First place.

Congrats on being the best skate magazine in the history of skateboarding. You guys truly represent skateboarding for what it is: raw and gnarly as hell. I am not writing this to rave about the magazine, though. I am writing this because the local skateshop that I have been supporting and have been loyal to for the past three years is slowly but surely going out of business. Times have always been hard, but it is getting harder. And why? Skateboarding as a whole has gotten a lot more and more popular. Kids are picking up a board for the first time every day, yet money is coming up short. The only thing that I figure is a lot of kids are buying their gear off the Internet through e-mail orders and at the mall at stores like PacSun. What these kids do not understand or don't care about is that, when you buy from a shop, you support the corporation that doesn't give a damn about you or skating. I know this sounds like a "Don't Do It" ad, but it's the truth. The only way we're going to take skating back is by supporting your local shop, not PacSun.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Ethan Twigg

Vine Grove, KY

Obviously you have mistaken me for someone who give a fuck.--T-ed