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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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The most dangerous skateboarding
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On 3/15/2006
jaybyrd
wrote in from
Mexico
(207.17.nnn.nnn)
Mall boarding as brought out before is more than likely one of the most danerous types of skating because it robs the kids of their own identities. It seems like all they want to do is land that trick they saw that other kid do or wear the clothes the cool kids wear. We were at the skatepark the other night and my boy was riding while I just rested. What I noticed was a small group of kids over in the corner trying to land a couple of simple tricks, they could hardly do anything yet they were sporting all the newest attire available at the mall. I guess my son summed it up as we were leaving when he said under his breath "posers".
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The most dangerous skateboarding
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On 3/15/2006
Bud
wrote in from
United States
(68.57.nnn.nnn)
Anything Danny Way does these days is pretty burly. That's what springs to mind when I think of "dangerous". The fact that it doesn't really seem all that nutty to him continually impresses the bejeesus out of me- jumping out of helicopters, and over Great Walls in China and whatnot.
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Being Creative
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On 3/14/2006
Jack
wrote in from
United States
(24.176.nnn.nnn)
Slim, I agree with you about the creativity of today's skaters. However, I still see way more tricks being missed than made when watching today's skaters in a live setting.
Of course the mags and videos paint a much different picture.
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wow, Civ, you're blowing my mind!
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On 3/14/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.95.nnn.nnn)
That was 2002, CIV...I remember that day perfectly.
You pulled up in this station wagon and started pulling out all this killer skate gear...I wondered where the hell did you get that stuff?!!
You had the fire, even back then!
Yes, you were one of the first to see a laser print of the first issue...
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dangerous skating
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On 3/14/2006
buddy rawls
wrote in from
United States
(128.158.nnn.nnn)
The key to safer skating is to have control of the situation, by knowing your capabilities and limits. Padding and helmets permit safer falls, but in the end it comes down ability. Being in control of the situation not only is effective on board, but it also accounts for your reactions during falls. IT is no different than skiing, hockey, climbing, etc.
Should a newby drop in on a ramp, or should he learn how to push and turn and manipulate the board in easiest circumstances?
Yet, in the trick-tionary style or X-games fueled skating, they will get hurt copying skaters that are far above their abilities. This is the dangerous skateboarding, this is mall-boarding. Mall-boarding is the most dangerous.
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Mikes boy
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On 3/14/2006
Civ
wrote in from
Canada
(24.141.nnn.nnn)
Ive seen the little Brookester hit HARD and bounce back up again. Pretty sure he could ride anything with style.
Come to think of it he was one of the first people I ran cones with...he was on Jones trucks...I saw the preprint draft of the first CW that day.....
Not sure what im trying to say here.....
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dangerous skating?
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On 3/14/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(70.50.nnn.nnn)
hmmmm
well, bombing hills without pads or a helmet is dangerous...
actually, statistically speaking, skateboarding is safer than basketball or hockey..there are way more injuries per capita in these activities.
I think the only type of skateboarding that is dangerous is not skateboarding...getting old and bitter and forgetting the freedom and fun of it.
anyone else like to chime in here...
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most dangerous
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On 3/14/2006 tom t
wrote in from
Canada
(142.20.nnn.nnn)
Say Michael,
In all your years covering the very diverse world of skate, what form of skating would you least recommend to your own kids ? I wonder if "Most Dangerous Skating In the World" would make a good article?
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RIP the firm
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On 3/14/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(70.50.nnn.nnn)
Here is something I got from a friend...it's from Lance Mountain.
It's not the whole text...but most of it.
Skateboarding has and always will have change. Sometimes change is hard sometimes it the best thing ever, sometimes it's a little of both.
I started skating in 1975, but by 1977, my friends, the magazines and the feeling had infected me and I wanted to be involved and be around the best skaters from then on. I had a slow start and did not get past skatepark sponsorship until 1981, when I toured the USA with Variflex and their top skaters of that time.
I knew the strength of good team, and as skating changed and the direction of that company changed, it led me to my next sponsor, Powell-Peralta, where I got on to be part of the best thing at the time. My role in the beginning was just to work with the team, not have a board, so I knew my place and how to work, although I'd rather not. With videos and contest wins and popularity from the consumer, two years later I had another pro board and good influence throughout the '80s.
In 1990 the industry was changing drastically. The pro skaters, contests, magazine coverage, product, and more were and had been the same for almost 10 years and it needed change. The promotion and availability of street skating made it possible for skaters all over to advance and excel quickly, and they needed homes to go to. The industry did not change quickly enough and it did not know what to do with the pros from the generations before. In fact, it did not even know what to do with the new kids.
