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As part of our ongoing series of guest editiorials, stories and scene reports by Jeff "JT" Tatum, he sends us this updated riff on skateboarding media... I’ve experienced just about every skate mag published since the early 70’s. Skate mags today, unfortunately, have become very predictable. There’s a few that cater to the slam -bash, street -riding punk kids with the skate and destroy mentality that still live with their parents, jobless and pissed off at the world. There’s a few that cater supposedly to the overall "extreme sports person" that’s involved in all the x-sports, surfing, skating, wakeboarding, BMX, snowboarding, motocross, etc... even throwing in some music stuff which results in a kind of confusing mess: I don’t know of anyone that practices all these sports. Most people only have the time and money to be into one to maybe three x-sports, at the most. For most readers, the contents of multi mags go unappreciated. But what do I know, they seem to sell!
 Then, there is the commercialized. Vogue-type skate mag that is composed of nothing but kick flips, shoe ads and rail grinds, as if that’s all there is to skateboarding. If you don’t ride a Popsicle stick deck, have a shaggy hairdo, wear baggy pants, a t-shirt with a skate company logo printed small on the front, wear popular brand, $80.00 skate shoes and, of course, refuse to wear protective gear no matter what, and as far as they’re concerned you don’t exist. Which then leaves the narrow minded, play it safe commercial skate mag that started out as a rail-grind-only mag now trying to hip its image up with some pool and park stuff but aren’t quite pulling it off. Hardcore underground bowl skaters can tell that they’re just faking it. Subsequently, none of these mags seems interested in long boarding, ditches, slalom, skaters that aren’t famous, kiddie skaters, old timer skaters, pipes, shaped decks, racing, downhill or the history of skating except one, Concrete Wave.
Concrete Wave’s motto is 100% skateboarding and doesn’t delve into other sports; it’s for skaters only. Concrete Wave has no problem portraying all the facets of skating left out of other skate publications to date and leaving the punk, kick flip and rail grind only mentality to someone else. You will find Concrete Wave very unpredictable, with an unconventional style. Every issue of Concrete Wave includes their Next Wave section featuring kid skaters and hot unknown up and coming skaters. Concrete Wave also offers small, cost-effective ad space that gives cool underground micro skate companies, that might otherwise go mostly unheard of, a chance to expose themselves in a worldwide publication. Concrete Wave has also adorned their pages with articles on things like barefoot skating, prosthetic limbed skaters that rip, long board companies, freestylers & skate-legends of the past. Ditch-riding, mountain down-hilling, skate legends making comebacks, speed sliding, skate artists, old guys and other trippy subjects that you don’t see much in other skate mags. Concrete Wave has an unpolished, semiprofessional image complete, with typos and an occasional cuss word. Concrete Wave obtains its personality through a long distance relationship between Canada and Southern California.
Concrete Wave is published by the infamous, loved and hated, Michael Brooke. Michael’s skate interests lie mostly in Canada and Southern California. Consisting of lots of downhill, long boarding, and slalom influence in his native Canada, also pools, innovative charismatic skaters, parks and the overall scene of the world skate Mecca called So Cal. Michael also likes featuring skate parks from all over the world. This publishing approach mixes into an odd unconventional skate mag that doesn’t look down on, or think it’s smarter than, its readers. Concrete Wave makes its participants feel at home in its pages as average everyday skaters just having fun. Concrete Wave aims to educate on all facets of skating not to exploit or portray skating as just a business. I’m thankful for Concrete Wave and I love it when I hear people say it sucks or it’s lame or it’s unprofessional because, the day they stop saying those things will be when it loses its homegrown, down to earth, from the heart, appeal... Which I hope never happens.
Michael Brooke wouldn't publish this. I think he was a little bit embarassed by all the flattery, but I mean it all and I want to put the word out. So, here it is on the 'fish. I hope you enjoyed it and that you are as stoked on all the different aspects of skating as I am. -JT
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