“FLIP: A Column About Skateboarding”: Joel Rice of Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency interviews Bret Anthony Johnston–author of the highly regarded short-story collection Corpus Christi–about his former life as a professional skateboarder, his current work directing Harvard’s creative-writing program, and his unyielding commitment to the sport he loves:

“It’s the same as if you were trying to be a poet, or trying to be a fiction writer, or trying to be a painter—if you can do anything else, do it. Your life is literally going to be easier if you choose a different path. But if you have to do it, then just accept who you are. Don’t conform to what grown-up life is supposed to be. Find a way to put food on the table and keep the lights on, then use the rest of each day doing what you love.”

“FLIP: A Column About Skateboarding”: Joel Rice of Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency interviews former convict Christian Hosoi–now the pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Huntington Beach–about being “one of the skateboarding industry’s most vocal Christian evangelists” and the former life he has put in the rearview:

“What I don’t miss is the lifestyle that came with it, and the pressures of following everybody else’s expectations and not following my own heart. I grew up in a time of drugs, rock n’ roll and sex. So if you didn’t do those things you were considered weird or not cool. See, there was no option for me. It was either cool or not cool.”

“FLIP: A Column About Skateboarding”: Joel Rice of Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency interviews Australians Oliver “Ollie” Percovich and Sharna Nolan about creating Skateistan, Afghanistan’s first skateboard school.

“There is a danger aspect to skateboarding that is attractive to Afghans. That’s when something clicked in my mind. The relationship that most Afghanis have with foreigners tends to be around money, which reinforces inequalities. If people are interested in skateboarding with me, it’s simply fun, and we can develop a relationship. If they’re not interested it’s fine. At least we both know where we stand,” Oliver Percovich.

HBO in association with their new series How to Make It in America presents The Get By, a New York City skateboarding film about the exploration of “natural street terrain,” different breeds of urban riders, and the daily hustle required to break through in the skate industry–featuring professional skaters Jake Johnson, Gino Iannucci, Billy Rohan, Zered Bassett, and others

Photographer/noboarder (snowboarding without bindings) Jenna Low’s slideshow submitted to Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine’s photo face-off. KMC describes Jenna’s documentary work this way: “She lives up in the tiny outpost settlement of Trout Lake, where noboarders inhabit turn of the century hotels and shred some of the deepest, character-laden powder in the Kootenays.”

Produced by Mitchell Scott

Shaun White, two-time Olympic snowboarding (half-pipe) gold medalist, is ready to spend the summer skateboarding as a “cross-training activity and to recharge his batteries after the snowboarding season.”

“White skipped the competitive skateboard season last year to recover from an ankle injury and focus on snowboarding in advance of the Olympics. He said he looked forward to returning to the vertical skateboarding discipline, where he has also been a top competitor,” writes Matt Higgins of The New York Times.

Bob Biniak, skateboarding pioneer and member of Santa Monica’s highly influential Zephyr Skate Team (the “Z-Boys“), died recently from a heart attack.

The Z-Boys “popularized riding in empty swimming pools,” created many of the board tricks that “laid the foundation for modern vertical skateboarding,” starred in the acclaimed 2001 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, and were largely responsible for helping to create and define the underground skating culture that now exists.

“When the Z-Boys entered their first formal competition, the 1975 Del Mar Nationals, skateboarding was based on a 1960s model that was gymnastically oriented with a standup style. With their low-slung approach and ripped jeans, the Z-Boys caused an uproar among competitors,” writes Matt Higgins of The New York Times.

“Biniak was known as Bullet for his fast, fearless approach to skating. ‘The basis of his strength was to go as fast as you could, and do it with grace,’ said Tony Alva, a Z-Boy and world champion in skateboarding.”

Tony Hawk, skateboard legend, purveyor of the first-ever 900 (two-and-a-half mid-air spins) at the 1999 X Games, and founder of the Boom Boom HuckJam, is interviewed by Keith Bellows of National Geographic Traveler.

Hawk discusses charity work, winding down his professional career, and unvisited destination wishes: “China, Tibet, Bhutan. There aren’t many other places that I haven’t been to, to be honest, but somehow China has escaped me. They’ve opened one of the biggest skate parks in the world in Shanghai, and this May they’re supposed to open a Camp Woodward—a big [alternative] sports camp like they have in the U.S.—in Beijing. I’m waiting for my chance to go.”

Painted Skateboard

Paint a skateboard, and sell it in a gallery? A recent trend has seen the lowly skateboard deck being utilized by artists hoping to stretch their professional boundaries, reach the “built-in audience” of the skateboarding community, and save a little money in the process.

“Blank wooden ‘decks’—the term for the maple boards, sans wheels—are cheap, about $20 new. And many artists pick up bags of used decks for free at skateboard shops that would otherwise throw them out,” reports Conor Dougherty of The Wall Street Journal.

“The overall market for skateboards is estimated at $1.3 billion, though only a small slice of that is artwork, according to Board-Trac, a Trabuco Canyon, Calif.-based market-research company. Some companies cater to collectors with limited-edition skateboards that feature reproductions of works by famous artists, including Shepard Fairey and Andy Warhol.”

photo credit: buyalex

Boulder, Colorado climber Renan Ozturk “bagging” a backyard summit.

Renan’s life vision: “For most of the last 6 years I’ve been a traveling vagabond following my passion. This existence involved sleeping outside in wild places, hitching rides, having very little belongings, a drained bank account, and some gourmet dumpster diving for food. But I climbed everyday and lived my dream.”

Produced by Rock Monkey Media