Jake Phelps
James Kendall "Jake" Phelps (September 24, 1962 – March 14, 2019) was an American skateboarder and magazine editor. Phelps led the magazine Thrasher as editor-in-chief for 27 years.[1]
Jake Phelps | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Phelps at a 2009 skateboarding contest | |
| Born | James Kendall Phelps September 24, 1962 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 14, 2019 (aged 56) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Phelper |
| Occupation | magazine editor |
Early life
James Kendall Phelps was born in San Francisco, California, to parents Kitty and Kendall Phelps, and lived there until the age of 11.[2][3] His parents called him "J. K.", which eventually became "Jake".[2] He had a sister, Marie.[4] After his parents split up, he lived with his mother in Marblehead, Massachusetts.[3]
Phelps began skating at the age of 13.[1] In 1977, Phelps began working at Zero Gravity, a skate park in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3] For a short time, he was hired by PepsiCo to do skate demos in schools.[3] Phelps dropped out of high school by the end of the 1970s.[4]
Career
Phelps moved back to San Francisco in the early 1980s. He began working for Thrasher while he worked at Concrete Jungle skate shop in the Haight district.[3] While working at the shop, Thrasher's editor, Kevin Thatcher, approached Phelps to write a product review column. In 1993, after boxing merchandise for a few years in the shipping department at Thrasher, Phelps was promoted to editor, where he remained for 26 years.[3]
As Thrasher's editor, Phelps selected the Skater of the Year (SOTY) beginning in 1993.[5] Phelps' final selection, the 2018 SOTY, was Tyshawn Jones.[6]
Personal life
Music
Beginning in August 2005, Phelps played lead guitar in a band, Bad Shit, with Tony Trujillo and Trujillo's wife, Ashley "Trixie" Trujillo.[4] The band toured both in the US and internationally.[3]
In July 2017, Phelps suffered a serious head injury while skating near Dolores Park in San Francisco during an unpermitted event.[7]
Death
Phelps was found dead (from unknown cause) on March 14, 2019 (aged 56) at his home in San Francisco, California. His death was announced on a Thrasher Instagram post and he was cremated with his skateboard.[1][2]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jake Phelps. |
- Robertson, Michelle (March 15, 2019). "Jake Phelps, editor of Thrasher magazine and skateboarding legend, is dead". SFGate.
- Staley, Willy (March 20, 2019). "Jake Phelps Dies at 56; as Thrasher Editor, a Skateboarding Guru". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- Staley, Willy (March 24, 2016). "Thrashed". The California Sunday Magazine.
- Vainshtein, Annie; Whiting, Sam (March 14, 2019). "Thrasher editor Jake Phelps' devotion to skateboarding transcended community at large". Datebook. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- Davis, Josh (March 15, 2019). "From the Mag Himself: Opinions on Skating's Most Opinionated Magazine". HYPEBEAST.
- "UPDATE: Tyshawn Jones Wins 2018 Skater of the Year". Skate Newswire. December 15, 2018.
- Elle, Jean (July 13, 2017). "Skateboarder Recounts Wipeout at SF Event From Hospital Bed". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.