J. Grant Brittain – Chromeball Incident Interview
All photos by J. Grant Brittain
There are few individuals who have had more impact on the culture and history of global skateboarding culture than J. Grant Brittain.
Starting out as a skater and employee at Del Mar skatepark in 1978, at the tail end of the first big boom in skateboarding, Grant Brittain began taking skate photos surrounded by some of the greatest and most infamous skaters of the era.
Whether you know it or not – you’ve definitely seen a ton of these elder statesman’s photographs and probably, (in an ever-so 2018 manner) might even have reposted his iconic photos on your Instagram feed without realising.
Hit the link here to be taken to the full J. Grant Brittain – Chromeball Incident Interview
That Gonz ‘Yes I try to be weird” frontside flip photo? Yep, that’s his.
The Chris Miller frontside air shot from above on a proto selfie-stick? Yep, that’s his too.
Basically J. Grant Brittain is considered, (among people who know what they’re talking about at least) as one of the pioneers of modern skate photography and as an individual responsible for laying a lot of the technical foundations that still inform the act of skate photography to this day.
Grant Brittain moved on from his job at Del Mar to a job at Transworld in the hey-days of the 80’s shooting, photo-editing and advising generations of budding skate photographers who sent photos into to TWS, partly in the hope that they’d be used, but more so in the hope that they’d receive one of Grant’s infamous letters of encouragement and advice that everybody from Wig Worland to Atiba have cited as having a major influence on their photography.
Anyhow, happily for us all, the man with the greatest skate magazine collection on earth, namely Chops of The Chromeball Incident has just released his latest interview with the man in question, covering everything from his tenure at TWS, to getting poached on the Danny Way helicopter shot, to running bails, through to the rivalries with Thrasher and his own thoughts on skate media as it stands today.
Hit the link at the top, or click on any of the classic Brittain photos scattered throughout this to be taken to the full interview.
If you’re unaware of the goldmine that awaits you at The Chromeball Incident website – go spend a day meandering around the back catalogue now.
