Anybody who has ever screwed some wheels to a deck and dropped in on a ramp knows the name Andy Kessler, one of the true trailblazers in skateboard culture. Since the 1970s and up until his tragic death earlier this week (he suffered an allergic reaction to a wasp sting while working on a skate park), Kessler has been skateboarding's favorite underdog, a pioneer and an ambassador who was essentially too nice a guy to really become a legend. But even though the California kids from Dogtown will take credit, skateboarding wouldn't have become a worldwide phenomenon without Kessler.
Initially embraced mostly by white kids and punk bands, skateboarding quickly spread to become a multi-cultural melting pot of an alternative sport, and today informs a ton of hip-hop (Lupe Fiasco's breakout hit "Kick, Push" and the Pack's ode to skate shoes "Vans" are the two most obvious). But the...
Initially embraced mostly by white kids and punk bands, skateboarding quickly spread to become a multi-cultural melting pot of an alternative sport, and today informs a ton of hip-hop (Lupe Fiasco's breakout hit "Kick, Push" and the Pack's ode to skate shoes "Vans" are the two most obvious). But the...
- 8/13/2009
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
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