Publisher's Synopsis
Chipping a board - where small pieces of deck and tape break off around the nose and tail - is a natural part of skateboarding. Novice or pro, you'll see folks riding chipped boards as symbols of their stubborn dedication toward a deck, a toy, and aging bodies that will also reach their inevitable end. In CHIPPED, Jose Vadi personalises and expands upon this symbol. Written after finishing his debut collection Inter State: Essays From California (Soft Skull, 2021), Vadi used these essays to explore his own empathy in aging, and to elaborate on the impact skateboarding has had on culture, power, and art. From tracing a critical mass skater takeover of San Francisco's streets, to an analysis of visceral '90s skate videos and soundtracks, to the solace found skating a parking lot during a global pandemic, Vadi expands our understanding of the ways skateboarding can alter one's life. Vadi acts as a 'ethnographer on a skateboard,' writing, living, and animating an object, likening the boar
