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Skateboarding: Not Just A Hobby, A Lifestyle
Skateboarding is a powerful sport, however it is not a crime. All too often
skateboarders are looked at as ‘punks’ and ‘vandals.’ Skateboarding has
been around since the early 1950’s and has thrived throughout the
strenuous ups and downs of the mainstream industry. It’s popularity rose
with surfers due to the fact that it was something they could do when the
conditions in the water weren’t good enough or too rough. Makaha had
made sales of $4,000,000 within two years. Boards originated from the
idea of a scooter with metal roller skate wheels and a handle attached. In
the 50’s boards came in various shapes and sizes because many kids were
designing their own. By the early 60’s skateboarding had risen in surf
culture so much that magazine had begun to be printed. Their were also
major tours across the United States of teams of skateboarders due to the
towering heights of skateboarding popularity. The skaters had taken this
‘hobby’ to a new level as they began to explore empty pools. This was a
revolution in the sport and truly elevated the technical end of skating. A
story that’s been passed on refers to a group of skaters who searched out
whole neighborhoods for empty pools due to the drought. They found a
beautiful pool at the residence of a fire chief. Somehow, they got a hold of
his work schedule and skated his pool everyday that he worked until they
got caught. Pool riding was an intense element that continued from the
seventies until the late eighties.
After the magazines and tours and fifty million skateboards being sold,
skateboarding died. The cause of death, “The first skateboarding crash
was due to inferior product, [which floods today’s market] too much
inventory and a public upset by reckless riding.” The reason it happened
was a little bit of daredevilism riding down public streets and a little bit of
slack while producing the merchandise. Skateboarding outdid itself and
“Cities started to ban skateboards in response to health and safety
concerns, and after a few fatal accidents, skateboarding was officially
drummed out of existence.” This was the cause of the major loss of
interest. Society seemed to put up a wall of zero-tolerance towards
skateboarding, especially in California, the heart of it all. It was considered
a to be too much of a hazard and “The California Medical Association
called skateboards ‘a new medical menace.’ Worse still, police chiefs were
telling stores not to carry skateboards in the interest of public safety.”
Without stores purchasing skateboards from the skateboard companies, the
industry cracked. More poor quality products were produced and
skateboarding’s future looked grim. Conflict with society grew as “...it
was at this time that police chiefs started calling for the prohibition of
skateboards. Most of the public felt skaters were a nuisance and cities
began banning skateboards.” With society fronting skateboarders, the
availability of a spot to skate became scarce and a quite a difficult problem.
The problem facing skateboarders, “...interference of cops and angry
drivers, pedestrians and property owners has been a recurring theme in the
history of skateboarding.” Many people regard skaters as degenerates and
the cause is that “The sport attracts a lot of dysfunctional kids. They come
in with something missing and are easier to exploit. What’s direly missing
in the industry,’ Peralta said, ‘is guidance from the manufactures.” This
leads to the further decline of skateboarding and interests in skateboarding
and the culture that had swept over the nation in a matter of just under
three years.
Skateboarding’s rebirth occurred around 1993 with the offspring of the
“baby boomers” hitting the defiant teenage years. In 1995, skateboarding’s
mainstream coverage became updated with the ESPN X-Games. Once
again the cycle of skateboarding had begun again including the clash
between the skaters and the society in which they live. Terms such as
‘degenerate’ and ‘punk drop-out’ resurfaced, and it was said, “For as long
as I can tell, skateboarding has been a crime. The only people that have
boards as [sic] ‘delinquents’ and ‘punks’ and ‘drop-outs.’” Police officers
who are always right there ‘to protect and serve,’ sure do protect our
handrails and curbs, “They are getting out of control with all these [sic]
skateboarding prevention stuff. They should worry about bigger stuff like
killings, rapes, gangs, and so on.” It’s probably a good thing that our
handrails and curbs and other public items such as benches and flower
planters aren’t getting scuffed up at night by these freaks. We wouldn’t
want to have to go down to the level of considering this an art form now
would we? Skateboarding is here to stay and “Once this [skateboarding] is
accepted and once it’s embraced by the mainstream, skaterphobics will be
forced to relax their anti-skater rhetoric, back off, and let skaters do their
thing.” A major problem seems to be that it isn’t a team sport and isn’t
supported by schools or leagues. A mother wrote in to her children’s
school and an exert taken from her letter, “I wonder if it is due in large part
to the fact that skateboarding is an ‘ALTERNATIVE’ sport; not a
‘MAINSTREAM’ activity (or, at least right now.) It is, in fact, an activity
that takes much coordination, practice and skill and is very detailed.” This
backing of society and parents is needed to help skateboarding strive and
survive in this culture that we are currently living. Another adult stated,
“Skateboarding is great fun. It teaches balance, coordination, muscle
control, depth perception and rewards the learner for persistence and
effort...I can’t condemn any activity that teaches and affirms a youngster’s
need to grow and test his/her capabilities. Where would any of us be if we
didn’t reach that little bit farther, try just a little bit harder?”
