Dynamite Magazine #42 with Laura Thornhill

Laura Thornhill featured in Dynamite Magazine #42, published in 1977. Sylvester Stallone on the cover, what is next for Sylvester after Rocky? four more Rocky movies of course. Listen, I don’t care if he only made 3 more or 5 more, so don’t bother to correct me if I’m wrong. This is the third appearance of skateboarding in Dynamite Magazine here on S&A. Complete spread and text after the jump.

Transcription of the text from Dynamite Magazine #42

The Scene: Skateboard World, Torrance California. The Event: Sixteen-year-old Laura Thornhill, one of the country’s top skateboarders, is about to test herself against the challenge of a brand-new park for the first time.

Carefully, Laura pushes her board off to a slow start. She circles the course, feeling the pavement just the way a fighter walks around the boxing ring getting the feel of the canvas under his feet.

Suddenly, she picks up speed. Her long hair flies out from under her helmet as she zooms up the vertical side of the bowl. She’s really rolling now! Kick turns, handstands, spinners, three-sixties. No doubt about it, Laura’s up to the challenge of this park too!

Back at her house in Redondo Beach, California, Laura told Dynamite about her life as a professional skateboarder.

“I started skateboarding three years ago, when my family moved here from Texas. Kids were skateboarding in Texas too, but not like in California,” Laura told us. But, Laura soon caught up with her California neighbors and won a second place in a local contest. Before too long, she was invited to join a professional skateboard team.

“There are 15 people on the team—but only three are girls. After I won a few contests, Skateboarder Magazine did an interview with me. I was the first girl they’d ever featured.”

After Laura won the world champion slalom title in San Diego, her fame really spread. She was asked to do TV work and commercials. Last year, Laura earned about $4,000 skateboarding. This year she may earn as much as $60,000. But even with such high stakes, Laura still considers herself a student. “I try not to let skateboarding interfere with my school work. When I travel for contests I always make up the work I miss. Traveling is the best part of being on the professional circuit. I’ve already been to New York, Florida, Washington, Dallas, and Canada. Right now there’s some talk about the team going to Paris.

“The sport is really growing. Skateboard parks are opening all over, and that’s really great. They give kids a safe and challenging place to skateboard. Keeping the sport safe is the only way it will gain acceptance. I fractured my wrist and dislocated my elbow twice, but now I always wear protective gear.” (She took off her helmet just to pose for these pictures.)

Laura has a very relaxed attitude about her fame. “I feel like any normal kid who goes to school and skateboards. The only difference is that I’ve been lucky enough to make some money at it.”

In Laura’s case it hasn’t been all luck. She works very hard at her sport.

“When I’m giving a demonstration or competing, there’s a lot of pressure,” Laura admitted. “It’s no fun to fall flat on your face in public! But it happens, and sometimes you’ve got to accept failure. The important thing is to relax and have fun. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point?”

—Arthur Sirdofsky

Caption: Balance, agility, and strength are all you need to skate-board well,” says Laura as she demonstrates all three qualities.