LET’S TALK ABOUT QUIET PARTYING

What Skateboarding May Have Missed About Jake Phelps' Death

Photograph by Andrew Paynter

The San Francisco Standard published a piece on January 23, 2023, discussing the death of skateboarding icon Jake Phelps. Though Phelps passed in 2019, the details of his death were only recently revealed. 

Written by David Sjostedt, the piece reveals acute fentanyl intoxication as the cause of death. The piece has sparked a lot of conversation online and in friend circles but I wanted to explore some parts of the piece that I feel were overlooked in order to keep the conversation going and raise awareness. This is in no way a critique of the work but rather, an opportunity to put some thoughts out and ask new questions.

Let’s start here:

When it was reported that San Francisco skateboarding legend Jake Phelps died peacefully in his Bayview home on March 14, 2019, the legions of global fans familiar with the brash counterculture icon knew there had to be more to the story.

Phelps, who would rather crack his head on the concrete than walk away from a skateboard trick he couldn’t land, wasn’t known for being peaceful.

Found with the neck of a guitar still resting in his hand and traces of fentanyl in his bloodstream, it was hardly the first time that Phelps’ family and friends felt the need to cover up his addiction. And over three years later, the official cause of death for the 56-year-old Thrasher Magazine editor-in-chief remained unpublished until now: acute fentanyl intoxication

His death is part of a troubling trend that finds renowned skateboarders dying from fentanyl overdoses without public acknowledgment of how they really died. 

Some now wonder whether the secrecy shrouding these deaths is preventing lives from being saved, given the pervasive drug use in the skateboarding community.

The piece goes on to name David Abair and Mark Dillard as SF-local skaters who had also passed due to fentanyl. Of course, there are other people that have passed due to circumstances around substances, alcohol, and addiction, but the larger issue to me is always why?

What’s causing addiction and how can we raise awareness around it?

The bolded part of the piece and frequent mentions of rampant drug use in skateboarding culture added a bit of distraction to a larger issue that everyone involved in skateboarding should focus on.

Yes, there’s drug use in skateboarding but there’s no empirical data to say that skateboarders are rampant drug users just as there’s little empirical data about skateboarding in general. In my opinion, it’s the atmosphere that skateboarding creates that can exacerbate existing issues and create new challenges for folks that can lead to addiction. There’s the loose atmosphere, the lack of structure, and the encouragement to go hard, but also, injuries, isolation, frustration, and the general stress of having people watch you and critique what you do. I’m not just talking about people getting spicy in Instagram comments—a lot of folks feel weird when people watch them skate. Some top pros don’t even like it when other people are on the session for this very reason. It’s also the reason why safe spaces have been created for folks to be able to skate without harassment from other skaters.

This piece from last year details a lot of the points I mentioned above if you’d like to hop over there first. 

As stated previously, Sjostedt’s piece opened up a dialog–a much-needed one–but also, some of the language and generalizations in the piece may have buried some of the larger issues I’d like to discuss.

In the January 29, 2023 episode of the Mostly Skateboarding Podcast, the cast rightfully points out that skateboarding is often painted by the media as a “live fast, die hard” outlaw culture. Yes, that’s a common trope echoed by Thrasher Magazine owner Tony Vitello in the piece but there’s something being lost in the sensationalism and, perhaps, overblown nature of drug use in skateboarding:

Tony Vitello, the owner of Thrasher Magazine and a lifelong friend of Phelps, said that skaters are unusually disposed to using drugs because of the culture’s marriage with partying, the likelihood of injury, and the ubiquity of open-air drug markets in San Francisco, where many world-famous skate spots are located.

