Thrasher is a monthly skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 founded in 1981 by Kevin Thatcher, Eric Swenson

Eric Swenson

Eric Leon Swenson was an American skateboard designer and magazine publisher.Born in San Francisco, Swenson was the chief skateboard designer for the Independent Truck Company which he co-founded with skateboard entrepreneur Fausto Vitello in 1978...

, and Fausto Vitello

Fausto Vitello

Fausto Vitello was an American businessman and magazine publisher. Vitello is the creator of Thrasher magazine and co-creator of Independent trucks.-Early life:...

. It regularly publishes articles (not limited to the skateboarding subject), skateboard photography, interviews with professional skateboarders, interviews with and reviews of musical groups, skatepark

Skatepark

A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...

 reviews, and miscellaneous oddities.

In 1999 the magazine sponsored a PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

 game called Thrasher: Skate and Destroy

Thrasher: Skate and Destroy

Thrasher Presents Skate and Destroy is a skateboarding video game developed by Z-Axis and released in 1999 for the Sony PlayStation. A Game Boy Color version was also developed, but was later cancelled...

.

Since January 2006 the magazine is also published bimonthly in French language for francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

 Europe.

Skater of the Year

The title of Skater of the Year is given out once a year by Thrasher magazine. The tradition was started in 1990 and has been one of the most respected awards in pro skateboarding. The title is bestowed to the skater who has received the most votes from Thrasher's readers. Chris Cole and Danny Way are the only two skaters to have won Skater Of The Year twice.

Skater of the Year recipients

• 1990 - Tony Hawk
  Tony Hawk
  Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
  
  
• 1991 - Danny Way
  Danny Way
  Danny Way is a professional skateboarder.-Awards and achievements:* 1986: Won the first contest he entered at age 11* 1989: Won his first vert contest in Michigan...
  
  
• 1992 - John Cardiel
  John Cardiel
  John Joseph Cardiel is a professional skateboarder who grew up in Half Moon Bay and Grass Valley, California and currently resides in Sacramento, California....
  
  
• 1993 - Salman Agah
  Salman Agah
  Salman Agah is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur.-Early life:Salman Agah was born in Washington, D.C. to Persian and Azeri parents. He started skateboarding at the age of 5...
  
  
• 1994 - Mike Carroll
• 1995 - Chris Senn
  Chris Senn (skateboarder)
  Chris Senn is a professional skateboarder, known for his aggressive and spontaneous style. Current and past sponsors include Powell Skateboards Channel one Adrenalin Skateboards Emerica, Ace, Type-S, Paradox, Kamanu Charters and Toy Machine Skateboards...
  
  
• 1996 - Eric Koston
  Eric Koston
  Eric Koston is a Thai American professional skater who grew up in San Bernardino, California.He began skating in 1986 and remains active. He was first sponsored in 1991 and turned pro in 1993. He has been featured in the "Tony Hawk" video game series and "EA" Skate 2 and Skate 3...
  
  
• 1997 - Bob Burnquist
• 1998 - Andrew Reynolds
• 1999 - Brian Anderson
  Brian Anderson (skateboarder)
  Brian Anderson is a professional skateboarder based in San Francisco. He turned professional in 1998. He was Thrasher Magazine's Skateboarder of the Year in 1999, and won the World Cup match in Dortmund, Germany, the same year.He skates Girl Skateboard Company boards, Nike Skateboarding shoes, and...
  
  
• 2000 - Geoff Rowley
  Geoff Rowley
  Geoff Rowley , is a professional skateboarder and co-owner of Flip Skateboards.- Professional Skateboarder :Rowley started skateboarding at age 12 in Liverpool, England...
  
  
• 2001 - Arto Saari
  Arto Saari
  Arto Saari is a professional skateboarder. He lives in Huntington Beach, California. He was selected as the "2001 Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine. His skating stance is regular. He is known for his big and aggressive skating style and also for his lipslides...
  
  
• 2002 - Tony Trujillo
  Tony Trujillo
  Tony Trujillo is an American skateboarder. He is noted for his love for Heavy metal music, as well as his aggressive skating style....
  
  
• 2003 - Mark Appleyard
  Mark Appleyard
  Mark Appleyard is a professional skateboarder. He currently resides in Huntington Beach, California. He is 6'1", 160 pounds, has a size 11 foot, and his skateboarding stance is goofy. Appleyard is known for his technical skating...
  
