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What’s happened to skateboarding? What happened to that nice little niche skateboarders once had, when did we become these respected artists and change from stereotypical skateboarding hooligan punks to being credited and respected for our skills out on the street? Since when did people stop and stare to watch us perform a 50-50 down a hand rail, of varial kickflip from one kerb to another, what happened to being shouted at and have abuse hurled at us at every corner, what happened to the people who would walk past muttering profanity under their breath, something doesn’t seem right here.
Don’t get me wrong, now skateboarding is pretty much huge all over the UK there’s more sponsors, more recognition, more skateparks, competitions and interest but now skateboarding seems a little too mainstream to feel as good as it was. In the past friendships were struck simply because you had a board in your hand and there was common ground but now when I see a bunch of skateboarders walking down the street I avoid them, I don’t want anything to do with them, what the hell is that about? And what is it anyway, when you skateboard you don’t wear baggy jeans that are so baggy and ripped that they get tangled up in your wheels and you look like a complete idiot, looks like the “nu-metal” influence has taken a little bit of a crossover. It seems skateboarding has lost everything it used to stand for, the rebellious subculture that once was now seems to be some sort of a street side-show, people would once stand in the way and jeer, now they sit and watch, what about the deal we had, why don’t you hate us anymore? We still hate you. At least we knew where we stood when you hated us.
I don’t want to be thrown into the “Oh I wish skateboarding was small again” category because I don’t, I like it how it is now on the whole, it’s just I doesn’t seem right when people say “Ohh look a skateboarder” instead of “Erghh, look another damn skateboarder.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of skateboarding’s popularity is because of the Tony Hawk games, I’m pretty sure this is what happened to most kids after they first got their hands on Tony Hawk’s first instalment.
“Ohh hey, that looked pretty cool”
*Two minutes later after basic controls have been learnt
“Oh wow! Skateboarding is killer!”
*Game completed and first viewing of Tony Hawk’s video of him pulling of the 900
“Must have skateboard, must have skateboard”
It then goes on to the media getting a whiff of this new found popularity and wham, that’s it. The skateboarding phenomenon begins, kids everywhere learning to skate, streets are filled with kids trying to nail darkslides and Rodney Mullen style freestyle moves, New Found Glory and Sum41 gets defined as “Skate music” which by the way it is not, in fact that probably explains the baggy trouser look, we don’t wear those, we don’t listen to Papa Roach, we wear T Shirts with Audio or Element on, T Shirts with stupid sayings and pictures on, we wear jeans that fit! Is this supposed to be some sort of new skateboarding revolution? Am I just holding on to the past or is this really the future?
You know while I’m on it, I walked into Allsports the other day and saw that there were some decks in there, hmmm OK. Then I turn around and notice stands and the walls covered in skating gear, now I may be a little slow on the uptake here but since when did that happen? On closer inspection I noticed it was all Airwalk branded and after talking to some friends it seems Allsports are now some sort of official retailers for the Airwalk brand, I’m wouldn’t say they’re selling out skateboarding but.. no in fact yes they’re selling out skateboarding, I think I’ll burn the one piece of Airwalk gear I own, it doesn’t stand for what I see as skateboarding now at all.
All in all, it looks as though we’ve got what we wanted, for years we cried for acceptance well now we have it, well hell I don’t want it, it’s completely changing everything for the worse. I never skate the street no more without good reason, fair enough I’m a little to old for that now anyway but all the “Nu-Boarders” (as I call them) skate the streets (badly by the way, you all suck pull your jeans up) I stick to my skate parks at least there’s a decency in them. I don’t like telling people I skateboard much because in my eyes it carries connotations and thoughts I don’t want people associating with me, I’m a “real skateboarder”. Why can’t we go back to being hated and ignored again, I liked my boundaries, we want to be ugly, ugly and proud!
Don’t get me wrong, now skateboarding is pretty much huge all over the UK there’s more sponsors, more recognition, more skateparks, competitions and interest but now skateboarding seems a little too mainstream to feel as good as it was. In the past friendships were struck simply because you had a board in your hand and there was common ground but now when I see a bunch of skateboarders walking down the street I avoid them, I don’t want anything to do with them, what the hell is that about? And what is it anyway, when you skateboard you don’t wear baggy jeans that are so baggy and ripped that they get tangled up in your wheels and you look like a complete idiot, looks like the “nu-metal” influence has taken a little bit of a crossover. It seems skateboarding has lost everything it used to stand for, the rebellious subculture that once was now seems to be some sort of a street side-show, people would once stand in the way and jeer, now they sit and watch, what about the deal we had, why don’t you hate us anymore? We still hate you. At least we knew where we stood when you hated us.
