 |
Craig Snyder is an American writer, poet, and photographer. He is also a historian of skate and surf culture.
|
Craig Snyder is an American writer, poet, and photographer. He is also a historian of skate and surf culture.
Born and raised in South Florida, Snyder grew up skating with many of the skate stars that had laid the foundation for modern skateboarding including Alan Gelfand, Mike McGill, and Rodney Mullen. He also worked as a photographer and contributed to a number of skate magazines including SkateBoarder. Snyder's images have been published internationally by ESPN, Der Spiegel, TransWorld Skateboarding, and Concrete Wave, and appeared in a number of books, films, and exhibitions. From photography, Snyder expanded into poetry, writing, and art. He has collaborated with musicians from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan on various projects that include readings, performances and recordings.
Author
Contributing Author
Contributing Photographer
Collaborations
Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams.
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipes, ledges, spine transfers, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs, and any number of other objects.
Dogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film produced by Agi Orsi and directed by Stacy Peralta. The documentary explores the pioneering of the Zephyr skateboard team in the 1970s and the evolving sport of skateboarding. Using a mix of film of the Zephyr skateboard team (Z-Boys) shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk, along with contemporary interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of skateboarding culture.
Alan "Ollie" Gelfand is an American skateboarder and the inventor of the ollie, one of the most foundational skateboarding tricks.
Natas Kaupas is an American former professional skateboarder. He grew up in South Santa Monica, California, in the area known as Dogtown, and is of Lithuanian descent. He is often referred to as one of the first true professional street skateboarders.
Stacy Douglas Peralta is an American film director and entrepreneur. He was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the Zephyr Competition Team, also known as the Z-Boys, from Venice, California.
Danny Way is an American professional skateboarder and business person. He has been awarded Thrasher magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a skateboard ramp from a helicopter; that was featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine. One of his more notable stunts was jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard via megaramp.
Tony Alva is an American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and musician. He was a pioneer of vertical skateboarding and one of the original members of the Zephyr Competition Skateboarding Team, also known as the Z-Boys. The Transworld Skateboarding Magazine ranked him eighth in its list of the "30 Most Influential skateboarders" of all time.
The Zephyr Competition Team were a group of American skateboarders in the mid-1970s from Santa Monica and Venice, California. Originally consisting of 12 members, the Z-boys were originally sponsored by the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions surf and skate shop. Their innovative surfing-based style and aerial moves formed the foundations of contemporary vert and transition skateboarding. The story of the Z-Boys and the Zephyr shop have been popularized in feature films such as Lords of Dogtown and Dogtown and Z-Boys.
Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first production made by both Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures. The film received mixed reviews and failed at the box office, grossing only $13 million on a budget of $25 million.
Big Brother was a skateboarding magazine founded by Steve Rocco in 1992, which was notable for ushering in street skating and the sub-culture of skateboarding. Big Brother ceased publication in 2004.
Craig R. Stecyk III is an American artist, writer, photojournalist, and filmmaker who has documented and influenced the surf, skate, and snowboarding cultures.
Warren Edward Bolster was an American skateboard photographer during the mid-1970s rebirth of skateboarding.
Kyle Sokol is an American bassist and skateboarder. He is currently with Nasty Savage, Astronomica, Nocturnus A.D., and Apeiron Bound. Kyle has also played with Disareyen, Mercy McCoy, Trace of Day, Sectioned, Rude Squad, King of Denmark, Noble Jones, Philistines, Leadfoot, and Hell on Earth.
Jim Evans, sometimes known as T.A.Z., is an American painter, printmaker, and creative director who was a contributing figure in the visual art movement known as underground comix. After a successful career as a comic illustrator, Evans worked as a painter, poster maker, and owner of the digital design group Division 13.
Stephen Hill is a former champion Australian skateboarder and the co-founder of Globe International, a multinational, youth culture, branded footwear, apparel and skate/surf business with his brother Peter Hill. Stephen Hill has also acted as an executive producer on over 30 international media projects including feature films and television specials. Hill has also been involved in several community action projects including promoting new skateboarding facilities and local environmental causes across several countries.
Peter Hill is a former champion Australian skateboarder and the co-founder of Globe International, a multinational, youth culture, branded footwear, apparel and skate/surf business with his brother Stephen Hill. Peter Hill has also acted as an executive producer on over 30 media projects, including feature films and television specials and a producer on Eric Bana's Love the Beast.
A Penny board is a type of skateboard that is characterized by a short and narrow plastic deck. Although such skateboards were first manufactured during the 1970s, their name, and contemporary popularity come from the Australian brand Penny Skateboards, founded in 2010. The company's name has since been widely genericized to describe all small plastic skateboards.
Reginald Barnes Jr., aka Reggie Barnes is a retired American professional freestyle skateboarder and the founder/CEO of Eastern Skateboard Supply, the largest skateboard wholesale company in North America. Known as a "virtuoso" teen amateur, Barnes skated professionally from 1980 to 1991, with the Pepsi-Cola Pro Skateboard Team, Walker Skateboards, and Dogtown Skateboards. By 1986, Barnes was one of the top five American freestyle skateboarders in the United States and was featured demonstrator at Expo 86, the world's fair held in Vancouver, Canada. He placed third in freestyle at the World Cup in 1987.