Eric Swenson Dead: Thrasher Magazine Co-Founder Commits Suicide At 64

Thrasher Magazine Co-Founder Commits Suicide

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Thrasher magazine co-founder Eric Swenson is dead.

The skateboarding icon apparently committed suicide in San Francisco on Monday. He was 64.

Police told the Chronicle that Swenson shot and killed himself in front of the Mission police station.

The San Francisco Examiner reports Swenson may have chosen the police station to end his life to spare his loved ones from finding him, according to Gwynn Vitello, Thrasher's publisher and wife of Swenson's business partner, Fausto Vitello.

People talk, but seldom act. Eric Swenson got things done. Never one to clamor for the spotlight, he preferred the hard work, orchestrating the show from behind the scenes. It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of a dear friend and one of our founders. His mark on skateboarding is extraordinary. Without him there would be no Thrasher Magazine, Independent trucks, or Spitfire wheels, to name a few. He leaves behind his wife Linda and sister Rebekah, along with a tremendous number of admirers.

In 1978, Swenson and friend Fausto Vitello opened the skateboarding shop Independent Trucks manufacturing company in San Francisco.

In 1981, Swenson and Kevin Thatcher started Thrasher.

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