Paying respect to the skateboarding culture that has influenced our roots from the beginning, we've partnered with industry pioneer Powell-Peralta on a limited edition watch capsule. Known for the historical impact on the growth and evolution of skateboarding, Powell-Peralta has been one of the most recognized brands in the industry for more than three decades and helped develop skateboarding into what it is today. It was in 1978 that Powell, a mechanical engineer, partnered with Peralta, one of the most popular skateboarders of the era, to retool how skateboard products were made and marketed. Craig Stecyk III, a creative partner to the Powell-Peralta team, was instrumental in developing some of the graphic icons that became synonymous with not only Powell-Peralta’s legendary team but with skateboarders and skateboard culture worldwide.
Craig Stecyk exists in the shadows. And even when he does slide into the sunlight, it rarely adds clarity. As Lance Mountain says in his interview, people directly influenced by Stecyk often ask, ‘Who is that guy in the parka?’ You’re probably one of those Directly Influenced if you’re reading this zine. The tall reedy LA local helped shape counter culture by instigating modern skate videos, writing some of the most influential articles on skateboarding, coining “Skate and Destroy” and “The Bones Brigade,” installing art pieces in the desert, bronzing roadkill, burying faux Russian bombs on busy Santa Monica beaches, helping start Thrasher Magazine. The Smithsonian permanently houses some of his work and then there’s that Rat and Crossbones glyph he territorially sprayed under the decaying pier in Venice at the tail end of the 1970s. In typical Stecyk fashion, he created the art and then discarded it. Cohort Stacy Peralta never forgot its primitive power and hoisted it high through the Powell Peralta brand until it became arguably the most infamous symbol in skateboarding precisely because, like Stecyk, it originated in the shadows.
“It’s simple. It’s subversive. It’s artistic. It’s renegade. It’s everything great about a great piece of art. It’s a profound mark and you can read so much into it. Wasn’t there a newspaper article that called it Satanic? It’s just so simply beautiful. It’s one of the best things Craig has ever done. “ - Stacy Peralta
Pick up the ‘zine at your local skate shop and read the full interviews with Craig Stecyk, Stacy Peralta, Lance Mountain and more. Nixon x Powell Peralta Limited Edition Capsule and 'zine available only at your local skate shop.
