A zine a day for a week.
Day 6: Skate Cool #1

Skate Cool #1 is one of those zines that probably never got circulated outside the group of kids that made it. The only reason I got a copy was because one of those kids was the kid brother of my best friend in high school, Jay Niedzwicki who was the guy I rode my first real skateboard and vert ramp with, discovered punk rock, etc… I had completely forgotten that when it came time to scan this. At first glance I thought was completely stupid, and it is, but I started flipping through it, and as stupid as it is, it’s still amusing. Then I read the credits and found my friend’s brother, Scott Niedzwicki on the, errr.. masthead.

Skate Cool #1

This issue is obsessed with “Ollie on a dime,” the catch phrase from the Speed Wheels Santa Cruz marketing. The skate comics are so bad they are funny. 14 pages into the zine, they suddenly remembered you could put photos in a zine, so the last six pages are all photos. Granted, they are all photos of the same launch ramp, being ridden by the same guys who made the zine. On the surface, it’s a crap zine, but it’s still brilliant. And I’mnot just saying that because the copies I sent of Skate and Annoy are what inspired them.

View the zine: Skate Cool #1

Here are the stats:

Zine: Skate & Mate
Issue: #1
Date: 1987
From: Naperville Illinois
By: Jeff Kuchta, Corey Yeh, Geoff Welsh, Scott Niedzwicki

Featuring: Mike Patterson, Scott Niedzwicki, Don Falhauber, Jeff Kuchta

Spots: The quarter pipe in one of these kid’s driveway.

Highlights: Obsession with Ollie on a dime and Nash Executioners. . 1987 Poser Jam. Conflicting reviews (how can the Brady Bunc both suck and be cool?) Retarded stick figure comics. Juvenille sense of humor.

Local Slang: Everything is gay.