Contents: First Word: Last Word? 5 Minute Push: Jason Renn The Best of Luchaskate
First Word: Last Word? The saying is true that time flies when you’re having fun. Luchaskate has truly been a fun project for me. I’ve met so many skateboarders dedicated to skating and spreading a love for skateboarding at the most “hardcore” level that it has been wonderful. So, why let it end is the question I’m most often asked.
Luchaskate Magazine was always a labor of love. I love skateboarding. I always have, and I always will. Rather than bog this First Word down with sadness at watching this project die, I want to take the time to say thank you to all those people that have been so instrumental in making each issue happen.
Why let it end? In no particular order: The answer is simple. While the time has flown by, the accumulated time put in on each issue has left me seeking for extra hours each day. Full time employment, a child to raise, time to skate, and new opportunities to do what I love (write and create) have left me searching for a way to cram everything I want to do into a limited amount of time. Even now, as I sit and write this farewell piece, I’m darting back and forth between windows on another project (with true financial benefit). While it is true that the magazine would live on if I could balance the hours of creation with money made, I didn’t start the magazine to make money. I did it out of my love for skateboarding. The Four Eyed Luchador blog that became luchaskate.com and, later,
Lew Ross of Fickle Skateboards. Lew will always be an inspiration to the skateboarding community no matter where his bus or van is headed. Lindsey Rowland. Lindsey’s dedication to Luchaskate has only been matched by my own. Her photography and artwork have been the mainstay of the magazine. Her t-shirt design launched the d.i.y nature of this project. She has been an amazing friend and collaborator. Mike Stanbro of Outlaw Skateboards. Mike was the first to jump on board as an advertiser in the magazine, and his Lucha inspired graphic makes me smile every single time I look at it.
Kim and Wrex Cook. Kim and Wrex have moved on to Colorado and a new life, but while they were in the Memphis area, I got inspiration, content, and so much laughter from their friendship. The Al Town Crew. The boys that continue to bring Al Town together are fighting the good fight. Skateboarding at all costs. A true dedication to putting in a hard days work. This is why, The Beerman is on this issues cover. While I sing their praises, The Kanis Crew, the original southern D.I.Y. deserve a pat on the back. Inspiration. David Hackett. The Hackman gave his time to be interviewed by some dude in Memphis, and it will always be a dream come true to get to know him. Chad “Crawdad” Crawford. Crawdad’s stoke is palpable. You can see it in his eyes every time he is near a skateboard. I’m proud to be able to give him a cover on the magazine (last issue). Brad Hayes. Sharkbait Brad has been doing ‘zines forever, and his efforts have been an inspiration. I’m still embarrassed by the typos in his interview. Sorry Brad! While I’m at it, the fellas putting together Bad Plant ‘Zine deserve a shout out too.
The contributors to Common Criminals. This book was another dream come true. Thank you to Chris, Joey, Jeff, Ashley, Jeffrey, Kent, Chris, Kris, and Jonathan (the rest have already been mentioned but another thank you goes out to them as well). Hunter Dempster. Hunter’s board shop didn’t last as long as the Memphis skaters would have liked, but it left a lasting impression on all of us. Midtown Board Shop helped us become a legit print ‘zine. Summit Print Co. also deserves a thank you. Just when I thought we wouldn’t get funded they stepped up and brought us to print. Julz Lynn and all the amazing female skaters that don’t get the press they deserve. Thank you for being in the pages of Luchaskate. Now that I’m writing all of these names down, and I search through all the previous issues, I understand that it is impossible for me to thank everyone for making this such an amazing experience. If I didn’t list your name in this farewell column, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t appreciated for your dedication and time. You are appreciated! Thank you for making this magazine a success,
Memphis legends past and present: Mike Lasiter, Chris Ulander, Jungle Jeff, Brian Sneed, Aaron Shafer, and Ed David Pigeon. I love these guys.
5 Minute Push: Jason Renn I should start with full disclosure. I fall into the category of aging lifer. I’m 40. I skated through the boom days of the mid-80’s and the bleak days that followed. I fell out of skating during the big-pants, small wheels era in the 90’s. I had kids, I got a career, I “grew-up”. Occasionally, I’d do a couple flatland tricks on a friend’s board, but that was it. About 4 years ago, a friend talked me into hitting the local skatepark. First park I’d ever skated. I was hooked again. Went home, ordered a new set-up and hit it running. The park was fun, even with my limited repertoire following a 20 year hiatus (not that I was any great shakes back in the hey-day of my youth, but I was less worried about hucking myself around then).
A few shitty ditches, some banks with curbs, the concrete fish pond at our local cemetery (which we considered a “bowl” back in the day). These things. These shitty, kinky, gnarly, everyday things bring me joy. I love skating them. Am I throwing down bangers? Nope. Am I having fun? Yessir. For readers of The Parking Block Diaries, my experience closely follows that of Kyle DuVall’s. It should. We grew up skating in the same era in the same shitty town. We skated the Castle Kleen Carwash ditch, the apartment banks, the Roselawn Bowl, the bus stop, all the while dreaming of the kind of concrete playgrounds we saw in the magazines. Pro-style parks, full-pipes, giant ditches, empty pools…all those things that Indiana just. didn’t. have. Fast forward to now. I recently moved to Austin, Tx. All those things are here. In abundance. The photos that accompany are all within a 5 minute push of my apartment. Giant ditches, banks, DIY heaven. Oddly, all of them are in disrepair.
However, I began longing for the not-made-to skate playgrounds of my youth, which in east-central Indiana, were limited to begin with.
I’ve never been one to let a little work get in the way of having fun, so I take my push-broom everywhere I go. I just wonder what happened.
I skated one spot as firefighters and police were dealing with a brush fire and nary a word was said. Maybe the locals got sated when the city bankrolled several multi-million dollar parks?
All these spots are like ghost towns in a mecca of macadam. The bust factor seems to be non-existent. I’ve been lucky enough to meet up with some like minded individuals through the magic of social media and had some rad sessions in the least smooth of places. Yes, I could still hit the parks, but with all this magic surrounding me for the admission price of sweeping , why?
The Best Of?
Legend Brian Sneed with Aaron Shafer. Brian is truly a legend of Memphis area skateboarding and Aaron’s hard work in getting a skate park built in Memphis is
a testament to hard work. The photo, taken by Lindsey Rowland, has been a key in publishing the ‘zine.
The cover of issue #4. I pride this cover as my most interesting work. Ditch skating fun in Oxford with Mike Lasiter. Another photo by Lindsey.
Gnarly at Tobey Park. Gnarly was in nearly every issue of the magazine.
Ah, the stickers!!!!
As I sift through all the material, I know there can’t be a “Best Of…” just a some of. The best of Luchaskate would mean a total reprint of everything. Instead, I give you some images from the previous issues and project. Very good times indeed.
Midwtown Skateshop ad.
T-shirts as art work! Thanks Lindsey Rowland.
Chris Ulander. Tobey Park. Chris ranked high in our SOTY. The original Luchaskate logo (above) and the original sticker design (to the left). I started out not knowing a single thing about design. I leave this project having completed ads for tons of different “legit” magazines. Endless creativity, it is what skateboarding is all about.
Thank you!
See you at the Skate Park (or D.I.Y. spot or curb or bank or ditch or‌)