Bundle Up! It's cold outside...

Midwest skateboarders, not to exclude Canadians, have so much cold weather endurance, Sir Edmund Hillary would be jealous. America’s heartland has been known to have some of the most inconsistent and erroneous weather patterns. One aspect of this weather seems to be the most consistent of all, and that is the stagnate, windy, and frigid winters the Midwest always seems to enjoy or rather suffer through. But the dedicated skateboarders here have learned to adapt to anything the western sky cares to send our way. Being a Midwest-bred skateboarding barbarian myself, I know a few things when it comes to skating during the winter months. So I’d like to take the opportunity to encourage you, the skateboarder who things it’s too cold to skate, to suck it up and go skateboarding.

Before you even leave your place of dwelling or hibernation, I’d suggest dressing in layers. If it’s really cold outside, wear a pair of sweatpants underneath your jeans. This not only keeps you warm, but it also gives you a bit of extra padding when your body slams to the frozen tundra of concrete you call your skatepark. As for your upper body, consider wearing a long sleeved t-shirt or two beneath two or more hooded sweatshirts. A few layers go a long way and you can always take them off if you get toasty. A beanie is a must; I’ve been told that 80% or more of your body heat escapes from your head. Therefore, it’s not a bad idea to cover it up.

The next step regards your selection of spots. Try to look for places that are either in the direct sunlight or have a total windbreak (like an old warehouse). Be careful with that warehouse though, breaking in and entering is a felony. Places in direct sunlight tend to be warmer because the concrete absorbs a lot of heat. However, with no guarantee of a windless skate session, it can be a gamble. Another tip I have is to avoid spots with rough ground. It sucks enough to fall when the ground is cold and frozen, but it makes it that much worse when the ground is rough too.

The final tip I have for you is to store your shoes and skateboard indoors. This will make it easier to do tricks and prolong the life of your equipment, particularly that board. If your Mom throws your stuff into the garage, yell and scream like a five year old. She’ll get the idea.

It is possible to skate during the harsh Midwest winter. Believe me; I’ve been doing it for 6 years now. Just wear a few layers, choose your spots wisely, and care for your equipment and you too can survive through spring. The good news is that winter only occupies one-fourth of the year, so there are another three-fourths to look forward to.

Fundamentals: The Kickflip

Photo courtesy of How2Skate.com

I get asked how to do this one all the time. Kids will approach me at the skatepark, which I give them props for because I can be somewhat intimidating, and ask me how they can do perfect kickflips. I generally ask to see how far they are along with learning it so that I can know whether I am wasting my time. If I decide that I would be wasting my time, I’ll just say go watch a video of Andrew Reynolds or someone with a really good kickflip and learn from them. Otherwise, I will legitimately try to help them out.

The first step is the foot position, if you don’t have this right, you’re not going anywhere. Make sure that you’re the ball and toes of your backfoot are the only part that touches your tail. This will give you the pressure you need to pop. Your front foot should be placed just below the front bolts of your skateboard at about a 30 degree angle. Make sure that only your toes, the ball of your foot, and part of your arch, touch the board. If you have any more foot on your board, the board will not flip. If you have less, your skateboard with probably go vertical when you try the trick.

The next step is the pop and flick. This is one, fluid motion with two steps. The first is to stomp the tail of your board down with your back foot. Be sure that you’re not a victim of lead foot syndrome and release pressure as soon as your tail hits the ground. Regarding the flick, you want to roll you front foot forward and to the side, to get your board rotating. Imagine your foot like it’s a curve ball. It will spin outward and then return inside.

The next step is sucking your legs up and catching the board. Sucking up your legs is pretty self explanatory. Do it like you would if you were trying to jump over a chair or a short fence. Catching the board can be kind of difficult and takes a lot of practice. You’ll need to time your kickflip so that once it is done flipping, you put your feet down to land the trick. This is harder than it sounds, so don’t give up if you can’t do it right away. Skateboarding is about fun and progression, not getting upset.

The final step is landing. After you’ve caught the board, you want to land with your weight evenly distributed between your two legs. You also want to land with your knees bent to avoid falling and looking like a robot.

As hard or as easy as a kickflip sounds to do, I’ve found that there are some easy ways to learn the trick faster, particularly in the sequence of steps I mentioned about.

