Journal of a Skateboarder

At the age of twenty-nine, photographer Thomas Sweertvaegher spends most of his life on the road with friends, indulging his dual passions of photography and skating. Years of traveling the world together—always on the move and often carrying nothing more than a skateboard—have yielded the poignant photographs collected in this volume, where the skateboard remains a constant symbol of freedom, an extension of their identities, and the mark of their strong friendship.


Rolling on the margins of society, exploring the limits of life and his own young adulthood, Sweertvaegher captures whatever is happening around him during his travels. His shots take the reader on a journey, showing the highs and lows, bruises, and stitches of skating and street life, and ultimately celebrating the beauty such a life can bring.


While it captures Sweertvaegher's odyssey from a highly personal perspective, Skate is at the same time a visual documentary of the skating world, and features key figures such as Axel Cruysberghs, Arto Saari, Dylan Rieder, and Rodney Mullen.

La varsta de douazeci si noua de ani, fotograful Thomas Sweertvaegher isi petrece cea mai mare parte a vietii pe drum cu prietenii, rasfatandu-si duelele pasiuni ale fotografiei si patinajului. Ani de calatorie in lume impreuna - mereu in miscare si purtand adesea nimic mai mult decat un skateboard - au dat fotografiile inversunate colectate in acest volum, unde skateboard-ul ramane un simbol constant al libertatii, o extensie a identitatilor lor si semnul Prietenia lor puternica. Rulandu-se la marginea societatii, explorand limitele vietii si propria sa varsta adulta, Sweertvaegher surprinde orice se intampla in jurul sau in timpul calatoriilor sale.