I don’t want to be thrown into the “Oh I wish skateboarding was small again” category because I don’t, I like it how it is now on the whole, it’s just I doesn’t seem right when people say “Ohh look a skateboarder” instead of “Erghh, look another damn skateboarder.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of skateboarding’s popularity is because of the Tony Hawk games, I’m pretty sure this is what happened to most kids after they first got their hands on Tony Hawk’s first instalment.
“Ohh hey, that looked pretty cool”
*Two minutes later after basic controls have been learnt
“Oh wow! Skateboarding is killer!”
*Game completed and first viewing of Tony Hawk’s video of him pulling of the 900
“Must have skateboard, must have skateboard”
It then goes on to the media getting a whiff of this new found popularity and wham, that’s it. The skateboarding phenomenon begins, kids everywhere learning to skate, streets are filled with kids trying to nail darkslides and Rodney Mullen style freestyle moves, New Found Glory and Sum41 gets defined as “Skate music” which by the way it is not, in fact that probably explains the baggy trouser look, we don’t wear those, we don’t listen to Papa Roach, we wear T Shirts with Audio or Element on, T Shirts with stupid sayings and pictures on, we wear jeans that fit! Is this supposed to be some sort of new skateboarding revolution? Am I just holding on to the past or is this really the future?
You know while I’m on it, I walked into Allsports the other day and saw that there were some decks in there, hmmm OK. Then I turn around and notice stands and the walls covered in skating gear, now I may be a little slow on the uptake here but since when did that happen? On closer inspection I noticed it was all Airwalk branded and after talking to some friends it seems Allsports are now some sort of official retailers for the Airwalk brand, I’m wouldn’t say they’re selling out skateboarding but.. no in fact yes they’re selling out skateboarding, I think I’ll burn the one piece of Airwalk gear I own, it doesn’t stand for what I see as skateboarding now at all.
All in all, it looks as though we’ve got what we wanted, for years we cried for acceptance well now we have it, well hell I don’t want it, it’s completely changing everything for the worse. I never skate the street no more without good reason, fair enough I’m a little to old for that now anyway but all the “Nu-Boarders” (as I call them) skate the streets (badly by the way, you all suck pull your jeans up) I stick to my skate parks at least there’s a decency in them. I don’t like telling people I skateboard much because in my eyes it carries connotations and thoughts I don’t want people associating with me, I’m a “real skateboarder”. Why can’t we go back to being hated and ignored again, I liked my boundaries, we want to be ugly, ugly and proud!
Nice to see you have a balanced view there. Anyway, I wouldn't say underachieving, that's just being harsh.
What are you talking about?
I see skateboarders as nothing other than under-achieving, fetid ignorants.
I see skateboarders as nothing other than under-achieving, fetid ignorants.
What’s happened to skateboarding? What happened to that nice little niche skateboarders once had, when did we become these respected artists and change from stereotypical skateboarding hooligan punks to being credited and respected for our skills out on the street? Since when did people stop and stare to watch us perform a 50-50 down a hand rail, of varial kickflip from one kerb to another, what happened to being shouted at and have abuse hurled at us at every corner, what happened to the people who would walk past muttering profanity under their breath, something doesn’t seem right here.
Don’t get me wrong, now skateboarding is pretty much huge all over the UK there’s more sponsors, more recognition, more skateparks, competitions and interest but now skateboarding seems a little too mainstream to feel as good as it was. In the past friendships were struck simply because you had a board in your hand and there was common ground but now when I see a bunch of skateboarders walking down the street I avoid them, I don’t want anything to do with them, what the hell is that about? And what is it anyway, when you skateboard you don’t wear baggy jeans that are so baggy and ripped that they get tangled up in your wheels and you look like a complete idiot, looks like the “nu-metal” influence has taken a little bit of a crossover. It seems skateboarding has lost everything it used to stand for, the rebellious subculture that once was now seems to be some sort of a street side-show, people would once stand in the way and jeer, now they sit and watch, what about the deal we had, why don’t you hate us anymore? We still hate you. At least we knew where we stood when you hated us.
I don’t want to be thrown into the “Oh I wish skateboarding was small again” category because I don’t, I like it how it is now on the whole, it’s just I doesn’t seem right when people say “Ohh look a skateboarder” instead of “Erghh, look another damn skateboarder.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of skateboarding’s popularity is because of the Tony Hawk games, I’m pretty sure this is what happened to most kids after they first got their hands on Tony Hawk’s first instalment.
“Ohh hey, that looked pretty cool”
*Two minutes later after basic controls have been learnt
“Oh wow! Skateboarding is killer!”
*Game completed and first viewing of Tony Hawk’s video of him pulling of the 900
“Must have skateboard, must have skateboard”
It then goes on to the media getting a whiff of this new found popularity and wham, that’s it. The skateboarding phenomenon begins, kids everywhere learning to skate, streets are filled with kids trying to nail darkslides and Rodney Mullen style freestyle moves, New Found Glory and Sum41 gets defined as “Skate music” which by the way it is not, in fact that probably explains the baggy trouser look, we don’t wear those, we don’t listen to Papa Roach, we wear T Shirts with Audio or Element on, T Shirts with stupid sayings and pictures on, we wear jeans that fit! Is this supposed to be some sort of new skateboarding revolution? Am I just holding on to the past or is this really the future?
