Shred Sled #1 / $1 / :20 / http://www.myspace.com/jakewatts / Reviewed 10 June 2007
This is a skate-specific zine done by a 14 year old. I don’t get many zines done by such young people anymore, so it is nice to see one of these zines. The zine is fairly sterile, with everything looking to be laid out using Word or Paint/Photoshop. The pages themselves are quick reads, with pictures and large text to balance out the text-heavy pieces (such as the interview with Ali Boulala). This contrast of picture and text is continued throughout the entirety of the magazine, and tantalizes both the intellectual and the artistic senses of anyone that might read the zine. The features of under-18 skates provide an insight into the skating world of tomorrow, and the light amount of advertising for self-related projects is not intrusive in the slightest. The most interesting thing I see in this inaugural issue of Shred Sled has to be the listing of the weather for the month of April (when the zine came out). While weather is apt to change, what Jake does here is provide skaters with an idea of what days will be solid ones to skate. The only complaint I have about this is that a description of how the weather would be would be more beneficial to skaters, as I don’t think that the temperature matters all that much. Still, this is a solid first effort, and I sincerely hope that Jake will release more in the way of issues as the months go by. Contact eir for a copy, and give eir your best.
Rating: 6.5/10