Vitello’s not wrong but what seems to be the quiet part of his statement is his reference to the “likelihood of injury” associated with skateboarding. As the Mostly Skateboarding Squad noted on their podcast (I’m going to paraphrase), skateboarders–not just pros and sponsored folks–are more active and at risk than most civilians. Rather than ranking, rating, or making a case that skateboarding is more or less dangerous than playing a pick-up basketball game, cycling, or auto racing, we know that even fucking around on a curb has its risks ranging from shinners and ankle sprains to broken bones or concussions. Let’s face it, most of us who roll aren’t taking the Andy Anderson route and it doesn’t take much to slip and smash your skull, in fact, that’s probably the first thing concerned parents point out when their kid wants to start skating. 

There’s been a lot of attention put on partying in skateboarding: the rise and fall stories, the cautionary tales, graphics and videos depicting drug and alcohol use, folks finding sobriety, as well as efforts to raise awareness about addiction and abuse. A lot of those stories are centered around big-name pros or people in the industry of skateboarding but addiction is a classless issue.

However, skateboarding does present some unique risks, including injury, that might not relate to playing cornhole at the local bar. (Don’t laugh, that shit was on ESPN this weekend). More or maybe most importantly, addiction doesn’t solely stem from partying. What I’m saying is that laddering up to an opioid addiction doesn’t always start with having too many beers with friends at a session or event. Addiction isn’t always a Motley Crüe type “life on the edge” situation and often has much more mundane origins such as depression, recovering from an injury, isolation, or self-medicating existing mental health issues.

What I’m calling out is “quiet partying” or the type of addiction that doesn’t get glamorized–turning to pills or alcohol to cope with other issues and sometimes, the nature of skateboarding can contribute to those issues. For example, simply recovering from an injury can not only be an isolating experience but can lead to addiction to painkillers. This was especially true in the early stages of the opioid epidemic in the United States which began in the ‘90s, when opioids were prescribed more often for pain. So while the access to opioids might have changed since the ‘90s or 2000s, it also contributes to people turning to substances such as heroin or other drugs that can be tainted with fentanyl due to easier access and lower prices. Fred Gall discusses his experience going from pills to other substances in his SMile Interview linked here. 

It’s also important to look at some high-risk groups according to medical professionals and studies and think about how this pertains to skateboarding:

Individuals with certain healthcare conditions or characteristics may be more sensitive to opioid effects, which may also lead to overdose. These conditions and characteristics include:

• Younger adults (18-25 years old)

• Mental Health Disorders (Depression, Anxiety, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder)

• History of alcohol or substance abuse

Let’s also circle back to brain injuries/concussions as anyone riding a skateboard can get one, not just pros/rail chompers/people skating at a high level

Here’s a relevant passage from The Brain Injury Association of Maryland:

Brain injuries can lead to opioid use, and opioids can lead to brain injuries: 

• 70-80% of people with brain injuries leave inpatient rehabilitation with a prescription for opioids.

 • An opioid is a drug that relieves pain. Prescription painkillers include oxycontin, Vicodin, morphine, and oxycodone. Fentanyl and heroin are also opioids. 

• Opioids can slow or stop your breathing if you take too many. If the brain goes without oxygen for more than 5-6 minutes, a person may sustain an acquired brain injury. 

• A traumatic brain injury is an injury to the brain caused by external force, like a fall. 

• People who have had moderate to severe injuries are 10 times more likely to die from an overdose than those who don’t. 

• People with traumatic brain injuries are at much higher risk for opioid misuse and overdose.

Again, I commend Sjostedt, Vitello, and everyone who contributed to and worked on the piece about Jake Phelps for their work and for opening up conversations but I urge people to be aware that addiction comes in many forms and not all of them are obvious.

Sure, the nature of skateboarding might encourage partying more than other sports, but partying isn’t the only gateway to addiction. Addiction can stem from depression, injury, isolation, or pre-existing issues, and while those aren’t unique to skateboarding, skateboarding is a unique culture where our minds and hearts are constantly at risk.

Framing skateboarding as a culture rife with drug use may be incorrect but it’s equally wrong to think that only the pissiest of drunx are the most likely to become addicts.

Anyone can suffer from addiction and any of us can strive to be more aware of what others are going through.