Episode 83: Dave Swift / Renowned Skateboard Photographer and Magazine Editor

Renowned skateboard photographer and magazine editor Dave Swift joins the show to talk about his long history with skateboarding, the early days of the Del Mar Skate Ranch, his many years as editor in chief of Transworld Skateboarding, and cofounding the Skateboard Mag.  Although Dave grew up a short drive from the beaches of San Diego, his small town felt more like a ranching community and his days were filled with baseball and football until the age of 13 when skateboarding entered his life and changed his whole outlook on the future.  He quickly fell in love with not only the act of skating, but the culture that surrounded it and before long became a local fixture at the infamous Del Mar Skate Ranch.  After years of trying to make it as a professional, and a stint as a sponsored skater for Schmitt Stix, he lucked into a position writing and editing for Transworld magazine.  It was there that he would he begin to experiment more with photography and, under the mentorship of people like Grant Brittain, start to hone his craft.  He slowly moved through the ranks of the magazine and before long became the editor in chief, all the while continuing to photograph the scene around him. Although Dave experienced a couple of the slowest years of Skateboarding's history, he also experienced the boom, and in the late 90s and early 2000s, as street skateboarding helped propel the sport back into the spotlight, Dave was there to witness all of it and finally decided to go out with some others and create their own publication.  After 30 years in the industry, Dave continues to love it all, to keep shooting, and most impressive of all to keep skating.  During our conversation we talk about how he feels about social media vs editorial content, the regrets he has of not traveling more in his younger years, what the future of magazines might look like, and the advice he gives to those coming up in this world.  

To Learn More About Dave Swift Visit:

http://daveswiftphotography.com

And Follow on Instagram At:

https://www.instagram.com/daveswift01/

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