The first thing I suggest with learning kickflips is to try them while standing in between two chairs and holding on to them to support your body and make yourself feel lighter. This will allow you to get a feel for how you are doing the trick and what you need to change. It will help you perfect your flick and time your catch.

The other tip I have is to try them rolling into the grass. Learning any trick means a lot of falling. Practicing your trick into the grass will help you last longer and sustain more falls.

The final tip I have is to just have fun. It took me well over a year to learn how to do the trick, so don’t expect yourself to learn it overnight. Just enjoy yourself while putting the time and effort into learning something new.

Mark Gonzales and a bit of pondering

Courtesy of Fourstar Clothing

As weird and as lame as it sounds, I’ve been pondering. I know it might be the sign of a romantic academic, but I do believe that thinking about things makes one a critical thinker and well-versed person. One of the main things that came to mind as I pondered today was the “Day in the Life of Mark Gonzalez” section of the 2006 film by Fourstar Clothing, Super Champion Funzone. I think that Mark is probably the most insightful professional in the skateboarding community and always has plenty of interesting things to say in every video he appears in. In this particular clip Mark mentions how skateboarders want everything to be perfect. For example, they don’t want any parts of their skateboards missing or damaged. Or they want to land the tricks they are trying in the way they are supposed to be done. He uses these examples to draw a few observations about the state of American education. Mark laments that our culture often teaches kids to “settle for less” such that they wouldn’t even pay attention to the intricacies that skateboarders do in their trade.

I thought about this statement more and more; eventually arriving at the realization of its true power and insight. I think our society has, of late, ingrained this external locus of control into many of our young people. We, as an American culture, are buying into the belief that most everything being outside of our control and we consequently leave everything up to fate. I suspect that the American dream is no longer about working hard, bettering yourself, and establishing and providing for a family. Now it seems that success requires hitting a streak of luck or being at the right place at the right time.

So how much does our societies locus of control relate to skateboarding? Well actually quite a bit. You see as a skateboarder, I have learned what the fruits of hard work can be. I try a trick over and over again until I land it. That’s persistence paying off. Sometimes I won’t be happy with how I landed it, perhaps it was sketchy, and I will do it again until I get it better. That’s the pursuit of perfection. And why do I continue to throw my body down onto the ground again and again until I’ve done what I set out to do? The reason is that it is gratifying and fun. Yes, it took a lot of hard work, pain, and a hell of a lot of practice, but the rewarding feeling of success was worth it in the end. I think our culture needs to wake up and realize that kids need to be taught that persistence and the pursuit of perfection do pay off.

When will kids no longer settle for less? When will we shift our collective locus of control from being the fate-based, fallacy-riddled external type to a more achievement and hard work oriented internal type? Excelling in skateboarding isn’t about luck. Just like any other sport, it’s about hard work, determination, and the pursuit of perfection. I believe that the people who learn these values will prosper in their future endeavors. So for God sakes get up off your ass and work hard. Don’t settle for less!

Halloween Treat

Courtesy of Zero Skateboards

I’ve had a tough time with updates lately; too many tests and projects to worry about and get in the way. I really have wanted to put some stuff up on here; I just haven’t had the chance. Since today is Halloween I figured that I should probably write about something scary. Well I confess that my topic won’t be very scary, because other than Jake Brown’s fall at the X-Games, what is in skateboarding?

I’m going to giving you a look back to a widely popular video that was released, coincidentally on Halloween. Jamie Thomas and his company Zero Skateboards out of San Diego are notorious for their mind blowing skate videos. Dying to Live, which was released in 2003, was a video that wowed audiences by showcasing the Zero team’s handrail carnage, backyard pool murder, and stair set torture. Sounds like a horror flick doesn’t it? Well not exactly, but the video did inspire a generation of skateboarders to go balls to the wall in every aspect of their skating. Now you’ll see kids skating pools, stairs, handrails, and many more things to the extent that they are pretty damn good at it.

But let me get back to the video and talk about what else makes it special. The skateboard world knew who Jamie Thomas, Adrian Lopez, and Matt Mumford were. They all had ridden for Zero for quite a while and had established themselves as some of the top professionals in the industry. But what’s important is that Dying to Live introduced some now-household names to the skateboarding community.

