Page 25 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART ONE
the same time, his patience and trust in me with the book project was some- thing that I’ll never forget. Warren left SkateBoarder Magazine in a cloud of controversy. His fondness for a certain illicit drug was his undoing. The pub- lishers were begging him to get treatment. When he was let go, they had to re- place him with at least four people. He was a workaholic with a vision to make skateboarding something insanely great. Warren contributed a huge amount to skateboarding and it was a privilege to know him.
Unfortunately, much of Warren’s slides had been either stolen or lost in the twenty or so years since he had left the magazine. There were so many photos that I so truly wished we’d had the opportunity to publish, but they had long since disappeared.
Warren’s task was to identify each of the slides that I had chosen. I also asked him to write about the skater in the photo and what was happening at the time. Thankfully, with most of the photos, his memory was crystal clear.
The book was actually financed by Kevin Harris, the owner of Ultimate Skate- board Distribution. Although Kevin never recouped his investment, the ripple effect of his patronage was enormous. A number of magazines and books have reprinted these photos. He eventually wound up being inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.
In 2004, the Legacy of Warren Bolster (Master of Skateboard Photography) was released. I brought Warren to San Diego to be at the launch of the book at the Action Sports Retailer show. The experience remains one of my top 5 moments during my time as a publisher. The ASR show brought together the heavy- weights in skateboarding and surfing. We had Warren stationed at a company called Video Action Sports. This was a time before YouTube and people ac- tually bought videotapes and DVDs for their own personal viewing.
As soon as the launch began, I knew we had a very cool experience brewing. People that hadn’t seen Warren in over 2 decades came up and shook his hand and hugged him. It was a who’s who of the skate and surf industries. There was a feeling that Warren was finally getting his due. I felt proud to be a part of it and I knew Warren felt good.
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