Skateboarding is truly a diversified culture, “It’s [skateboarding] a sport
that accepts anyone willing to try it. It doesn’t discriminate against race,
religion, or sexual orientation.” “Skateboarding is many things to many
individuals...Skateboarding is the positive release of undirected explosive
youthful energy...Skateboarding is a unique kind of madness. It’s a
combination of balance, technique, power, knowledge, love, hate, respect,
and fear,” so many things that can’t be summed up in a single sentence.
Above all else, skateboarding is an art form. It truly creates an element of
life worth living for. The world to a skater becomes his canvas, and his
board is his paintbrush and he is the painter. As long as Scarface’s
statement, “The world is yours” stands true, then the skater is given the
right to paint whatever picture he feels whenever he feels like painting.
Skateboarding is the voice of the mute, in the form of a harsh scream,
because even though mute people have no way of speaking, skateboarding
in itself cannot speak but it is revealed by it’s participants, and it’s
participants reveal skateboarding to themselves, “Skateboarding is a wild,
untamed thing- like the spirit of it’s riders. People invent skateboarding
daily...That’s the beauty of the sport, especially at this time in it’s history.”
The feel of an autumn breeze in the face of a skateboarder exemplifies
freedom and freshness of life. While all around him/her society and mother
nature are resting and preparing for winter, he is still out redefining himself
and his style, and finding new character in himself. Powell said it well,
“Skateboarding is hard to describe. It’s not an ordinary sport. There are
no rules, no teams, no competition. Skating is a way of testing your skill
and courage.” Skateboarding is totally personal and wonderful in that
respect. As a football team, all wear the same jerseys, helmets and colors,
they truly define themselves with a simple difference of a number. How
well can a person be described with a number? Skateboarding allows it’s
participants to wear what feels comfortable to them and fits their style.
Tony Hawk, regarded as the greatest vert skater of all time in
skateboarding expresses his feelings about the sport by saying,
“Skateboarding to me means freedom, an outlet for any sort of stress and
responsibilities. It’s my way of expressing myself.” The art and intensity
of skateboarding overall is benevolent, “Some curbs are blackened, and
rounded off, but the flipside of this damage is that I’m able to put
tremendous amounts of time and energy into an art form that people are
passionate enough about to risk a criminal record.” Skateboarding’s participants know
the possible risks of self-damage and misfortune with the law, “How noble of a sport is
skateboarding whose participants knowingly break the law in order to do it?”
Bibliography
Works Cited
Andris Legalize Skateboarding 21 Mar., 1999.
.
Brooke, Michael. The Concrete Wave. Toronto: Warwick Publishing Inc.
1999.
“Bug Your Congressman!” Ska Punk Skate 5, Oct. 2000.
.
Cassorla, Albert. The Ultimate Skateboard Book. Running Press, 1988.
Hamre, Bonnie. Skateboarding Is Not A Crime. 18, Sept. 2000.
.
“Hell On Wheels.” Bay Guardian Article: Hell On Wheels. May, 1994.
.
Powell, Ben. Extreme Sports Skateboarding. New York: 1997.
Rau, Michelle (Shelly) To Whom It May Concern. 23, Apr. 1999.
.
“Skateboarding Is A Good Thing” 28, Sept. 2000.
.
“Skateboarding Is Not A Crime” 18, Sept 2000.
.
Word Count: 1439
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