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

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, and it will keep getting bigger and bigger.

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-Media, Art, Fashion, Music, Business, and Education. 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 will be 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.

Details

ISBN13: 9781648291517
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 288
Edition:
Publication Date: 30 Sep 2025
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Publication City, Country: United States
Dimensions (cm): 27.9(H)x20.3(L)
Weight (gm):

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.

Reviews

"The Skateboard Life is an urgent affirmation of the power of sport to shape relations, and even to transform the world. In this profound, quick-paced excavation, Dr. Neftalie Williams draws from both his academic training and his work as a skater maven to bestow us with a vivid history of skateboarding culture. Williams tenders an enticing menagerie of skateboarding trailblazers and icons, brocading the past and the present into a powerful tapestry of ingenuity, solidarity, and rebellion. In doing so, he shows us what sport can achieve on this roiling, boiling planet."

--Jules Boykoff, professor of political science at Pacific University, author of What Are the Olympics For?

"A breathtaking new look at the modern skate world. Written with the authenticity and knowledge that only another skater could achieve, this book adds new layers of significance to the experience and cultural understanding of skateboarding."
--Jason Jules, author of Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style
"Professor Neftalie Williams delivers a comprehensive tour-de-force, The Skateboard Life, that etches the importance of the sport into a long future. It is clear to me that this book will become THE reference on the genre."
--Mathieu Bitton, photographer and designer
"The Skateboard Life is an encyclopedia on skate culture, those who have helped create it, and its future icons. It's a fascinating read for anyone interested in the sport, the style, and the history of what makes skateboarding so uniquely authentic."
--Tony Hawk
"There is an expression that great writing communicates by "showing, not telling." Dr. Neftalie Williams's The Skateboard Life is a masterwork of this method. Through a vibrant series of biographical sketches, stories, and photos, Dr. Williams shows how this sport holds the capacity to change the world as well as change us. Whether you can perform a crooked grind in your sleep or have never heard of Tony Hawk, The Skateboard Life is for anyone who cares about sports, politics, and the world they inhabit. One of the most important  Ωsports º books I ºve read in some time."

--Dave Zirin, sports editor, The Nation and author of The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World