When a skateboarder (and their photographer) discovers that a photo of them was chosen to grace the cover of a skateboarding magazine, it is a big deal worthy of a party and social media celebrations. Over the decades, this level of promotion has often eluded female and non-binary skaters which has meant that any cover shots unearthed are pretty damn special.
Earlier in the year, editor Michele Addelio of Backside Magazine reached out as he was gleaning “first covers” of women skaters for volume 25, which came out May 2024 (you can ready my interview in it, as well!). I loved the idea, and being a tad obsessive, I’ve taken it a step further. Please explore my new “Magazine Covers” website page containing all the covers I could find to date! It’s also in the main drop-down menu.
In certain decades (primarily the 1980s and 1990s), there was an attitude that only men “deserved” the privilege of being coverboys. Even a photo of a girl skateboarding within a magazine’s pages would be criticized by some for taking away precious advertising space or an opportunity for a young man to be proving his skateboarding prowess. Boo!!! This explains why zines and magazines like Check It Out, Quell, OH-SO, Bigfoot, Dolores, Mag de Zine, and Mess Mag were created – to create space and visibility.
I’m still pulling together nitty gritty details (as not all publications list the skaters and photographers clearly or dates), but it’s a nice overview and I can’t wait to find more.
I’m also absolutely delighted that Thrasher magazine is rectifying the past by celebrating some of the legendary female street skaters of the 1990s. Elissa Steamer graced the cover of March 2024, and now Alexis Sablone has captured the cover for September 2024. The efforts of Michael Burnett show that it’s never too late to honour rad skaters. And with Alexis, Thrasher is up to nine women now… keep that statistic handy for “skateboard trivia.”
I hope other magazines step up because the longer they wait, the more awkward it gets, especially when there’s not even a “first female” cover to feature. C’mon people, make some magic happen!
Womxn Skateboard History 