Eric Swenson, Creative Skateboarding Legend, Dead at Age 64

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Published Jun 24, 2011

Eric Swenson with Craig Stecyk and Fausto Vitello
MoFo for Thrasher

Swenson, co-founder of Thrasher Magazine and Independent Trucks, both which transformed the sport of skateboarding, died tragically on June 20, 2011.

There will be many articles written about the sad news of the recent death of Eric Swenson, many which will repeat the facts and accomplishments of this icon of modern skateboarding who took his own life in San Francisco, CA on Monday, June 20, 2011. By now, word has travelled through the airwaves, Twitter, Facebook, and every extreme sports-related outlet that this man's work is done, but certainly not over. His legacy will certainly continue as the sport of skateboarding continues to grow.

Eric Swenson Creative Force in Skateboarding

Anyone who has even stepped on a board owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Eric Leon Swenson (born August 4, 1946). The effects of his body of work are so far-reaching, and one of the most beloved things is that he was humble about his contributions to skateboarding, a quiet designer who enjoyed building things. Many young skaters do not know how important Mr. Swenson was to their skating; this tribute is the internet version of pulling up a rocker on the porch and gettin' schooled by the old skool.

Back in the 1970s when skateboarding had reached a period of popularity and I began skating, wanting to emulate the style and vibe of the west coast surf style and feel the freedom that the sport embodies (since we had no waves to ride in Pennsylvania) the sport started to reach into many areas of youth culture and become a bigger presence, especially for those who enjoyed or strived to have a bit of an anti-authority attitude. Enter Independent Trucks and Eric Swenson.

Swenson Independents

Swenson wasn't even a skateboarder, but he was immersed in the culture of motorcycles, music and skaters. I didn't know Mr. Swenson, but I had unfortunate familiarity with Tracker Trucks; Independents were the stuff of dreams. Skaters could move, pivot, wall ride, scale the sides of pools, and ultimately grind and get height; the rest is history. None of this would be possible without the creative, hardworking spirit of Swenson.

Independent Built to Grind, Ride, Shred and Glide

In 1978, Swenson, along with partner Fausto Vitello ( also Richard Novak and Jay Shiurman ) began making skateboard trucks and hardware wih their company, Independent Trucks. They fabricated the trucks at the foundry, Ermico Enterprises, Inc. Since then, the company has been a mainstay in the sport, the quintessential truck; Indys came out when there weren't any decent, well-made, well-functioning trucks that would complement the changes that had already come about in skateboard decks and wheels. Independents enhanced the maneuverability of the boards and opened up the kind of flowing motion and also propelled the sport to new heights ? literally ? with the ability to achieve vertical motion.

Independent has always sponsored heavy-hitters in the sport including Steve Alba, Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero, and Duane Peters, and epitomized the renegade spirt of the sport. Independent still has those bragging rights, with riders including Danny Way, Ryan Sheckler, Lizard King, Bucky Lasek, Andrew Reynolds and Eric Koston. But alas, Independent Trucks was just the beginning. Later came Spitfire Wheels and a whole product line of delectable skate goods and Deluxe Distributions. Swenson was the guy who had his nose to the grindstone and eschewed the limelight. He became fairly wealthy but people who knew him well marvelled at how humble he always was; he never acted obnoxiously or flaunted his success.

Thrasher Comes into the World Kicking, Screaming and Skating

Skateboarding started to suffer yet another ebb in popularity around 1981. In an effort to revitalize the sport, highlight the lifestyle of skateboarding and skateboarders, and celebrate its relationship with punk music, Swenson and Vitello started Thrasher Magazine. One interest was to maintain sales of their trucks and other skate products, but Thrasher wasn't purely a self-serving venture. At the time, there wasn't a publication that tapped into that subculture and Thrasher, with its motto, "Skate and Destroy" opened up the world of skating to many young people and exposed us to underground music, skating and imagery otherwise unknown and we were hooked.

Thrasher was instrumental in making skateboarding a subculture, not just another activity. Eben Sterling, advertising director for Slap and Thrasher got it right when he said, "Before Thrasher, skateboarding was just another trend like yo-yos, Rollerblades and Hula Hoops. But now it had its own music, dialect and its own fashion style."

Thrasher is still one of the major publications and web sites among a cornucopia of skate magazines and web sites available for fans and participants today. Swenson and Vitello began High Speed Productions, Inc. which publishes Thrasher, Slap, and Juxtapoz magazines.

Eric leaves behind his wife, Linda, his partner of many years whom he married in 2006. He also is survived by his sister Rebekah Engel, collegues, admirers, and generations of skateboarders. Thank you Mr. Swenson.

Comments and triubutes can be written on Thrasher's Facebook fan page and on Thrasher's site.

A must-have: Denike, Bob. (2004). Built to Grind: 25 Years of Hardcore Skateboarding from the Archives of Independent Truck Company. San Francisco: NHS.

Copyright Leigh Roche. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

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Source: http://www.suite101.com/content/eric-swenson-creative-skateboarding-legend-dead-at-age-64-a376865

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