Party in the Back

“Party in the Back is a portrait of a distinctly West Coast vibescape — there’s a dusky Pacific feel to these images of skaters hopping chain-link gates, of keep-out signs and watchful dogs, of the sensual curve of empty pools. There are skaters, faces frozen in profound focus or pure joy, defying gravity, riding the sides, rising above the edges. Razo captures the thrill of making a place yours for a time and the melancholy of letting it go." - Boston Globe
“An anthropological document steeped in Southern California youth culture." - LA Weekly http://www.laweekly.com/arts/skateboarder-tino-razo-takes-us-inside-the-hidden-world-of-las-backyard-pool-skaters-7930859
“[A] stunning array of eerie images of decrepit and poignant scenes; the American dream as one shattered and refracted through abandoned swimming pools, cracked concrete and dusty streets. But that’s just the surface: what the publication is a love letter to, however, is skating; and the carefree rebellion of days spent scrambling about unchecked in the near dystopias of abandoned landscapes." - Creative Boom https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/tino-razo/
"Not many people can turn their hand to something and get it right first go, especially something as tricky and intuitive as photography. But Tino has. He’ll tell you it’s luck or editing, but the fact is he’s a bloody natural, and this book is testimony to that." Jason Crombie
"With a gang of nimble friends, skater and photographer Tino Razo documents the illegal underground skate scene around California's empty swimming pools" - The Guardian
"Physical and existential risk is on view here. The photographs are raw and compelling." - Jamie Brisick