WORLDWIDE SKATEBOARDING

SLAP magazine about to drop last issue

Yep, that’s right, the last issue of SLAP magazine will hit skateshops and newsstands across the world soon. So all your collectors better look out for the December 2008 issue.

SLAP magazine will remain on the web. It had to start somewhere right? Print gets taken over by web…. The SLAP website has been more on point though then any other skatemag when it came down to news in the skateboard world, and their forum is hated, loved and checked by a lot of skateboarders and industry people all over the world.

Here’s the cover of the second to last SLAP, the November 2008 issue. Dennis Businitz slides with a frontside tailslide…. The big question is who will grace the last cover of SLAP….

As far as we know SLAP magazine has been the only skateboard magazine that had a Dutch skatespot photo on the cover. If I remember correctly it was actually back to back. Aaron Suski’s frontside board up the Amsterdam Sloterdijk rail (December 2006) followed by Jack Curtain’s switch krooked grind on a flat rail next to the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam (January 2007). Both covers where shot by Joe Brook. And then in March 2008 Shuriken Shannon got the cover doing a kickflip to fakie in the World War II monument in Rotterdam (photo by Allen Ying)

During the 2nd WSR contest in Rotterdam in the summer of 2007 SLAP had its 15-year photo exhibition at LEFT skateshop in Rotterdam. SLAP main photographer Joe Brook even flew in to attend the exhibition and enter the photocontest of the WSR, which he won!

Props to the whole SLAP crew over all these years for enriching the skateboard world with a artsy, photo-based skateboard magazine. It’s still weird they did a shoe with Nike first, then a year later with Adidas (and is Converse next?). But I can forget that since I know money makes the world go round and times are tough and big companies throw in big bucks to get into skateboarding and try to be cool. Those 2 collaboration shoes probably paid a lot of bills in the last 2 years…
And as far as the magazine content goes; I’ve always really liked it, especially when I got a little bit older and saw that skateboarding is so much more then just tricks and baggy pants. I know 13-year old skate rats rather see another no name jump down another countless set of stairs, but once you get older you will get it, don’t worry….

Ow, and in case you’ve always wondered what SLAP stands for…. I did an interview with Joe Brook last year and he told me SLAP means ‘Skateboarders Looking At Photos’,…..or whatever you want it to be….. Pick your favorite SLAP meaning from this sick t-shirt graphic! (we like Skate Loud And Proud the best)