Eric Swenson Dead: Thrasher Magazine Co-Founder Commits Suicide

The man who ended his life in front of the Mission Police Station on Monday was a skateboarding icon and co-founder of San Francisco-based Thrasher magazine.

The San Francisco Examiner reports that Eric Swenson may have chosen the police station to end his life to spare his loved ones from finding him, according to Gwynn Vitello, Thrasher’s publisher and wife of Swenson’s business partner, Fausto Vitello.

People talk, but seldom act. Eric Swenson got things done. Never one to clamor for the spotlight, he preferred the hard work, orchestrating the show from behind the scenes. It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of a dear friend and one of our founders. His mark on skateboarding is extraordinary. Without him there would be no Thrasher Magazine, Independent trucks, or Spitfire wheels, to name a few. He leaves behind his wife Linda and sister Rebekah, along with a tremendous number of admirers.