Transworld Skateboarding

Every sport lover and athlete has a strong dedication to their sport, but there are a few sports that have a little something more than the usual fandom or the usual dedication of the athletes. Some sports are not just sports for the people who take part in them or for the people who watch them. These sports are part of an actual lifestyle. Skateboarding is one such sport. People who love skateboarding, whether they are skaters themselves or they just love to watch skaters perform their unbelievable stunts and tricks, embrace skating throughout all aspects of their life. Skateboarding impacts the style of the clothing they wear, the kind of music they listen to, and the places they go to socialize. And like any lifestyle, skateboarding has its shares of magazines that catalog the culture. Of all of the skating magazines out there, Transworld Skateboarding, along with Thrasher magazine, is the bible for skating fanatics. Transworld Skateboarding has been there since the early days of skating culture, and they have been on the cutting edge of all of the issues and changes in skating from the beginning.

Transworld Skateboarding And Its History

Transworld Skateboarding was started in the early 1980s in response to Thrasher magazine, which at the time was the only magazine that was dedicated to skating culture. The creators of Transworld Skateboarding magazine, all professional skaters themselves, took exception to the direction they felt Thrasher magazine was taking skating. Thrasher magazine has a motto, “skate and destroy”, that the people at Transworld Skateboarding felt over emphasized negative aspects of skating culture. Transworld Skateboarding used their first issue to respond with a skating mantra of their own, “skate and create.” Transworld Skateboarding took the stance that skating culture was inherently more creative and aware than mainstream culture, and they have continued to focus on all of the good things about skating culture ever since.

Transworld Skateboarding was an independent operation until the early 2000s, when the magazine was bought in a mega deal with AOL Time Warner. After these companies split, Time eventually sold its right to Transworld Skateboarding, starting a series of buyouts until the magazine settled at Bonnier Publishing in 2007. Some skaters were disappointed to see their indie magazine “go corporate” through these series of sales, but reviews of Transworld Skateboarding magazine remain very favorable. Over 20 yeas later, Transworld Skateboarding remains the quintessential magazine of skating culture.