“Orson Welles had it that, ‘If the camera doesn’t like an actor, it just stares at him.’ Cameras loved Dylan, but skateboarders loved him better. Eventually,” writes Kyle Beachy in this chapter from The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches From A Skateboard Life.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud

“It’s a huge part of skateboarding history and a huge part of New York history … It’s becoming a true community spot again, like it once was,” says Brooklyn Banks local, Elisa Martini.

“Maybe while they’re skating they’re portrayed with a certain image. When you meet them outside of that … they’re a little bit more comfortable and, with their guard down, are very normal.”
When a spot is destroyed, how is its legacy preserved in a way that goes beyond images and stories?
A talk show about the sleeve notes of skate video soundtracks
“Jake Johnson in Mind Field, I love that part so much, but I’m not crazy about that ender … Jake Johnson in Short Ends though; switch flip back tail at the Temple rail? That was pretty sick.”
by Ian Browning

“Don’t bring food in here … Especially not coffee drinks that are always overflowing. Which they almost always are. I hate it.”

“That’s where you get something new and different, and something that stands out besides trick difficulty. That’s where the creativity in skating kind of comes from.”

“It’s on your conscience, you know? Did you really not know that that song had already been used? Usually it’s an absolute no, because you’re hurting yourself.”

Ian Browning discusses unpacking the nuances of skateboarding with its notable characters

“It’s hard for a lot of people to socialise outside their circle. And it’s not necessarily that they don’t want to, it’s just difficult when they’re very comfortable within their own circle.”

Featuring Dustin Henry, Una Farrar, Efron Danzig, Nick Michel and more, an experimental print project by design studio An Endless Supply explores how reprographics can serve skate photography, free of the constraints of magazine publishing.

“Being enthusiastic and getting carried away … that’s what compelled the company.”
With original podcasts, narrated articles and news broadcasts, you can listen to Skate Bylines through our audio journalism archives or stream our stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud

🎙️ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud

🎙️ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud
🎙️ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud
“The Boss became “The Boss” because at some point he stopped being the guy you were worried about and he started being the guy who people were guided by. He was a north star for all of these other skaters.”

With Cole Nowicki of Simple Magic, Norma Ibarra (she’s everywhere), Ian Browning of ‘The Rules of Skateboarding’, Greg Navarro of Quartersnacks and Jenkem, and others.

With Will Harmon of Free Skate Mag, Raisa Abal of Dolores Magazine, Marcus Walrdon and Noah Halpern-McManus of Skate Jawn and Jessie Van Roechoudt of Mess Skate Mag.
🎙️ Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud
An exploration of park space in New York, and the city’s rise to prominence in skate culture, through the lens of the Lower East Side skatepark with Ian Browning, author of the Quartersnacks story ‘Civic Center — A Profile of the L.E.S. Park at Ten Years’.

Flipping the script on Eric Swisher (“Chops”) of The Chrome Ball Incident to decipher what, exactly, makes for a good skateboarding interview.

How, exactly, does research of skateboarding connect with the everyday act of skateboarding?
by Brian Glenney
A stocktake on the findings so far, ahead of the full 2026 report.
Watch highlights from Skate Bylines articles
Watch: The Eleven O’Clock Number: Kate Bush with Geoff Campbell
Listen to: A Puzzle of Andrew Reynolds with Kyle Beachy
The headline story from Simple Magic’s ‘Simply Ranked’ newsletter in video and audio form
Tyshawn Jones is suing his former sponsor Supreme to tune of a million dollars (and then some). Cole Nowicki takes the stand and delivers the details of an unprecedented case.
Tom Schaar told the world “Vert’s Not Dead” in his new video part for Thrasher Magazine. Cole Nowicki discusses his vert prowess and the future of the discipline.
Enjoy the soothing commentary of Cole Nowicki in’Ranked & Filed’ by subscribing to Skate Bylines on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud
New Simple Magic ‘sletters are published every Friday at simplemagic.ca
If not, welcome. But if so, thanks for coming by again. How about introducing Skate Bylines to someone new by sharing a story?
There’s our conversation with The Chrome Ball Incident about interviewing iconic skateboarders and a thinkpiece on flying Love Park’s granite to Sweden. If you know a podcast person, we’ve talked about the joy of Andrew Reynolds in Stay Gold and the day-to-day of New York City skateparks. Or for the thoughtful fan of skate videos, we explored all things Kate Bush from Eleventh Hour to Stranger Things.
You can also buy a coffee to support Skate Bylines.
Or, just keeping on reading, listening and watching.

Skate Bylines began, in part, with a simple idea: “What if there was a skateboarding version of Longform.org?”
Although that quickly snowballed into publishing original features, we archive quality stories about skateboarding, new and old, which are in published in skateboarding and non-skateboarding magazines worldwide.
Got a suggestion for a good story or a piece of work you’re proud of? Get in touch and we’ll take a look.

Anthony Pappalardo • Artless Industria
February 19, 2024

Ian Browning • Quartersnacks
August 10, 2022

Michael Barker • Village Psychic
September 1, 2021

Farran Golding • Quartersnacks
May 5, 2021

Ian Browning • Quartersnacks
August 10, 2022

Skate Bylines is a spot for skateboarding journalism. We publish long-form stories about skateboarding culture across written features, podcasts and video stories.
skatebylines@gmail.com