Jon Allie, a native of Wisconsin, put together a great video part that included a lot of highly technical flip trick to grinds down big handrails. One of the big things that stuck out in his part was his nosebluntslide down the Hollywood High sixteen rail, one of skateboarding’s benchmarks. Now Jon has a pro model show with Circa and a variety of signature skateboards from Slave Skateboards, the newest venture from the Zero camp. Once a no-namer, Jon seemingly blew up over night and became an instant hit with many skateboarders.

Ryan Smith and Lindsey Robertson are two more that Dying to Live knighted with recognition. I group them together because they share most of the same sponsors and are commonly grouped side by side. Ryan tended to favor the big handrails where as Lindsey took care of the big gaps. Both have signature boards with Mystery and are now know for their disregard for bodily injury and their continuation of pushing the limit of how big good skateboarding must be.

Scotsman John Rattray was well known in Europe before this video came out, but in the United States the opposite was true. In 2003 Rattray stunned audiences with his mastery of every aspect of skateboarding. After all, the guy can do a 540 on a vert ramp and then go lipslide a 15 stair rail. Now Rattray as well known by many and has several signature models with Zero. Another thing that should be noted is that he has a degree in physics from Cambridge University.

The final and by far the most influential skateboarder the world found out about upon the release of Dying to Live is Chris Cole. Though he already had a great part in the Transworld video, In Bloom, about six months before the Zero video, it was in no ways comparable to the Dying to Live part. From 360 flipping large sets of stairs including the Rincon 4 to frontside boardsliding a ridiculously long hubba ledge (as seen above) Cole was amazing. He was promptly turned pro after the video was released and now has several pro model shoes and clothing lines with Fallen footwear and apparel. Nowadays there are lots of kids that want to be just like Chris; look like him, dress like him, and skate like him. I can’t tell you how many times I have been to the skatepark and there will be a kid there saying to his friends “Check me out, I’m Chris Cole” and end up trying to 360 flip a large set of stairs.

Perhaps that’s the scary part of this story, a group of skateboarders influencing a much larger group to do things like jump off buildings, grind handrails, and skate backyard pools. But maybe, that larger group is just simply dying to live. Happy Halloween.

YouTubin' It

Photo Courtesy of hon 72.

It's currently raining here in the wonderful city of West Lafayette, Indiana. For many skateboarders like myself, that means no skateboarding and lots of what I like to call YouTubing. I decided to throw a bone to all of you who are currently stuck inside and post five or so videos that I think are worth watching on a rainy day.


The first video I think you should check out is Nick Jensen's part in the Blueprint Skateboards video, Lost and Found. This British boarder has some of the cleanest lines on the other side of the pond and has some of the most dialed switch tricks in skateboarding. His switch kickflips and switch 'tre flips are extremely natural in appearance, making him one of my favourite skateboarders to date. Nick's part also features mastery of the roughest spots London has to offer. So kick it tea and crumpets style by watching his part. It got me hyped on skating and I'm sure it will do the same for you. See it here.


The next video I want you to watch is Guy Mariano's part from the Girl video, Mouse. He has a great style and trick selection to please his viewers, such that you could watch this part again and again and not get sick of it. Guy kills just about every schoolyard in So Cal with his highly technical bank to bench mastery. Watch it.


You should also watch Dan Drehobl's part from the Krooked video, Krooked Khronicles. He skates to Neil Diamond's Forever in Blue Jeans and let me just say that you will love that song by the time the part is over. Dan's got some of the best pivots in skateboarding and brings them to some of the most awkward spots know to man. If he didn't smoke 8 packs a day or whatever the ridiculous amount is, I'm sure he could easily be better at life than Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris and John Wayne combined. Well, maybe not John Wayne, but you get the point. See it here.


Fourth in line is from the Adio shoes video, One Step Beyond. The ever stylish Kenny Anderson has a great part full of fluid lines, well balanced manuals, and the best backside tailslides hands down. This was actually the first skateboard video I owned, so the fact that I am still talking about how great this video is, is a testament to its quality. Another great feature in Kenny's part is his Las Vegas to Los Angeles (almost) nose manual. Bam Margera claimed that he say it happening from a plane, but thats aside from the point. Kenny's part is smooth and solid, and worth your time. The jazz music doesn't hurt the part either. Watch Kenny here.


