August 7, 1967 – November 4, 2025

Kevin Michael Wilkins, 58, of Lincoln, Nebraska, passed away on November 4, 2025, after a five-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer. Born August 7, 1967, Kevin was a brilliant writer, trusted friend, and devoted father, husband, brother, and son.

Kevin was a deeply creative and inspiring skateboarder, cyclist, artist, and athlete whose writing profoundly influenced the landscape of skateboarding over the last four decades. As an editor and regular contributor to TransWorld SKATEboarding, and as founder and senior editor of The Skateboard Mag, he had the rare ability to articulate—on the printed page—what it meant to be both a diehard skater and a thinking, feeling human being. Much of what is great in skateboarding media—and has been for decades—has been directly inspired by him.

Beyond his love of skateboarding, Kev was a connector, a creative thinker, a bicycle aficionado, and so much more. He expressed himself with a gifted pen, impeccable taste in art and music, a wicked intellect, and a generous heart. Whether he was blocking the wind for you on a 100-mile gravel ride or giving you an opportunity to discover your dream career, Kevin was the kind of person you could count on to pull you along and lift you up. He was hilarious, marched to the beat of his own drum, and had a particular gift for building community and championing the people he loved.

Kevin established and helped build Donuthill—a state-of-the-art indoor skate park that served as a kind of clubhouse for friends in the skateboarding communities of Lincoln and Omaha. He advocated for Lakota kids on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, raising funds and donating boards. After losing a few too many friends in short succession, he founded WWASH (While We’re All Still Here)—a “just because” gathering held every winter solstice for the last 15 years. With both his family and his vast network of friends, Kevin was adept at creating time and space for people to be stoked on just being together.

The oldest of five, he helped inspire his siblings to be the fierce, free birds they are by carving out his own path and setting the course. Present in the moment, thoughtful in his response, a savant with his words, he was his family’s joy, humor, creativity, and passion personified.

Kevin lived with cancer for five years, facing all its unmooring ups and downs with grit, grace, and humor. After a hard-fought battle, he spent his final days at home, surrounded by family and friends. He left this earth under the light of a full moon, immersed in love—raw, real, honest, deep, and ever-present.

He is survived by the love of his life and wife of 34 years, Cheryl; their children, Miles and Cian; his parents, Kemper and Peggy; his siblings, Patrick, Katie, Robbie, and Annie; his brother- and sisters-in-law, Marcia, Nancy, Nicky, and Glen; and by nieces, nephews, extended family, and countless wonderful friends. He will be incredibly missed.

Kevin’s Celebration of Life will be held from 4:00–9:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 29th, at the Lincoln Station Great Hall in Lincoln, Nebraska. A Mass will also be offered at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26th, at Saint John’s Church in Omaha, on the Creighton University campus. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lincoln Skatepark Association or to the Great Plains Trails Network.

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