Between 1985 and 1995 Jim Goldberg documented the lives of street kids living in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Within the pages of Raised by Wolves you can hear the disenfranchised voices of young people willing to take responsibility for lifestyles often chosen by themselves, much of the time unbeknown to them as a result of difficult circumstances and many times because of abuse, physical, emotional, or otherwise. Does this mean that the children in the book weren’t aware of their issues that led them onto the streets? Not at all, however as they express in the book, they would have rather maintained a sense of dignity, which comes with taking responsibility for their plight as opposed to passing the buck or blaming others. Raised by Wolves by Jim Goldberg has been highly influential in the art world as can be seen in the work of Ed Templeton and others and was most recently used as inspiration for Nike SB’s current advertising campaign. The stark contrast being that the life of most professional skateboarders, at least in this day and age inhabit a pole quite opposite the one inhabited by the kids that fill the pages of Jim Goldberg’s book.

Nike SB Justin Brock Ad

Nike SB Paul Rodriguez and Brian Anderson Ads