The man who shot himself in front of San Francisco’s Mission police station on Monday was identified as Eric Swenson, co-founder of the popular skateboarding magazine Thrasher , the Examinerreports. Swenson was 64 years old when he chose to end his life, perhaps because of perennial pain spawned from a motorcyle injury that happened when he was about 20. He is hailed as one of the guiding forces behind High Speed Productions, Inc., which includes such hip pop culture magazines as Juxtapoz and Slap, in addition to Thrasher. He also helped launch a local skateboard part manufacturer called Independent Trucks, now 33 years old. Swenson is survived by his wife Linda, sister Rebekah, and many admirers who credit him for incubating San Francisco’s skateboard culture.
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