You know while I’m on it, I walked into Allsports the other day and saw that there were some decks in there, hmmm OK. Then I turn around and notice stands and the walls covered in skating gear, now I may be a little slow on the uptake here but since when did that happen? On closer inspection I noticed it was all Airwalk branded and after talking to some friends it seems Allsports are now some sort of official retailers for the Airwalk brand, I’m wouldn’t say they’re selling out skateboarding but.. no in fact yes they’re selling out skateboarding, I think I’ll burn the one piece of Airwalk gear I own, it doesn’t stand for what I see as skateboarding now at all.
All in all, it looks as though we’ve got what we wanted, for years we cried for acceptance well now we have it, well hell I don’t want it, it’s completely changing everything for the worse. I never skate the street no more without good reason, fair enough I’m a little to old for that now anyway but all the “Nu-Boarders” (as I call them) skate the streets (badly by the way, you all suck pull your jeans up) I stick to my skate parks at least there’s a decency in them. I don’t like telling people I skateboard much because in my eyes it carries connotations and thoughts I don’t want people associating with me, I’m a “real skateboarder”. Why can’t we go back to being hated and ignored again, I liked my boundaries, we want to be ugly, ugly and proud!
Don’t get me wrong, now skateboarding is pretty much huge all over the UK there’s more sponsors, more recognition, more skateparks, competitions and interest but now skateboarding seems a little too mainstream to feel as good as it was. In the past friendships were struck simply because you had a board in your hand and there was common ground but now when I see a bunch of skateboarders walking down the street I avoid them, I don’t want anything to do with them, what the hell is that about? And what is it anyway, when you skateboard you don’t wear baggy jeans that are so baggy and ripped that they get tangled up in your wheels and you look like a complete idiot, looks like the “nu-metal” influence has taken a little bit of a crossover. It seems skateboarding has lost everything it used to stand for, the rebellious subculture that once was now seems to be some sort of a street side-show, people would once stand in the way and jeer, now they sit and watch, what about the deal we had, why don’t you hate us anymore? We still hate you. At least we knew where we stood when you hated us.
I don’t want to be thrown into the “Oh I wish skateboarding was small again” category because I don’t, I like it how it is now on the whole, it’s just I doesn’t seem right when people say “Ohh look a skateboarder” instead of “Erghh, look another damn skateboarder.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most of skateboarding’s popularity is because of the Tony Hawk games, I’m pretty sure this is what happened to most kids after they first got their hands on Tony Hawk’s first instalment.
“Ohh hey, that looked pretty cool”
*Two minutes later after basic controls have been learnt
“Oh wow! Skateboarding is killer!”
*Game completed and first viewing of Tony Hawk’s video of him pulling of the 900
“Must have skateboard, must have skateboard”
It then goes on to the media getting a whiff of this new found popularity and wham, that’s it. The skateboarding phenomenon begins, kids everywhere learning to skate, streets are filled with kids trying to nail darkslides and Rodney Mullen style freestyle moves, New Found Glory and Sum41 gets defined as “Skate music” which by the way it is not, in fact that probably explains the baggy trouser look, we don’t wear those, we don’t listen to Papa Roach, we wear T Shirts with Audio or Element on, T Shirts with stupid sayings and pictures on, we wear jeans that fit! Is this supposed to be some sort of new skateboarding revolution? Am I just holding on to the past or is this really the future?
You know while I’m on it, I walked into Allsports the other day and saw that there were some decks in there, hmmm OK. Then I turn around and notice stands and the walls covered in skating gear, now I may be a little slow on the uptake here but since when did that happen? On closer inspection I noticed it was all Airwalk branded and after talking to some friends it seems Allsports are now some sort of official retailers for the Airwalk brand, I’m wouldn’t say they’re selling out skateboarding but.. no in fact yes they’re selling out skateboarding, I think I’ll burn the one piece of Airwalk gear I own, it doesn’t stand for what I see as skateboarding now at all.
All in all, it looks as though we’ve got what we wanted, for years we cried for acceptance well now we have it, well hell I don’t want it, it’s completely changing everything for the worse. I never skate the street no more without good reason, fair enough I’m a little to old for that now anyway but all the “Nu-Boarders” (as I call them) skate the streets (badly by the way, you all suck pull your jeans up) I stick to my skate parks at least there’s a decency in them. I don’t like telling people I skateboard much because in my eyes it carries connotations and thoughts I don’t want people associating with me, I’m a “real skateboarder”. Why can’t we go back to being hated and ignored again, I liked my boundaries, we want to be ugly, ugly and proud!