Right, Down + Circle

“Cole Nowicki’s Right, Down + Circle is a lightning speed time machine held together with grip tape and wallet chains. It immediately transports to an era of CD collections, ripped band tees, and sibling video game rivalry. Nowicki recounts the cultural alchemy that launched Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater to global ubiquity and charts its influence right up to the present day. A wholesome joyride full of delightful trivia.” — Sarah Berman, author of Don’t Call It a Cult“With incisive and heartfelt writing, Cole Nowicki unlocks the source code of the massively influential cultural phenomenon that is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and finds wonderful Easter-eggs of meaning within. Even non-skaters will be wowed by this examination of youth, community, risk, and authenticity and gain a new appreciation of skateboarding’s massive influence upon our larger culture. This is my new favorite book about skateboarding, which isn’t really about skateboarding — it’s about everything.” — Michael Christie, author of the novels Greenwood and If I Fall, If I Die“As one of the people whose life changed forever the first time I picked up a PlayStation controller, Right, Down + Circle perfectly captures how it felt to witness a subculture becoming an inescapable phenomenon. Nowicki deftly follows the trails left by the urethane wheels of skateboarding and how it would change video games, music, and culture as we know it. Written with a familiar and vivid lived experience, Right, Down + Circle charts how Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater changed those of us who felt like outsiders as we tried to find ourselves on the digital and concrete pavements of the streets that raised us.” — Niko Stratis, culture writer“Cole Nowicki nails the thrill and mystique of playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater — yes, the fun of playing, but also the absolutely serious stuff of providing refuge. This is a tender tribute to a fragile time, a frontside 360 ollie that feels like a hug.” — Elamin Abdelmahmoud, author of Son of Elsewhere“By turns panoramic and personal, Right, Down + Circle is a sharp, lucid, and vital reminder that the value of any game is how it teaches us and gives us permission to play.” — Kyle Beachy, author of The Most Fun Thing“It is an easily readable, well-researched and dense history with a personal touch. If you read one book about skateboarding this (next?) year, pick this one.” — Quartersnacks“The author does a great job of exploring the history of skateboarding and the different maneuvers in simple and easy to understand manner–especially for people who have never skated a day in their lives…while also entwining how playing these video games helped shape who he is today.” — Palmer Library Reviews

Cole Nowicki is a Vancouver-based writer, producer, publisher, and lifelong skateboarder. He was a columnist for King Skateboard Magazine, lead writer for the acclaimed skateboarding documentary series Post Radical, and writes the skateboarding and pop-culture newsletter Simple Magic. His freelance work has appeared in The Walrus, Vice, Maisonneuve, and more.

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