Y'all-- Some of you may already know this, but I'll throw it up here on the board: Fausto Vitello, Founder of Thrasher Magazine, Independent, Juxtapoz Magazine and several other magazines and businesses, died suddenly last Saturday afternoon from m***ive heart failure. If you skate, your life has been influenced by Fausto. If you've ever been into kart racing, Low Brow art, hot rods, vintage bikes or just live in San Francisco and love The Scene, your life has been influenced by Fausto. I knew the man only from several meetings he invited me to with Craig Stecyk and his right hand man, Ed Riggins. He was gruff, abrupt, short with me and showed little patience at times for a dumb*** trying to start a little magazine. But he was also a big influence on me and GARAGE. If you were fortunate enough to sit in his office, you'd find yourself surrounded by some of the greatest examples of original Low Brow art on the walls, a toy car collection on his desk you'd die for, a vintage cafe bike parked in the corner with a catch can under it half-filled with case oil and just a ****LOAD of everything I know you'd drool over as much as I did. Fausto was a visionary and single-handedly helped create skate culture with Indy and Thrasher. He also helped Robt. Wms. breathe life into the Low Brow art scene with Juxtapoz. Point is, if you're here on the HAMB, chances are your life has been enriched by Fausto--whether you knew it or not. From his earliest days on a skateboard to his cherry red and blown Model A still sitting at the High Speed Productions office as I write this, the man helped create much of what we hold dear. Just thought you should know...
Bummer. Hey, Fausto, say to the rest of my departed heros in where ever you all ended up. I'm not sure wherer that is, but I am pretty sure you're all in the same place. RIP
I remember Fausto giving some **** named Kevin Ancell a decent budget to put out those weird Thrasher Comics... In doing so, I made a hundred bucks a page for black & white caffeine-induced goofiness. I also remember a very sincere conversation with him as soon as the lines opened up after the big Frisco earthquake of the late '80s. Fausto never came down on me for making kinda bootleg Thrasher shirts that I used to sell during NSA and Shut Up and Skate contests at the Houston Metal Ramp... "Just give me a couple or else I'll sue you, ha ha!" Just a few random thoughts from a very energetic time in my career and a person and place that welcomed an artist before my type of work was in style. Thanks to him, I was also able to stroll in pretty much unannounced at the Thrasher offices and check out what went on, attend a killer Halloween skate show with the skate bands of the day, The Jaks Team, and more... Sincerest condolences to his friends and family... I'm lucky to have met him. - Johnny Ace
Dam, I always wanted to meet that guy. Thrasher Mag was a huge influence on my life. Fausto brought it all up front when nobody else was doing it at all. And when newer mags came out that self flossed with their highter glamour version of his mag, he kept Thrasher true to its original structure and kept a core audience feeling like they weren't left behind. That sets a good example in any culture. Thanks for the pages Fausto. RIP. jay w
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