Stecyk III under the pen name Lowboy, and the February 1983 advertisement for Independent Trucks that featured a topless model with Independent decals on her breasts. TRANSWORLD began publishing under the ownership of Larry Balma, owner of Tracker Trucks, and Peggy Cozens. Initially, the publishing and editorial team were known as the United Skate Front. Balma later spoke of the magazines beginnings as a reaction to Thrasher, saying They were pretty harsh, sex and drugs and using four-letter words and all that and in the early'80s, the sport started growing and (Thrasher) wasn't the best magazine for young kids (Union-Tribune, 2003).
The first issue of TWS contained the article Skate and Create and its author Peggy Cozens noted I have become increasingly concerned about a new skate attitude being pushed on skaters: Skate and Destroy Cozens, 1983, p. The article went on to highlight the positive and creative side of skating.
The stance of the magazine remained positive (Weyland, 2002) to the extent that Thrasher owner Fausto Vitello wrote They were about Skate and Create; we were about Skate and Destroy. The magazine recruited David Carson as art director in 1984 and he remained with TWS until 1988 and gave the magazine a distinctive look. This period also featured the photographic work of J.Grant Brittain and Spike Jonze, and editorial contributions by professional skateboarders such as Lance Mountain, Tony Hawk, Neil Blender, Steve Berra, Marty'Jinx' Jimenez, Garry Scott Davis, and Mark Gonzales. In late 2001 the magazine was famously packaged with an AOL software disc which prompted the editorial note the following month that stated Sorry for the poly-bagged edition with the 1,000 hours of free Internet access from AOL. We here at the magazine didn't even find out about the atrocity until (the magazines) made it into the office. We feel just as violated as you (Union-Tribune, 2003). Internal tensions between the magazine staff and owners AOL Time Warner prompted a walkout of several key editorial members including J Grant Britain, Dave Swift and Atiba Jefferson to form The Skateboard Mag in 2003 (ibid).
The print edition continues to boast a 60%+ market share in the skateboarding category and is the largest skateboarding magazine in the world (Audit Bureau of Circulations), with a satellite edition TRANSWORLD SKATEBOARDING Japan. On September 12, 2006, Time Inc. Announced the sale of Time4 Media, comprising eighteen print magazines, including the TRANSWORLD group of titles. Golf and This Old House were not included in the sale; both magazines were folded into the Time Inc. The rationale for the sale was that these magazines no longer fit into Time Inc.
Time Inc will officially transfer ownership on March 1, 2007 [3]. The item "1st Issue 1983 Trans World Skateboarding Magazine First #1 Skateboard Skater USA" is in sale since Tuesday, October 1, 2019. This item is in the category "Books\Magazines".com" and is located in San Diego, California. This item can be shipped worldwide.