(8/7/1967 – 11/4/25)
We will miss you @kevinwilkins , thank you for your friendship, your humor, your dedication, your laughter, your creative spark, and your incredible spirit. You will always be in my memories, I love you, thank you for the 40 years of being friends. Love to the Wilkins family.
Thank you, Kevin Wilkins, for all the years of laughter together while we worked in the offices of TWS. (Example: Poking fun at the frequent phone calls Jamie M. made in his loud, deep, booming voice that distracted you from typing.) Banging out TWS articles, editing, proofreading, ripping at McGill’s, starting up TSM with other TWSers, being an awesome husband to Cheryl, you did it all. And then there was your killer drawings, like this one of Ortho Stevens from 1992. Condolences to your family and friends.
G.S.D – skate.fate
@kevinwilkins broke the Internet today (Nov.5th 2025). We all have so much to say about who he was and how we’ll miss him—that great friend who was always there for you, reminding you of the things you knew, but maybe forgot. That you’re great, that you’ll be ok, that even way out in Nebraska, he was just a phone call away. His laugh, his wit, his wisdom. Now unbelievably gone. IG will limit my words, so I’ll just share a story that should convey everything you need to know about him. In addition to skateboarding, Kevin and I shared a love for bikes. And for years he’d prod me to come to Lincoln to ride the @gravel_worlds race, a 150-mile trek on the unpaved roads through Nebraska farm country. In 2019, I made the trip, but I was just recovering from pneumonia and Kevin from a back injury. So, after 75 miles, we packed it in. I returned for our redemption in 2021, but at the pre-dawn start, Kevin said “follow me,” and we rolled to the very back of the pack of 1,700 racers. I had no idea why he’d want to start at the back of a bike race. And when the first riders rolled out, Kevin said, “Just wait.” A few minutes later, as the front of the race was cresting a hilltop in the distance, I could see the incredible ribbon of red tail lights stretching all the way out to the horizon! That’s when Kevin said, “Let’s go.” Starting at the back, for most of the day we rode through the now stretched out group ahead of us. By the afternoon, we were all tired. The Midwest looks flat on a map, but those rolling hills add up (by day’s end, we’d ascend over 10K ft). When the sun began to set, we were catching people who were now riding solo. As we passed, Kevin would turn and say, “Hop on!” And they began to do just that, sliding in behind us and out of the wind. As night fell and we approached the finish, I looked back to see about 8 beleaguered souls still in tow. I turned to Kevin and grabbed his outstretched hand just in time to cross the finish line with our arms aloft, à la Lemond and Hinault (Google it). We may have been hours behind the race winners, but we felt like champs! And that was Kevin—he pulled you along and lifted you up. Friend or stranger. Now, it’s our turn.
Miki Vuckovich – mikivuckovich
A morning of mourning and processing… I always looked forward to the writings of Kevin Wilkins. He had the unique if not rare ability to articulate in the printed word what it meant to be both a diehard skateboarder and a thinking/feeling human being. The two conditions aren’t easy to interweave in a consistently entertaining and meaningful way, but Kevin adeptly and thoughtfully did so with a genuine passion and wit—for years upon years on a monthly basis, no less!—his voice providing an integral balance point to the “skate and destroy” ethos where it was just as important to “skate and evolve” with the ever-changing culture and times. An admirable legacy to leave behind, indeed, but an end that came far, far too fucking soon. My utmost condolences and sympathies to his friends and family.
Sean Cliver – seancliver