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Jerry Hsu’s new book, How About Never, gathers photographs made over 15 years and connects them to his emotional life in Los Angeles. In a Hypebeast interview, the pro skateboarder turned photographer described themes of transformation, isolation, heartbreak and hope; the book is his first dedicated to his film photography.
Pro skateboarder and photographer Jerry Hsu discussed his book How About Never in a new Hypebeast interview, describing a 15-year body of photographs made in Los Angeles as a record of personal change, heartbreak and hope. The book is his first project dedicated to his film photography and reframes the city through his experience there rather than as a general portrait of Los Angeles.
Hsu told Hypebeast that the images were made across the years he lived in Los Angeles, where he moved in 2011. The photographs include flowers arranged in a fence, smoke, and scenes of damaged cars. Hsu said he sees the pictures as connected to his emotional state during that period, including his relationship with his now-former wife. That relationship, he said, becomes a “secret narrative” running through the book.
The project took time to take shape. Hsu said he began editing it about five years ago, but only recently understood how the pictures fitted together. He used Los Angeles as a geographical boundary for selecting images, starting with five or six photographs and arranging others around them. He said the book is about his experience in the city, not Los Angeles itself.
Hsu described the book’s themes as transformation and hope, with destruction and deterioration set against the possibility of renewal. He singled out the final photograph, showing a cat jumping, as an image of moving forward and openness to the future. The title, he said, had been with him for more than 15 years, though he could not recall where it originated.
A New View Beyond Skateboarding
How About Never places Hsu’s photography at the center of a project that draws on a career better known for skateboarding. Hsu turned professional at 16 and encountered photography through skate magazines that sent photographers to document him and his friends. He said skateboarding helped him take in his surroundings on his own terms, an approach that also informs his work with a camera.
His story also connects the book to a change in his working life. In 2017, Hsu left his professional skateboarding career and dropped his sponsors to pursue an art venture that became Sci-Fi Fantasy, his label. He told Hypebeast that running the company takes up most of his days and that he wishes he had more time for photography. The book offers readers a view of that practice and the personal experiences he says shaped it, without suggesting that it marks a new career departure.
The project’s long editing process is part of its significance. Hsu said photographs can take time for their meaning to emerge. That account frames the book not as a single planned statement, but as a body of work whose connections became clearer as he looked back on years of images and change.
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From Skate Photos to Los Angeles
Hsu was born in San Jose and became known as a professional skateboarder while still a teenager. His early photography developed alongside skateboarding, including through skate magazines, and he later shared images through photo blogs and earlier projects such as Table for One and The Beautiful Flower Is the World. Those works, according to the Hypebeast profile, also engaged with the strange and often humorous aspects of everyday life.
Hsu moved to Los Angeles in 2011. His relationship began around the move and ended during the period represented in the book, according to his interview. The photographs cover roughly 15 years, but Hsu said he did not initially set out to make a book. After beginning the edit five years ago, he used the city as a practical limit for choosing images and found narratives in the way the pictures sat together.
Hypebeast published the interview as part of its Through the Lens series. The supplied report presents the project through Hsu’s own reflections and does not provide independent detail about the book’s production, sales or reception.
““There’s a level of isolation I felt living there. I think that’s relatable to a lot of people.””
— Jerry Hsu, speaking to Hypebeast
Book Details Still Unspecified
The interview describes the book’s contents and Hsu’s reasons for making it, but the supplied report does not specify its release date, price, format, page count or availability. It also does not provide details about the book’s print run or sales. Those points cannot be confirmed from the source material.
Hsu’s comments explain his personal reading of the images, including their links to his marriage and time in Los Angeles. The report does not establish that every photograph was made with those themes in mind at the time. Hsu said he did not understand the project’s overall meaning until much later, so the book’s narrative is partly a retrospective interpretation.
Publication and Reception Details
The Hypebeast interview gives readers Hsu’s account of how he assembled How About Never, but it does not announce a future event or provide a schedule for publication or promotion. Further information about availability and release plans would need to come from Hsu, MACK, or a subsequent announcement. No sales figures, reviews or public response are included in the supplied report.
For now, the confirmed development is the publication of the interview and the explanation it offers of the book’s 15-year scope, editing process and themes. Any further claims about the project’s reception or commercial performance remain unreported.
Key Questions
What is How About Never?
How About Never is Jerry Hsu’s photo book, made from images he shot over about 15 years. Hsu described it as his first book dedicated to his film photography.
What themes does the book explore?
Hsu described themes of transformation, isolation, heartbreak and hope. He said the photographs reflect his emotional experience in Los Angeles and the end of his marriage.
How did Hsu choose the photographs?
Hsu said he limited the edit geographically to Los Angeles, began with five or six foundational images, and then arranged other photographs around them until narratives emerged.
When did Jerry Hsu leave professional skateboarding?
Hsu made a quick exit from his pro career in 2017, dropping his sponsors to pursue an art venture that later became his label, Sci-Fi Fantasy.
When and where can readers buy the book?
The supplied interview does not give a publication date, price or retailer information. Availability details are not confirmed in the source material.
Source: hypebeast.com
