FULL BLEED

Skateboarding in New York City is a singular experience. It is impossible not to feel the magnitude of the landscape, and with the city in constant motion, skateboarding is both exhilirating and extremely dangerous. There is no right or wrong way to navigate this vast terrain. Only one thing is certain— the skaters and images produced in New York City are wholly unique.

The shots in Full Bleed span 30 years, with contributions from over 60 photographers. This is the first-ever comprehensive overview of one of the most diverse and rich skating locations in the world, bringing together legendary skaters and iconic photographers.

NEW YORK CITY
SKATEBOARD
PHOTOGRAPHY

ALEX CORPORAN /// ANDRE RAZO /// IVORY SERRA

Featured Photographer Peter Sutherland

Skate Rock

For Full Bleed, Peter Sutherland shot the spread of kids at the Manhattan Bridge Skate Park.  He moved to the East Village in 1998 and was instantly taken in by New York City’s skate community.  He labels the scene out here as, “RAW” and something that feeds creativity.  He originally grew up in Colorado, where even with a crew of friends, two of the big names being Atiba and Ako Jefferson, was a less tight knit skate community than in NYC.  With his move he soon discovered that no matter your skill level, there is always people around to skate with.


How exactly did you see the skate scene change with your move to NYC?

One of my first nights in New York, I met Rob Campbell (or as many call, “Manimal”) at Astor Place.  He took me right in and I followed him up to Union Square.   It was my first time skating through traffic and I was just like, “WHOA.”  It was a completely different scene for me, I felt like a cat in a new house, all spooked out and cautious.  There was just so much going on, skating as a kid was definitely a very special time for me.  It shaped who I am.

How did you get into photography and filming in NYC?

Right as the death lens came on the scene, I bought one of those and a VX 1000.  A bunch of pro skaters took me right in because I had filming to offer them.  I began filming with Anthony Pappalardo, Mike Wright, Steve Rodriguez/ the 5boro crew, and Rodney Torres. (Not to sound like a total namedropper) I also shot with Ian Reid a lot, he helped get my creative flare going especially in learning to film.

Would you get your footage into any of the skate vids at the time?

Yeah, I remember being super excited because I was the seeing the results of the footage real quick.  I would send in a lot of stuff to 411.  They were real cool because even if you have had a pretty unknown skater doing something cool, they would throw it in.

How do you feel skateboarding has changed lately in terms of competition?  And specifically how has NYC changed lately with the new skate parks being built?

Nowadays, things have gotten so intense that skating cannot be looked at as a way to make money or an opportunity out of your situation for just anyone.  That’s not happening.  (laughs) Have you recently seen the tricks going down in a run of the mill YouTube video part?   Skating professionally now requires the whole package, steeze included.  I think its good that the new parks are being built in consideration of what kind of setups the skaters want.  I know that Steve Rodriguez from 5boro had a lot to do with the set up of the Manhattan Bridge Skate Park.  It seems pretty dated to just another basketball court.  Skating has seemed to have diversified and really spreading across the entire city.