Slam 217

SLAM Skateboarding Magazine Summer Edition 2017/2018 captures Australian skateboarding at full speed, mixing local destruction with international travel, interviews and scene reports that make the whole issue feel restless and constantly moving. Fronted by Alex Lawton on the cover, blasting a gap-to-wallride in Los Angeles shot by Jake Darwen, the issue documents the exact moment Lawton levelled up from experimenting with wallrides to charging full-speed into proper street spots after travelling alongside Evan Smith. The cover story alone has that perfect SLAM energy: chaotic missions, brutal slams and sudden breakthroughs that feel almost accidental.

Inside, the issue jumps between scene reports, interviews and travel features including “Right Place, Wrong Time,” “The Story of Portside,” the reopening of the legendary Brooklyn Banks, “That Night in Bali,” and “The Adventures of Alex Lawton.” There are interviews with Charles Robertson, Nixen Osborne and Josh Pall, alongside Perth skateboarding coverage, New Gen feature Noah Nayef, a focus on Bol Lual, product pages and the always-chaotic “Intoxica.” Like the best eras of SLAM, the magazine balances polished photography with raw skate energy, making the whole issue feel like a time capsule from a period when Australian skateboarding was firing on every cylinder.