Stalefish - Skateboard Culture from the Rejects Who Made It

Stalefish is the most enjoyable skateboarding book I've ever read. Stalefish is an honest, gritty and funny collection of stories and reflections from the biggest names in skateboarding. Skateboarders of all ages should definitely read Stalefish, and will certainly enjoy it!

Skateboarding journalist and pro skater from back in the day, Sean Mortimer put together Stalefish: Skateboard Culture from the Rejects Who Made It. He interviewed 16 of the most famous and most impacting skateboarders alive, and broke down their reflections into 11 different areas. These areas are things like what it means to be a pro skater, life after pro skating, being in skate contests, feeling rejected, making videos ... the list is long. In each section, Sean Mortimer gives a very short intro, and then the rest is personal insights from the biggest names in skateboarding history.

There is also a huge 50 page section where Mortimer gives a brief description of each of the 16 world famous skaters, and then they talk about how they got into skateboarding. In Stalefish, you'll hear from:

• Jim Fitzpatrick
• Russ Howell
• Stacey Peralta
• Dave Hackett
• Steve Olson
• Steve Alba
• Lance Mountain
• Kevin Harris
• Tommy Guerrero
• Rodney Mullen
• Tony Hawk
• Mike Vallely
• Daewon Song
• Jamie Thomas
• Bob Burnquist
• Chris Haslam

Stalefish opens with a foreward by Tony Hawk. Then continues with with a funny and interesting timeline of skateboarding, from 1957 to 2007.

The book is printed in a simple and un-assuming font, without any glam-rock additions, which I really liked. It has several black and white photos, and a simple thick-card cover. The book feels very honest and simple. Almost home-made, which I'm sure was on purpose.

The best thing about the book is the personal tone that Sean Mortimer captured from each skater. Somehow, he managed to get each of these guys to share in such an honest and personal way, you feel like you're just sitting and listening to them talk.

For example, Mike Vallely as a kid with a rough life and a thrashed skateboard meeting pro skater at the time Lance Mountain. Mountain gave him his personal skateboard, telling Vallely that he needed it more.

Or listen to Lance Mountain as he talks about going to church on his own and being looked at as a sinner, and having his friends who knew he was Christian thinking he was a "goody-goody retard".

And hear Tommy Guerrero talk about things like being on skate tour, and teammates peeing in Gatorade bottles and getting stitches in delicate areas.

Russ Howell talks about skating in the early '60's, and about the split between thrasher skaters and contest skaters in the '70's.

Did you know Stacey Peralta thought he was going to become a plumber?

This is just a small taste of what sitting down and flipping through Stalefish will get you. Stalefish is easily the best skateboarding book like this that I've seen.

If you can't tell already, I love this book. Stalefish is nearly 200 pages long, easy and interesting to read, and honestly packed with famous skateboarders bearing their souls. These guys shaped skateboarding, and had incredible experiences along the way. Each one is very different. Reading Stalefish, you'll understand skateboarding better, and very likely you'll also have a better understanding of yourself. If you skate, if you were ever a punk, if you ever didn't feel like growing up ... then these guys are your peers. In many ways, they are rockstars and amazing. And in many ways, they were kids, boys, and men who are just like us. It's weird how personal this book feels.

So, if you are a skater, or have ever been one, you need to read Stalefish. Honestly. Read it. Stalefish would also be a great read for anyone interested in the history of skateboarding, or skate culture. And really, I can't imagine a better way to represent skateboarding than with a book like this. Stalefish captures the personal and individual aspects of skateboarding perfectly. And that's really what skateboarding is. Read this book. You'll love it.

Stalefish - Skateboard Culture from the Rejects Who Made It published by Chronicle Books.