Newsflash
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The IGSA North American Championships racing in California over the Nov. 15-16 weekend was gnarly. Click the
 pic to jump over to YouTube for a vid, and don't miss the Galleries , either! Zak Maytum raced Junior and Open/Pro, and won both! |
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Concrete Wave: The Chuck Saccio Interview |
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Friday, 25 May 2007 |
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While SkateBoarder Magazine generally ruled the roost as the premier skate mag in the 1970’s, there were two other publications that also had skaters’ attentions. One was Wide World of Skateboarding and the other was Skateboard World. The former editor of Skateboard World wound up emailing Concrete Wave. So, here’s a cool little interview with Chuck Saccio, former editor of Skateboard World. --MBrooke The Chuck Saccio Interview   How did Skateboard World come about? Chuck Saccio: Skateboard World Magazine was published by Daisy/ Hi-Torque Publishing Co. who published many other magazines such as Dirt Bike Magazine and others relating to cars and motorcycle racing. Their office was in Encino, CA, right in the middle of San Fernando Valley (the Valley) in Los Angeles. I was not there when they started. I was their second editor, following Jill Sherman who moved on as a television writer (Baywatch, StarTrek: Deep Space Nine, etc.) I started as a freelance writer/photographer in 1976 and became editor in 1978, with Stan Sharp as my associate editor.
  Oct. '77 and Nov. '78 What did Skateboard World do differently than other skate mags? We made sure to cover all the major competitions. We also focused on new skateboard parks, how to do new tricks, new faces, and what the top riders were up to. Since we were located in the Valley, we got calls everyday from skaters about a hot pool that they found and we would go out and do a photo session. What are your best memories of the magazine? When I started reading the letters to the editor we received from all around the world, it was then I realized what an impact we made and the duty we had to these boarders to keep them informed of what was going on in the world of skateboarding. Since southern California was the Mecca of the skateboard world, we had all the top riders, pools and parks at our finger tips.  What were some of the most difficult things to contend with? Advertisers. It also was our job to bring in new advertisers and then to keep them happy. Was the magazine profitable? Could it have continued? What led to its demise? Profitability was touch and go - breakeven. Some skateparks were having problems with liability insurance and were closing. It appeared that skateboarding started to experience a slow growth period. This affected the advertisers that had to choose which magazine to put their money into. Our last issue was in 1979. Of all the stories you covered, what are some of your favorites? Signal Hill – it was all about speed. La Costa - guys like Henry Hester, Bob Sloldberg, Mike Williams and others getting together each Sunday, putting money into a hat and setting up a killer downhill slalom course and racing against each other for the money. Catalina Island - skaters took over the island for a great two-day contest. We got a call about an empty pool in the Hollywood Hills area. We climbed a backyard fence to get to it. It was killer, a black bottom pool. It turned out to be Barry Whites house. I remember a photo session at Marina Del Ray Skatepark with pros only. I was on the edge of a pool taking pictures of David Hackett and Tony Alva. On one shot, TA came up and over the edge and knocked the camera (with a wide angle lens) out of my hands. BUT I got the shot and it was my final centerfold for the magazine. David made the cover for the same issue. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 May 2007 )
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