kyle Beachy
![Autism cannot be cured — stop trying](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/shutterstock_2322534063.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Autism cannot be cured — stop trying
A questionable study into the ‘reversal’ of autism does nothing but reinforce damaging stereotypes and harm, argues autistic author Jodie Hare.
Written by: Jodie Hare
![Bristol Photo Festival returns for second edition](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/Hashem-Shakeri-from-the-series-_Staring-into-the-Abyss_.-%C2%A9-Hashem-Shakeri.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Bristol Photo Festival returns for second edition
After the success of it’s inaugural run, the festival returns this autumn with exhibitions, education and community programmes exploring a world in constant motion through still image.
Written by: Ben Smoke
![Documenting the life of a New York gang leader paralysed by gun violence](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/web-Eyanna-has-always-been-Maliks-primary-caregiver.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
Documenting the life of a New York gang leader paralysed by gun violence
New photobook ‘Say Less’ is a complex yet humanising look into a life wrecked by gun violence and organised crime.
Written by: Isaac Muk
![The woman who defined 80s Hip Hop photography](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/7_ULTRAMAGNETIC-MCS_NYC-1990.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
The woman who defined 80s Hip Hop photography
A new exhibition brings together Janette Beckman’s visionary and boundary pushing images of an era of cultural change and moral panic.
Written by: Miss Rosen
![In photos: the dogs of Dogtown](https://images.huckmag.com/tco/images/Huck/saguy_dogtown_02_RGB.jpg?w=1920&q=75&auto=compress&format=jpg)
In photos: the dogs of Dogtown
A new photobook documents Venice Beach’s four legged friends and their colourful cast of owners.
Written by: Isaac Muk