Buenos Aires Death Match: Thrasher's Direct Connection to Argentina

Skateboarding icons like Tony Trujillo, Sean Malto, and Milton Martinez, rising stars like Jenn Soto and Mami Tezuka, and local talents on a steep upward trajectory like Eze Martinez and Franco Morales. Plus the ever-present band that created local skate rock, Massacre (under their original name Massacre Palestina), and sets by Arde la Sangre, Loquero, Minoria Activa, and Fuck Dolls, whose frontman "Pitu" Lopez is a legendary Argentine pro skater and constant agitator of the scene.

How do you get all that in one place? This Sunday the 9th at C Complejo Art Media, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Chacarita, during the Buenos Aires Death Match, which will combine skateboarding exhibitions by the team of the world-famous Thrasher magazine and concerts by skate rock bands.

The Thrasher "brand" became widely recognized in Argentina in recent years because their classic tees became a cool item adopted by young people and various urban music artists. But beyond this superficial fact, the bond between the magazine and our country runs much deeper. As always, appearances are deceiving.

In 1981, skateboarding had entered a downturn, losing popularity and retreating underground. That is when Thrasher was born and became a "vehicle for real, roots, hardcore skate communication," describes Walas, Massacre's vocalist who participated as a skater in that second wave that would revive skateboarding, and of which Thrasher was a driving force with its doctrinal line synthesized in Skate & Destroy. It would also be this second wave that made skateboarding catch on strongly in Argentina, never to die out again.

Over the years, Thrasher would become not just a skate magazine but a full-on representative of the culture. With Jake Phelps as its standard-bearing editor, it would become the most iconic magazine. Landing its cover became synonymous with consecration, and winning the "Skater of the Year" award, created by the magazine, became the most coveted title in "real skating", above any championship or Olympic medal.

And this double crown is what the infernal beast — no exaggeration — Milton Martinez achieved in December 2019. Born in Mar del Plata, he is the son of a legendary skater, "Tatu" Martinez, and brother of Ezequiel; he achieved what anyone who has ever stepped on a board dreams of. After a meteoric career in Argentina, in 2016 he moved to California and began rubbing shoulders with the cream of skateboarding, until a terrible injury sidelined him from the streets for a while.

He was filming for Volcom and attempted a very risky trick at an almost mythical spot in Los Angeles: the Car Wash. At that spot, a tier-god skater like Mark Gonzalez (almost unanimously recognized as the best skater of all time) could not land his ollie. In fact, since 2010, when Jim Greco did it, nobody had filmed a trick there. The place is insane — to execute the trick you have to climb to the roof of the car wash and then jump onto an extremely steep incline, truly violent, that opens onto the Sunset Strip itself. Milton broke his ankle in 2016, but three years later landed a flip that went down in history. All at the same spot.

The trick was so impressive that the cover of that Thrasher edition only featured the magazine's logo, the barcode, and the photo of the trick. The Volcom video added to his part in Demolicion, the Thrasher compilation, and earned him the blessing of Phelps himself. With all that, Milton was named Skater Of The Year (SOTY) in 2019.

"It is a privilege to have the Thrasher cover, and with all the history behind the epic Car Wash spot, I could not be more grateful for how things played out. I believe the injury helped me push past my limits, and that made me give everything for the video part I had always dreamed of having," Milton told the NO. "And well, being SOTY was a bonus I never imagined was possible. Truly, no words."

"I had many incredible trips with Phelps and he always motivated me so much to skate, since he had the best vibe with me. I met him through Preston, Thrasher filmer and great friend, rest in peace. And one of the memories that will always stay with me was that trip we took with Preston, Phelper, and Ladas, where we explored a beautiful part of Brazil. It will always rank among the most incredible trips I have ever taken," he concludes.

And although that seems to exhaust the Thrasher-Argentina connection, there is always a little more. And the one who tells it, as casually as can be, like someone initiating any neophyte, is Walas, grand master and wizard of the national skate rock culture. "The connection Thrasher has with Argentina goes back to its genesis, because one of the magazine's founders is Argentine, from Almagro, a San Lorenzo fan. A guy who moved to the United States very young, named Fausto Vitello, who founded Independent trucks (the best in history) and the entire Santa Cruz boards and OJs wheels empire. From there, as a way to promote all these products, he founded Thrasher magazine."

Apparently, this mysterious and titanic figure emigrated to California at just 9 years old, because his parents fled the infamous "Revolucion Libertadora". Unbelievable but true, as it can only be in Argentina, the land of miracles: a thread that connects a possibly Peronist family, politically persecuted and exiled during a dictatorship, with the creation of the most important skateboarding brands, the founding of the scene's iconic magazine, and the dreams of a kid from Mar del Plata who just wanted to be the best skater in the world. In short: welcome home, Thrasher magazine.

This article was originally published in Pagina/12. It is reproduced here with the author's permission.