The last video, for now, that you should spend some time with comes from the boys at Transworld Media and their video In Bloom. Mike Taylor has my favorite part in this flick. He has a solid and mature style, performing tricks in the way they are supposed to be done. He has plenty of smooth lines and holds grinds down some of the longest rails in skateboarding. His song, The Heist by Alf Diggi, is a perfect complement to his urban underground style. Watch his part here.


So hopefully you've check out these videos and the rain has let up. I put a tremendous amount of stock in them for hyping me up. In other words, they are all worth your time. If it hasn't stopped raining, keep watching more videos or go to sleep. I'm out.

A Quick Read: Steve Nesser

This month’s issue of Thrasher has a great interview and amazing cover photo of Minneapolis’s finest, Steve Nesser. The Lebanese skateboarder shares some of his stories about traveling the globe alongside the likes of Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, and more along with what it was like to brave some of the harshest winters America has to offer. Nesser also talks about some of his experiences of running his skateshop Familia, earning a pro-model shoe from Adio and filming for the upcoming Birdhouse Skateboards video, The Beginning.

The photos that go with his interview are great too. One particular sequence that stood out to me was his ollie over a waist high wall into a short, steep bank. The cover shot, however, takes the cake for being the best photo in the magazine. He sets a world record for skateboarding by fifty-fiftying a round rail that covers down nearly 50 stairs. It’s like a fifty-fifty-fifty! With that kind of performance, I can’t wait to see the Birdhouse video.

Steve is one of the nicest, hardest-working and most professional skateboarders I have ever met and this interview does him justice. I highly recommend picking up this month’s issue, look for the jaw-dropping cover as seen above, and check his article out. You won’t be disappointed.

Video Review: Let's Do This

Okay I’ve been slacking on posts this week, mainly because I’ve been swamped with other projects need my attention. I did have time, however, to sit down and watch the new Transworld video Let’s Do This. This is Jon Holland’s and Jason Hernandez’s sixth video together, and it might just be the best one to date. With a truly diverse lineup of heavy hitters, Let’s Do This keeps it interesting with lots of great tricks at many rarely seen spots.

East Coast up-and-comer Brian Brown opens the flick with some jazzy, urban skateboarding that is sure to motivate anyone who watches it. Banks seem to be Brian’s forte, as he brings some of the most difficult maneuvers to some of the roughest spots on the East Coast. One of the things that stuck out to me was how much of an improvement he has made since his part in the Adio promo, which dropped about two years ago. That part quite honestly sucked, so congratulations to Mr. Brown for coming through with a great part while filming for an entirely different video, Listen’s Viajeros Locos.

Minnesota legend and Stereo Sound Agent Clint Peterson has the next part in the video. I’ve always been a big fan of Clint, not just because he’s from the Midwest, but because he has a very unique repertoire of tricks. Backside kickflip melons and switch pole jams are just a few of the tricks that the already visually pleasing skateboarder has to offer. Oh and did I mention that Clint has the best backside 360 in all of skateboarding? Vert skaters don’t even have them as dialed as he does.

Peter Smolik has been under the radar since being cut from the Shorty’s squad a few years back. However, his comeback part in Let’s Do This ensures another few years of Smolik stardom. Though he’s a bit sketchy, the SkateMafia front man blew my mind with some of the most technical ledge tricks I have ever seen. Not to mention the fact that Peter kills it on transition. His short but sweet mini-ramp footage coupled with the highly technical street tricks I just talked about, make this part worth watching again and again. Backside tailslide 270 bigspin out… What?!?

Bakersfield’s finest Devine Calloway is featured next. His part features some buttery lines and plenty of bangers down many of skateboarding’s benchmarks. The unfortunate thing about Calloway’s part is that I had seen almost all his tricks in advertisements and magazine articles. For instance, his switch frontside big spin down the Carlsbad gap was in a DC shoes ad about a year ago, this time it’s his last trick. I’m not saying Devine’s part isn’t good, all I’m saying is that I would have liked to see some newer material.

Santa Cruz vato Emmanuel Guzman closes out the video with some heavy duty thrashing. This guys skates most skateparks faster than most people ever will. His huge airs and lightning fast carves are very reminiscent of early John Cardiel parts. But like Cards, Guzman also skates handrails incredible well, assaulting each one with no mercy. So further explain how good he is, I think I read somewhere that E-Man has never had anything other than an opening or closing part to a video. Be looking out for E-man as Thrasher’s Skater of the Year in the not too distant future.