Skating had never gone through a change like this before. It had always been slow progression, with one big standout skater or trick pushing it forward at one time. Now there were 100s of new kids doing something no pro had done before. This was the future of the business.
The industry splintered away from five major companies into more than 100. The industry had a whole new underground grassroots go-for-it approach. With this, guerilla marketing and lots of skater against skater, company against company garbage came out in the magazines, graphics and advertising. It really chased all others out shrunk skating down to a cool click, and although the vibe was funny to the small group involved, the whole of skating suffered. In fact, the focus went away from skating's greats to shock value or clever graphics, and only in the last few years have skating's standouts began to get their recognition again. This has not been because we as an industry are doing the right things. It is because outside money has provided them with a living.
As each company markets our skaters, we as an industry undermine the real influential guys to get market share and in doing so started devaluing all pros and putting all on the same level playing field to the buyer. We as a whole did not work together to better skateboarding; we worked in small groups against each other for market share. And the outcome is obvious. We have caused the consumer to get what they need somewhere else.
Of course skating is healthy, but the industry is not. The pro market has suffered from it and those are the ones who have always inspired us and pushed the level of possibility to all. I believe the defining pros are the ones who drive what we love, not the industry, and therein is my love for skating.
In 1990, the skateboard industry told me we have no place for you to make a living and provide for your family. At that time, I had to look around and search my heart for what I wanted to do. I had a deep desire to stay involved, have influence and try to be relevant somehow. I would have loved to stay a skateboarder for someone, but eggplants on the street course were going out of style.
The offers I was getting were financially a good thing, but my heart was telling me to trust in Jesus Christ, not man. That is a hard thing, I had the option to start my own company just like everyone else, but becoming a businessman was going to be hard. My plan was to stay Peter Pan my whole life.
I loved skating and felt He had always given that to me anyway, He gave me the friends, drive, opportunity, favor with the right people, the skill, if not just the life and breath and heartbeat to do whatever my dreams and desires were, which He also gave.
My draw to skating was the progression, freedom, individuality, search and hunt for new places and ways to do things, but most importantly, the people doing it on a level above. The personalities, styles and attitudes that make up the individual made me want to do it and know those who did it well...
The industry has been changing again and things have to change for the driving force of skating to be the pros, and I believe that it will come again. I want the top pros of today to have what I had in the '80s.
Everywhere we went, there were 10 or 20 kids riding our boards. There's nothing wrong with the do-it-yourself, make-it-yourself attitude we all have, that's why skateboarding rips. I still want to have influence and want the riders I have worked with to have as much influence and get to the highest level possible.
It is very easy to start a company and even run it at a level that works on paper, I could keep this up for another 15 years. But to have the same impact and influence or commercial success to new skaters to equal the level the skating coming from the riders is important to me. As I get older and was even hurt for the last 7 months I realize my interests are fully in wanting to skate as much as I can and see and meet new people and places before I don't have the chance to, not to sit behind a desk with my belly growing bigger.
This is unfair to my riders and makes it impossible to spend the time to bring up new riders the right way. That's why I'm sad and also very happy to say that The Firm has played its part, if only a small part in the skateboard industry. It's what it was and it was the best years so far in skating for me.
You will see big changes coming in the industry. It has to sort itself out and it will. You don't have to feel sorry, laugh, or gloat. Anyone who knows me knows that for me a name or a company is not were my heart is, it's in the act of skating and the relationships and experiences. The skaters involved happen to be some of the best of all-time and will find good homes, making the industry stronger and better. Their skating will still have huge influence. And that is where I find I was good, having friends that were great skateboarders.
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mall-boarding
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On 3/14/2006
buddy rawls
wrote in from
United States
(128.158.nnn.nnn)
Are we ever going to see true mainstream mall-boarding in CW?
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Keep Up The Good Work
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On 3/14/2006
Chris Chaput
wrote in from
United States
(66.116.nnn.nnn)
Michael, I am always pleasantly surprized by what I find in Concrete Wave. I think that your readers can "expect the unexpected" and not be disappointed. Because you embrace ALL aspects of skating, street, vert, racing, longboards, carving and cruising, you are free to put whatever types of skating that you want, and you don't have to worry about the fashion police trying to extort the "right" kind of (narrow lifestyle) coverage out of you. I think it's actually funny that people are always telling you what to do with your magazine. Not everyone will understand what your mission is, nor do they have to. The truth is, most people have never published anything successfully in their lives, but boy don't they have all of the answers. Not everyone "gets" where you are going with it, nor do they have to. And it's not as if you ignore the suggestions. I've seen you run with the ideas that FIT your vision, and pass on the ones that don't. You give people the option to take it or leave it, which is another way of saying accept it or reject it. Acceptance is taking the bad with the good, without feeling the need to change things - it's fine the way that it is, flawed as it may be. Rejection is another perfectly appropriate choice because nobody ever said that you have to accept everything. But the third choice will have people driving themselves crazy - tolerating. That's when you neither accept nor reject something. You grind your teeth and piss in the wind over things that you cannot change.
