Thrasher Magazine – August 2013, Issue #397 blends hard-hitting features, global sessions, and offbeat commentary into one of the grimiest, most authentic issues of the year. With a cover shot of Chris Pfanner kickflipping a massive double-set in Split, Croatia—fulfilling a long-held vow—the tone is one of follow-through, style, and big payoffs.

Features range far and wide: Converse in Barcelona captures sun-soaked sessions and stoke preserved in the raw. Element delivers bruises and broken bones with a session that left most limping. Habitat Vacation heads somewhere weirder, all wizards and warped terrain. Dane Burman keeps it heavy in a no-frills, “man stuff” interview packed with gnarly insights. Skate Rock USA documents the high-speed, low-sleep chaos of skateboarding's punk tour, with the existential gut punch: “Eventually you're gonna get smoked.”

A tight photo feature brings in iconic stills, while the music section adds its usual range of voices: Ty Segall, Earl Sweatshirt (dropping the surprise “Oh, that’s my dad” moment), Pins of Light, and Speedwolf, all lending extra firepower to the issue’s DIY ethos.

Departments deliver the usual grit. Predatory Bird throws a sweeper party, Skater’s Eye reminds you that constant filming might just make you annoying, Casevas salutes unlikely inspiration, and Photo-G goes full prayer mode. Trash, Firing Line, and Somethin’ keep the edge sharp with weird quips and blistering short takes.

It’s 2013 through a cracked fisheye lens: global shredding, busted bodies, music obsessions, and the raw poetry of skating till it hurts.