Let’s Do This had me incredibly motivated to go skateboard this week, so I’m sure it will have the same effect on you. I’m amazed that Jon and Jason put out such great videos year after year, so I will be definitely looking forward to the next no doubt on its way soon. They always seem to find a great roster of skaters to include and always have the most interesting skateboarding in the business.

Skateblogging

Michael Burnett has an interesting article in this month’s Thrasher, Blog Drama, where he examines some of the more ironic aspects of blogging. While the article is supposed to be about the RVCA clothing Canada tour, Burnett uses the trip to humor us with some of his observations of the “blogsphere.” As he points out, the term weblog, or blog for short, is a rather dumb word. The word web is rarely used and log seems more like a Star Trek term than anything else (see pg.117, it’s a lot funnier). Additionally, the terms similar to blog are just as “lame.” Blogsphere, blogging, and blogger are all words that are part of Burnett considers to be the “language of the fucked.”

Throughout this tour article Michael Burnett explains how he was in a sort of competition with two others on the tour to get the best blog material. Each and every moment on tour, he explained, could constitute something “bloggable.” That is everything from “dudes sitting in an airport” to “your buddy eating a sandwich” to “someone taking a nap.” Basically the stuff people in the skateboarding community blog about, is usually complete crap.

Burnett makes an interesting observation of how a few visible people in the skateboard world have supplemented themselves by creating blogs. Being the editor at large for a major skateboarding magazine, Michael Burnett is no different. He notices that most of the time he posts some picture and attaches a few words to it for a post, someone anonymous tells him that he sucks, and he gets paid for it (126). I just wish I could get some people on here to hate on me so that I would get paid. In thinking about his point, I have reached the conclusion that some blogs function as forms of negative stimulation for some people. There are those who need to read something that pisses them off. Once that person has reached a sufficient degree of anger they then rant and rave about it simply to make him or herself feel better or smarter.

I can definitely understand the aspect of feeling smarter than the person you are attacking. After all, a lot of my own posts have to do with criticizing someone based on their stupidity. Perhaps blogging is really about primping your ego rather than actually providing something of journalistic value. Of course, I could be completely wrong here. Michael Burnett’s article really made me think about these sorts of things; a rarity in skateboarding magazines. Therefore, I strongly suggest you go to a skate shop, Barnes and Noble, Wal-Mart, or wherever they have Thrasher, pick up a copy of the October 2007 issue, and read Burnett’s article for yourself. If you’re too cheap to do that, I suppose you can go read his blog, Burnout, at the Thrasher website. (The link is to the side). However, you might get nothing but leftovers and complete crap (but it’s Michael Burnett, so it can’t be that bad). Be wary. If you don't want to do either of those things, you can scroll back up to where I first mentioned the article and click on Blog Drama; I figured I'd at least make you work for it first. Oh and by the way, great job Michael!

Are you joking?

Skateboarding, like most other communities, has plenty of kooks; never ceasing to amaze me with their incredible stupidity and “lameness.” When mainstream ideas and standards are thrown into the mix, some people are bound to make fools of themselves. Hip-hop is one of those things that is so mainstream, there is a razor thin line between what is normal or acceptable and what is just plain ridiculous.

When incorporated into the skateboarding community, hip-hop can play an important role in characterizing personal style. For example, professional skateboarder Terry Kennedy utilized this genre to set himself apart from others. Known for his gold chains, large purchases, eccentric personality, and a beaming grin, Kennedy cashed in on what people found entertaining. Most people first found out about him through the MTV show, Viva La Bam, based on pro skateboarder and jackass Bam Margera’s antics. Seen on the show as “Compton Ass Terry,” Kennedy’s own antics created a fan base ensuring his future success. Sure enough, Kennedy soon landed major contracts with KR3W apparel and Pharrell’s Ice Cream Shoes and Billionaire Boys Club. Now Terry Kennedy is one of the most successful skateboarders in the business. Sure he annoyed some people in the process, but the sheer fact that he made money of the hip-hop industry instead of them making money off of him deserves recognition.

