The magazine of the photo-essay
March 2017 back issue
by Jonathan Mehring
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Skate the World was a project begun by accident. I started off as strictly
an action photographer. I wanted to capture brightly lit tricks at the apex
of motion. That still can be fun, but after several years of shooting this way
I became a little restless. I needed more and I realized it was happening
right in front of me. The culture of skateboarding is rich and complex and
I’m not the only one to spend much of my photographic career
documenting it. But there was a point when I realized the width and
breadth of its scope that was astounding. It is truly a global language that
transcends barriers of class, culture, and gender. This is when I began
talks with National Geographic about the possibility of a book. As luck
would have it I was connected with an editor who had a sympathetic ear
and before long the project had legs. It took a few more years of ups and
downs and more travel to finally conclude the whole piece, but I could
never have asked for more. The experience was both empowering and
humbling and it has given me a great sense of purpose in my work.
AARON “JAWS” HOMOKI ~ UTAH, U.S.A.
Trick: Kickflip
MATT BERGER ~ ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Trick: 5-0 grind
DANNY WAY ~ AGUANGA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.
Trick: World-record-setting 23-foot method air
ALEX OLSON ~ NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A.
Trick: Wallride
JOSH KALIS PUSHES ACROSS THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE ~ SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.
MARIUS SYVANEN ~ MADRID, SPAIN
Trick: Backside kickflip
GUY MARIANO ~ GRAN CANARIA, CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN
Trick: Switch crooked grind
KENNY ANDERSON ~ ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND
Trick: Backside tailslide
JOSEPH BIAIS ~ MERZOUGA, MOROCCO
Trick: 5050 grind
DAVE BACHINSKY ~ ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN
Trick: Frontside kickflip
WIEGER VAN WAGENINGEN ~ ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN
Trick: Frontside heelflip
MICHAEL MACKRODT ~ DONG HOI, VIETNAM
Trick: Frontside blunt
PHILLIP MARSHALL ~ ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
Trick: Backside noseblunt
JACK SABBACK ~ ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA
Trick: Backside lipside
CHRISTIAN LOW ~ ORDOS, CHINA
Trick: Wallride
DYLAN RIEDER ~ LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
Trick: Backside kickflip
