The Skateboard Life: Movers, Shakers, Makers & Rulebreakers: The Quintessential Story of Skateboard Culture

A highly visual celebration and cultural overview of skateboarding through more than 65 profiles of the biggest names in the sport from one of the foremost experts on skateboarding in the world. *A Publishers Weekly 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Pick

Skateboarding is a noun, a verb, and a culture that grabbed the public imagination and has never looked back. Its inclusion as an Olympic sport has only fueled the fire and enticed more people to take their first push and first breath as skateboarders.
 
The Skateboard Life reveals and revels in how skateboarding—still criminalized in many places—has permeated and elevated our global culture, influencing media, art, fashion, music, sports, business, and education. Through profiles and more than 100 striking photographs, “America’s First Ambassador of Skateboarding,” Dr. Neftalie Williams, provides a definitive look at the most influential voices of skateboarding. The story of skateboarding’s rise is told through the tales of cultural luminaries, including legends such as Tony Hawk, Paul Rodriguez, Vanessa Torres, and Kareem Campbell; and celebrated Olympians like Nyjah Huston and Sky Brown. The book covers artists, including Mark McKee, the Michelangelo of skateboarding art; Spike Jonze, the auteur filmmaker; and Glen E. Friedman, the photographer behind some of the most iconic moments in skate. It also highlights activists like Briana King, Vogue model, artist, skater, Amelia Brodka, women's skateboarding entrepreneur and advocate, and Leo Baker, the unwavering knight for the LGBTQ+ community. Never before has this mega-roster of multi-generational, multi-gendered, and multiracial group of skaters and their impact on skateboarding and society been featured and discussed together in this depth.

Interspersed between the profiles are interstitials celebrating famous skateparks, contests, and content creators from across the globe. These contextualize the behind-the-scenes connective tissue that drives skateboarding’s constant progression and positivity. The Skateboard Life offers an all-access, breathtaking experience that will appeal to skaters of all levels: dreamers, beginners, and experts alike.