  
• 2004 - Danny Way (repeat winner)
• 2005 - Chris Cole
  Chris Cole (skateboarder)
  James Chris Cole is a professional skateboarder. He grew up in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, but now lives in San Marcos, California with his wife and children. His stance is regular....
  
  
• 2006 - Daewon Song
  Daewon Song
  David Daewon Song is a Korean-American professional skateboarder, recognized for his technical street skateboarding. He is a co-owner of Almost Skateboards along with Rodney Mullen, and skates for the company-sponsored team.-Career:Daewon Song was first sponsored by Sporting Ideas in Gardena,...
  
  
• 2007 - Marc Johnson
  Marc Johnson (skateboarder)
  Marc Johnson is a professional skateboarder.-Biography:Marc Johnson is one of the pioneers of 1990's style "switch-stance" and "gnar-tech" street skateboarding and is known for his technical skill on a skateboard, including a "supernatural" level of ambidextrousness...
  
  
• 2008 - Silas Baxter Neal
• 2009 - Chris Cole (repeat winner)
• 2010 - Leo Romero
  Leo Romero
  Leo Romero is a professional skateboarder. Leo is second generation Mexican American. Leo first started skating around 1997 with his friends, "the Death Junkies". His early influences included Jamie Thomas and Andrew Reynolds, which perhaps explains Leo's tendency to skate large obstacles and...
  
  
• 2011 - Grant Taylor
  Grant taylor
  Grant Taylor is a professional skateboarder who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of former professional skateboarder Thomas Taylor. He began skating at an early age and turned pro in 2009...
  
  

Videography

Thrasher has produced or has assisted in the production of many films.

• Prevent This Tragedy (2009)
• Brutality (2008)
• Beer Slave (2007)
• Shotgun (2006)
• Keg Killer (2006)
• Beer Helmet (2005)
• Beers, Bowls & Barneys (2004)
• Rocket Science (2004)
• S.O.T.Y. Video (2003)
• Playing In Traffic (2002)
• Jaded
  Jaded (film)
  -Plot:Megan , is found naked and lying unconscious on a beach. It is presumed that Megan was raped and a local detective begins investigating. As the investigation continues, it is discovered that Megan was raped by two women. This presents the local authorities with the legal dilemma of which...
  
   (2002)
• Go for Broke
  Go for broke
  Go for broke is a phrase meaning "to wager everything".It was the motto of a World War II Japanese American military unit, the 442nd Infantry Regiment.Go for broke or going for broke may also mean:...
  
   (2001)
• Timebomb (2001)
• Firing Squad (2000)
• Scorchin' Summer (1999)
• Hall of Meat (1999)
• Hillbilly Roadkill (1998)
• Vidiot (1998)
• How to Skateboard Better (1998)
• How To Skateboard (1998)
• Skate and Destroy (1996)
• Raw (1996)
• Hitting the Streets (1996)
• Donut Duty (1995)
• 911 Emergency (1995)
• Feats
  Feats
  Feats was a well-known Elizabethan sorcerer.His familiar spirit was a black dog named Bomelius.-References:...
  
   (1994)
• On The Road
  On the Road (film)
  On the Road is a 2012 film adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel of the same name directed by Walter Salles and starring Sam Riley as Sal Paradise and Garrett Hedlund as Dean Moriarty. It is being executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Filming began on August 4, 2010, in Montreal, Canada, with...
  
   (1994)
• Sponsor Me (1994)
• Need For Speed (1993)
• The Truth Hurts (1993)
• Savannah Slamma II (1988)
• Savannah Slamma (1988)

Thrasher has also released an annual King of the Road video since 2003.

King of the Road

In 2003, Thrasher Magazine started a new type of skateboard competition called King of the Road. The KOTR contest takes 4 teams of pro skaters, gives them a book of challenges, and gives them 2 weeks to travel across the country and complete as many goals as they can. The King of the Road competition has been held in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007. King of the Road was not held in 2008 or 2009, but returned for 2010.

2003

• Deluxe - Winner
• eS
• Tum Yeto
• Volcom

2004

• Zero - Winner
• Girl Skateboards
• Almost
• Real

2005

• Zero - Winner
• Toy Machine
• Baker
• Darkstar

2006 - The Beast Creeps East

• Zero - Winner
• Habitat
• Flip
• Element

2007 -

• Blind - Winner
• Foundation
• Black Label
• Zoo York

2010 -

• Nike - Winner
• Circa
• Converse
• Etnies

2011 -

• Lakai - Winner
• Vans
• Nike
• Dekline

External links

• Thrasher Magazine homepage
• Thrasher Web Store
• Thrasher France (French)