Unfortunately, Terry Kennedy’s story is a rarity in the skateboarding world. The opposite side of the spectrum, hip-hop using and abusing skateboarding, is much more prevalent. This week I found a link on Quartersnacks to a few music videos from the hip-hop group named “The Board Bangers.” I watched this video and immediately had something to rip on.

Why is it that just about every hip-hop video in the entire world has a mass of people in a room, jumping up and down and doing stupid hand gestures? This video has so little to do with skateboarding, its almost funny. The girl in the video, Dymond, is spending most of the video holding a skateboard, claiming that she is a skater girl. What the hell is a skater girl anyway? Is it a girl who skateboards? A girl who thinks she is a skateboard? A girl who dates a skateboarder? A girl who smokes crack at the local skatepark? (Yes, I’ve seen that one before). I think in the case of skater girl Dymond, it’s the latter. This particular video also features a couple of dudes dressed in three piece suits and fedoras opening a briefcase full of toilet paper: yet again, another thing with no skateboarding relation whatsoever. The only good thing I can say about this video is that there is nothing good I can say about this video, it sucks. Now, it would be sort of pointless to bag on the Board Bangers without having an example of what a good use of skateboarding in a rap video is. So here you go.

Alabama bred, Yelawolf, aka Catfish Billy actually skates, and actually is good at it, and actually cares about it, and actually did a skateboarding/hip-hop tour recently. His video, Kickin’, is worth watching not just because the guy has talent, but because the skateboarding featured in it is good. He might just be the first rapper to 360 flip in his own video. Another thing I like about ‘wolf is that he surrounds himself with his true friends and neighbors, rather than disproportioned models selected by the recording company. Though his gesticulations go a little over the top, he more than makes up for it by including muddy ATV’s, firefighters, and vandalized train cars in his video. Yelawolf knows what he’s doing whereas the Board Bangers don’t. Assuming that Yelawolf continues to stay true to his roots and his passion in skateboarding, he will no doubt be successful further on down the road.

Skateboarding is so amusing at times. The characters it attracts are fascinating; some in good ways and some in bad ways. Everyone from Terry Kennedy to the Board Bangers to Yelawolf, contribute something unique and interesting to the skateboarding community. I can’t really complain about who comes tries to enter our culture because they give it character. What I can do, on the other hand, is make fun of the people who fail miserably at legitimizing themselves before skateboarding’s inner circle namely, the Board Bangers.

Saturday Sessions

One of the most enjoyable parts of skateboarding as I see it is the Saturday session. It basically consists of you and some of your friends meeting as some place with no agenda other than to skate. You might meet up at a skatepark, a schoolyard, or in my case, a tennis court.

This is where the magic happens; the best tricks go down all for the sake of fun and everyone carries a grin from ear to ear. On any given Saturday, you might witness one of your friends finally land a trick he’s been trying for weeks or you yourself might land a trick for the first time in six months (which you probably won’t land again for another six months). Whatever the case may be, you’re almost guaranteed to have fun.

My friends and I had a Saturday session at our university’s tennis courts this past weekend. After a few exchanges of emails and phone calls, we had a posse put together and a session waiting to begin. We already had a shared passion, so all that we needed now was a grind box (which was easily obtained) and a way of documenting the good times (which turned out to be my digital camera).

After a few minutes of warming up and waiting for everyone to get to the meeting spot, we had a full-blown Saturday session unfolding. Tricks went down left and right, with everyone feeding off of each other’s energy and enthusiasm. It seemed as though everything outside the fencing of the tennis court meant nothing and that the only thing important in life was having fun.

I’ve been skateboarding for quite a while now and each day that goes by, I have more and more fun with my hobby. Sure there are times at which point I really don’t feel like going out, but for the most part I’m motivated to skate with my friends. This particular Saturday session really reinforced for me what skateboarding was really about, having fun.

I think that far too often kids buy into the hype surrounding professional skateboarding; they think it’s all about fame and money. When you see people like Bam, Rob Dyrdek, and Ryan Sheckler get their own television shows, it’s easy to lose sight over why we skateboard in the first place. I think that if you would ask any of those guys what they enjoy the most, they’ll all would say skateboarding. You see, the vast majority of skateboarders are cut from the same cloth. They really don’t fit in with any of the traditional sports crowds, so they have collectivized and built a lifestyle entirely out of fun and friendship. This particular Saturday session reminded me of that point when we organized a group of individuals together to have some fun.

