The Photography of a Skateboard Hall-of-Famer

There was something about the death last year of Thrasher magazine editor-in-chief Jake Phelps that hit close to home for skaters of a certain age. Jake seemed indestructible, a skater with nine lives. If Jake can go, I remember hearing a friend say, all of us could go. And I’ve noticed a newfound appreciation for exactly what Thrasher magazine accomplished, with more attention on those early renegade days of skateboarding in the 1980s. One example is the upcoming photo exhibition by Mörizen Föche, the second-ever employee of Thrasher who readers probably know best by his photo credit: MoFo. MoFo was recently inducted into the skateboard hall of fame, not just for his iconic photos, but for writing and editing Thrasher and compiling the magazine’s signature Skate Rock compilation albums. In fact, bands featured on those albums wrap up the night after the photo show’s opening reception, with the headlining group that essentially defined skate rock, JFA. That’s on Friday, Feb. 21, at the Uptown in Oakland.—Gabe Meline