Big Brother: Punk UFO Rewrote Skate, Birthed Jackass

Table of Contents

1992: The Birth of a UFO

We're in Los Angeles. Skateboarding is just coming out of its 80s hangover. Existing magazines — Thrasher, TransWorld — cover contests, pros, new gear. All good, but very clean. Steve Rocco, founder of World Industries, wants something else. A magazine without a filter. A magazine that looks like the real life of a 19-year-old skater in 1992: the street, warm beers, dumb jokes, photocopied zines.

He puts Jeff Tremaine in charge. The first issue comes out in April 1992. Unusual format, ugly paper, chaotic layout, intentionally blurry photos, crude jokes. The magazine is called Big Brother — a reference to Orwell, but especially to the big brother you never had: the one who shows you forbidden things while laughing.

The Scandal Machine

Big Brother releases stories no one else would dare publish. How to Commit Suicide (parody, in four illustrated methods) — the industry was pissed. Centerfolds with a kickflip broken down frame by frame, or with a cannabis cooking recipe. The magazine gets banned from newsstands in several American states. Walmart refuses to distribute it. Advertisers run away.

The magazine's art was directed by Sean Cliver, who would later design the most iconic graphics for World Industries and Birdhouse. His retrospective book The Disposable Skateboard Bible is today the bible of 90s skateboarding graphics.

Larry Flynt Buys It, Jackass Emerges

1997, a major turning point. Larry Flynt, the controversial publisher of Hustler, buys Big Brother. At first glance, it's an absolute aberration: the pope of erotic press swallows the punk mag for skaters. In reality, it's the perfect match. Flynt leaves Tremaine and his team free. The magazine keeps its tone, gains resources.

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The reference book on skateboarding graphics from the 80s-2000s. Signed by Big Brother's former art director. 304 pages, over 1000 commented graphics.

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While filming these VHS tapes, Tremaine meets Johnny Knoxville, who wants to test pepper spray on himself. He connects with Bam Margera, a kid from Pennsylvania already filming his friends on his CKY Tapes. He crosses paths with Steve-O, a former circus clown obsessed with his stunt ideas. The cast of Jackass forms within the magazine. In 2000, MTV signs the series. The rest is global pop culture history.

2004, The End. 2026, The Legacy Everywhere.

Big Brother ceases print publication in February 2004. The internet happened, MTV sucked everything up, the team left for Jackass. The mag only existed for twelve years. But what Big Brother planted, we're still harvesting. All of today's online skateboarding culture — Thrasher Burn It Down, The Berrics, pro YouTube channels — descends from Big Brother. The irreverent tone, self-deprecation, offbeat "How To" sections, unapologetic inside jokes: that's Big Brother's DNA.

Big Brother is dead. But when a 14-year-old kid posts a failed trick with a dumb voiceover on TikTok today, he doesn't know it: he's continuing the magazine.

Big Brother, the punk UFO that birthed Jackass — has skating lost that prankster spirit? Tell us. Drop a comment ↓