As each day goes by, I realize just how empty a life without fun and friendship can be. I don’t believe that humans were ever meant to be by themselves; whether that’s on a first place pedestal or in the lowliest ditch known to man. Skateboarding with my friends gives me this type of fulfillment, which I’m sure that those of you who skate can relate to. Now I recognize that this would be an ideal time to insert a sappy phrase like “skaters unite” or whatever, but I won’t do that here. Instead I want to encourage all of you reading this to initiate some contact with some friends of yours this weekend and have some good clean fun. Have your own Saturday session; I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Preview: Nike SB's Nothing But The Truth

Photo Courtesy of TSI

On October 4, 2007, Nike’s skateboarding division plans on releasing its first true film entitled, Nothing But The Truth. Big whoop: just another corporate giant trying to make money off skateboarding right? Well, not exactly. You see there is a potential for a revolution within the skateboarding community. One that’s associated with the release of this film and I will tell you why.

Nike has assembled one of the most diverse and talented “teams” in the industry. With the likes of Paul Rodriguez, Chet Childress, Brian Anderson, and more on their roster, the footwear company seems to rival all others out there. In addition to a great team, Nike has an outstanding image. The swoosh has been a staple in street fashion for many moons now; more and more skateboarders are trading in their plain pairs of Vans and Emericas for some aesthetically pleasing Dunks. Let’s just be honest, Nikes look good. These two factors, coupled with some strategic maneuvers including but not limited to company and artist collaborations, tours, and giveaways, have been keystones in Nike’s marketing system.

Nike’s ingenious market plan has allowed it to capitalize on skateboarding. In fact, other skateboarding companies feel threatened by Nike. For example, Consolidated Skateboards started a marketing campaign several years ago called Don’t Do It in the hopes of encouraging skateboarders to buy from just skater-owned companies. (Ironically Consolidated is owned by a surfer.) Essentially what I am alluding to is that Nike has a lot of money to do plenty of big things; including a skateboarding film.

The sheer enormity of the budget for Nothing But The Truth almost guarantees a quality video. But as the New York Yankees have proved over the last few years, throwing money at something doesn’t always equate to success. However, if the sporting goods company does manage to live up to all the hype and pull off a great video, shockwaves will be sent through the industry. Skateboarding videos could almost be forced to be cinema quality; this may mean the majority of companies might have to hire professional directors, editors, script writers (just kidding) etc. Nike’s got freakin’ Lionel Goldstein working on this film.

In the skateboard world, videos sell product. Kids want the latest and greatest; they always have and they always will. So therein lies the potential significance of a film like Nothing But The Truth. Nike could potentially drive out most of its competition in the skateboard market with this video (keep in mind that the Lakai video will be released a week later, which will be good.) It’s not hard to picture the majority of skaters owning the Nike movie, much like vast numbers of people own at least one Star Wars film. If skaters got so hooked on to what Nike was doing, it might just be the end of the skateboarding industry as we know it today.

So when October rolls around, be on the lookout for Nothing But The Truth. I’m pretty sure it will be well worth the wait. After all, a revolution may dawn. When it is released, I do plan on reviewing it and posting it here. (If anyone reading this works for Nike; hook me up, I’m a broke college student!) So stay tuned, but in the meantime, you can check out the latest trailer for the film here.

Fundamentals: Grinding

Perhaps one of skateboarding’s most intriguing aspects is that of grinding. It’s essentially when a skateboarder makes the trucks of his or her skateboard come in contact with a metal or concrete surface. A loud scraping sound usually results while the rider performs his trick. Additionally metal residue left by the trucks can often be seen on the grinded surface.

Unfortunately grinding is the number one reason why and how property is damaged by skateboarders. It often takes a considerable amount of work to make a ledge, rail, or curb grindable. Ledges need to be waxed; rails need to be sanded, etc. And once that’s been done, the surface is ready for a beating. If you live in an area that is frequented by skateboarders or even bikers and rollerbladers for that matter, you’ll often see a wall that is black with wax. Property owners, who probably need to be reminded of what’s truly important in life, see the evidence of grinding as hideous and detrimental to the “natural beauty” of their area. So why so many factors affecting it, what exactly possess skateboarders to hop on to a ledge or rail, risk bodily injury, and grind?

