Sports

Elsewhere: The Story of UK Skateboarding 1987-2002

Elsewhere is the definitive oral history of British skateboarding. Toldchronologically from the beginning of its identity shift to the start of the newmillennium, the book explores the lasting influence British skateboardingcontinues to have on fashion, film, photography, art and media.

While British skateboarders moved the sport away from its Californian roots, embracing a different terrain, with skaters in the north taking to ramps in abandoned warehouses and those in the south skating the streets of new developments, the story of skateboarding in the UK goes far beyond the act of riding a board. As important were the cottage industries of clothes manufacturing, photography, filmmaking, and zine production that were inspired by British skateboarders, many of which are now multimillion-dollar brands that regulate mainstream culture today.

Suitable not only for skaters but for anyone interested in film, fashion andphotography, Elsewhere tells the story of skateboarding in the UK during thepivotal era of 1987–2002 when the British iteration of the sport developed its ownunique identity and subsequently went on to inspire and transform global popularculture.

About The Author

Neil Macdonald is the leading authority on Britishskateboarding. He has been skateboarding since 1988,and writing about skateboarding for Sidewalk, North,Free and Grey since 2007. He owns one of the world’slargest libraries of printed and audio-visual skateboardmedia, including complete sets of all UK publicationsand almost every British-made skateboard film, as wellas many hundreds of pieces of hardware and clothing.His @scienceversuslife Instagram account celebratesthe stylistic innovation of ’90s skateboarding.

  • Publish Date: May 19, 2026
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Sports & Recreation - Skateboarding
  • Publisher: Batsford
  • Trim Size: 8-1/2 x 11
  • Pages: 400
  • US Price: $70.00
  • CDN Price: $95.00
  • ISBN: 978-1-84994-942-2