In the early 2000s, Faye Lynn Richards based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico created her own skateboarding zine called Second Wind. Faye became a sponsored rider for the Idaho-based company Concrete Divas around the same time as she was publishing her zines. Second Wind was reviewed by Clarkie in the “Gurlz! On! Boardz!” section of RealSkate.com, as well as Issue #20 (June/July 2004) and #23 (Dec. 2004 / Jan. 2005) of Razorcake magazine, based out of Los Angeles.
Thanks to Kevin Marks at the LookBack Library, we have full scans of two of these zines. We’re still hoping for copies or scans of issue #1 and issue #4, and with Instagram providing a connection to Faye, hopefully extra copies will be discovered!
Faye did a great job celebrating her skateboarding scene with photos, interviews including Hudson Postone, Esther Godoy and Sasha La Rochelle, reviews of skateparks like Burnside, plus artwork and articles. There’s even reviews of girls’ skateboarding videos including Boy Video (dir. Mathilde Pigeon 2003) featuring the Skirtboarders crew in Montreal, and Striking Fear into the Heart of Teenage Girls (2004) by the Villa Villa Cola crew.
Here’s a few gems:
In a review of issue 2, it was noted that there were, “Grainy photos of pools, good grinds, hot tricks, gnarly rashes, and killer verts, accompanied by concise text that describes locations and experiences with no whining or ranting. Published by a woman, you’ll find more coverage of female skaters than in the larger skate glossies” (Brian Howe for Razorcake).
More recently, based on a Facebook account and Youtube account, it looks like Faye is a talented musician, hosting Open Mic events with her friends and sharing her music. Check it out!
I like this video best because there’s an adorable kitten and Faye’s voice is awesome:
Please reach out if you have copies of Second Wind! And maybe I’ll hear back from Faye for the inside scoop…
Womxn Skateboard History 