I think that skateboarders have a wide variety of reasons for grinding primarily depending on his or her particular style. Because grinding can be such a vague idea, I’d like to clear up some of the ways skateboarders grind. The first way is slashing the coping of a bowl or half pipe. Slashing generally refers to riding extremely fast and grinding the metal or concrete edge at the top of the ramp. This is actually the oldest type of grinding; pioneered in the 1970’s in the empty swimming pools of Southern California. See the film, Lords of Dogtown, for more information. Skaters who partake in this aspect of skating are generally the ones with a surfer’s mentality. They enjoy cruising around a skatepark feeling the all dips and curves it has to offer. Additionally, many of the fundamental grinds of street skating like the Smith grind or the Hurricane were borrowed from pool and ramp skating. The exception to this rule is the crooked grind which, by the way, is the only basic street skating grind to be adopted by ramp skaters.

Street skateboarding has taken grinding to a whole new level, primarily driven by the desire to have fun, break the laws of gravity, and innovate. Many skateboarders have grinded ridiculously long handrails and ledges like the El Toro rail or the Clipper Ledge. Others have learned to add flip tricks to their grinds to form combos, made famous by the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. Still others have grabbed their boards prior to grinding. Whatever the case may be, grinding is a fundamental part of not just street skating but as of skateboarding as a collective whole.

So that brings me back to my original thought, why do skateboarders grind? Well truth be told, it’s a lot of fun. There is not a whole lot else in skateboarding that is as gratifying as landing a grind trick down a handrail or slashing the top of an eight foot tall bowl. In fact, grinding sets skateboarding apart from a lot of other sports. There’s really nothing comparable in things like baseball or gymnastics, which is another reason why more and more people are beginning to skateboard. Needless to say, people have different motivations for skateboarding and grinding as well.

I guess I would say to those of you who are skateboarders, Go outside and grind something. It will be a lot of fun. And for those of you who do not skate and specifically those who own property that skateboarders use, just appreciate the innovation and uniqueness of skateboarding and do not worry about the damage done, we’ll all be dead in the long run anyway.

Worst Shirt Ever

This kind of thing really irritates me. One of the things I hate about skateboarding's marketability and popularity is when someone who knows nothing about skateboarding (and doesn't give a damn about it either) tries to market something with it. StuffUWear clothing is a perfect example.

This intellegent shirt, obviously referencing anal sex, has so disgustingly abused the sport, it's almost funny. Who are they trying to sell this to? Skateboarders would never wear a shirt like this and the jocks who would hate skateboarding. Wax the pipe? If your referring to the half pipe, it would be pointless in waxing the ramp surface, you would just slide out and die a'la Jake Brown. If your referring to the metal piping at the edge of the ramp, its actually called coping moron. Grinding backside? Good thing Sargent No-Nutz is going frontside in the illustration. Get your terminology right for Pete sakes. Oh and stay out of skateboarding. Smack this dude.

Some Thoughts on the Anniversary of 9/11

Six years ago today, the world radically changed for everyone including skateboarders. I recall reading the issue of Transworld Skateboarding that was published following the disaster and seeing the countless company advertisements with patriotic slogans like "God Bless America" or "Let Freedom Ring." Whether these companies were legitimately mourning the loss of thousands of lives or taking advantage of a tragic situation, I don't really care. But what I found most interesting was the call for skateboarders across the globe to embrace their freedom and go skateboarding.

Today I was skateboarding by a statue dedicated to the memory of the victims of the attacks. The statue was in a sort of under-traveled area, but there were still a few homemade posters scattered about the area. The thought occurred to me, most likely as it did for those who made those posters, that I am really lucky I can go about my day in a carefree manner and without worrying about someone to tell me otherwise. I quickly translated this thought into something applicable to skateboarding and decided that I would spend the rest of my session skating in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

I will admit that I wasn't exactly on point with my skating today, but I feel as though I skated for a worthwhile reason. So I guess if you're reading this, I want to encourage you to do as I did. Go skateboarding in memory of those died on this sacred day. After all, we still have the freedom to skate. So why not make the best of it today and everyday?