The Answer Is Never

Skateboarding began on the streets of Southern California beach towns as a way for surfers to keep riding when the waves were flat in winter. Over more than forty years it grew into a staple of city youth culture across the globe. In this account, skating journalist Jocko Weyland follows that path, from driveway ramps to handrails in Rio, from televised competitions to the street-filmed work of Spike Jonze.

Weyland blends the sport's history with his own travels to skate in Hawaii, Germany, and Cameroon. His portrait of the subculture centers on its restless creativity and its suspicion of authority, traits that have shaped fashion, music, art, and film. The book examines how skaters came to see the rules differently and how that outlook spread.

He profiles early pioneers such as Gregg Weaver and the Dogtown Z-Boys, along with later figures like Steve Caballero and Tony Hawk. He also traces how changes in decks, trucks, and wheels altered what skaters could attempt, moving the sport from the freestyle moves of its early years toward the aggressive street style practiced today.