There are so many within the skateboarding world who look at skating as a religion which must be practiced to exacting and specific standards; you must conform and ride this type of terrain, you must conform and do these types of tricks, you must not mix this style with that style, you must look this way or else etc. And then once in a while a skater like Andy comes along who doesnt fit into this fanatical mold, a skater who is such an outsider himself that he doesnt even fit into skateboarding. He doesnt fit in because hes not following its false mandates. What Andy is doing is living the creed of what a skateboarder is supposed to be. Hes not conforming nor is he looking for acceptance from conforming, and with that hes accepting the grief and exclusion that comes with being a true outsider. That is what a real skateboarder is. -Stacy Peralta

Artwork by Vernon Courtlandt Johnson