Whatver you do, don't listen to the people who just can't be pleased, and who don't have what it takes to please themselves. It's an excercise in futility that can only result in something that was designed by a disjointed and cancer stricken committee. Stick to your guns. I like what you've done so far. I share your passion and your vision of just how good it can be.
BTW, I loved seeing the Fatboy 6 wheeler in the Buyers Guide, and the 949 other products most of which you won't see anywhere else.
Pleasantly Surprized Again,
Chris Chaput
Skateboarder, Fan, Supporter
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a haphazard surprise....
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On 3/14/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.95.nnn.nnn)
Slim, I think the magazine is a manifestation of my passion for skateboarding...there a lots of things that go on behind the scenes, but at the end of the day, I would rather have the freedom to publish exactly what I want than to have a strict editorial focus.
Perhaps CW is somewhat of a fanzine and a magazine. Ironically, some of the things I read by "professional" reporters in "real" magazines and newspapers about skateboarding have been so way off, it's scary.
So, for now, we will continue to try and find that balance between being afloat (ie: paying the printer etc) and keeping things like a student newspaper...albeit one with intense focus.
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surprise
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On 3/13/2006
slim
wrote in from
(71.146.nnn.nnn)
"The key thing is that we want to keep surprising people..."
Hmm...I'm not sure a magazine, or any consumer product, can succeed with "surprising people" as its mission statement! Very few people want to be surprised by what they are getting when they spend their money.
Are you sure that's what you really want to do? Are you sure it's not just an elaborate justification for not being able to print the exact content you want? I mean, is Concrete Wave still largely (wholly?) populated with articles submitted by unpaid writers and photographers? If so, the magazine will always be somewhat haphazard, by necessity. For a magazine to have focus, it needs to have an editor who can assign stories to paid professionals and/or accept pitches from professional writers on stories they are interested in, pick the ones that would go together well in a future issue, and then pay for them to be written. Magazines that rely on submissions from amatures can be fun, but they're kind of like the student newspaper.
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To add to Mike's post
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On 3/13/2006
Bud
wrote in from
United States
(68.57.nnn.nnn)
Something that Mike forgot to mention in his post [below] is that CW tends to waver in coverage from issue to issue, in terms of what is covered. Historically, the Fall issue, for example, tends to be- for all practical matters- the "race wrap-up" issue, because of the amount huge number of summer races that happen on a yearly basis. There are issues that, likewise, tend to gravitate more toward pool/park riding, for similar reasons. Basically, although any given issue may be slanted this way or that way, on a yearlong basis, everything gets appropriate coverage... and, at the end of the day, it averages out quite nicely.
Expect to see even more things being included in The Wave in the future- we're just chock full 'o suprises 'round here.
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actually, the selling out comment was not about you...
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On 3/13/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.93.nnn.nnn)
Hi Chris
actually, the selling out accusation was found on another website...a guy accused me of selling out because the buyers guide had no real articles...weird accusation, because the guide is a bonus...and not a "true" issue...I mean, we only have 4 pages of actual articles and about 60 of product shots.
As for the regular issue, the increase in ad space is due to an increase in the number of copies being printed, moving to a wider format, the decrease in the US dollar (ouch, it dropped from 1.55 to 1.15!) and the fact that the mag moved from a part time gig to a full time gig.
Anyway, I think what I am trying to do, or have been trying for the last 18 months is to incorporate more things. No question, some issues have more slalom or longboarding...and other issues are heavier on pool and parks. Over the past 18 months, I came to the realization that in order to really foster change within skateboarding, we needed to show more of everything.
The key thing is that we want to keep surprising people...we DO want to keep it fresh without copying what other mags are doing. It's a very difficult balance. However, I think you'll find this issue will have a little more pool and parks, for example.
In terms of the first 18 months of the mag...I look back on that time as one of monumental learning...it was a very steep learning curve, trust me. There are things in the first few issues that worked and plenty that didn't. It makes me feel good that you enjoyed those issues.
I definitely want to keep you along with other readers excited about CW, and we are putting things in place to increase the level of intensity...continuous improvement is crucial.
The fact is that CW has aimed from the very beginning to not just be a different skate mag, but a different mag altogether. I am not interested in putting up bounderies or walls between my readers and the mag. That's why I do this forum. It's as important as the magazine for me.
cheers
Michael
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re:Your Blog
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On 3/13/2006 chris olden
wrote in from
United States
(69.237.nnn.nnn)
hey Michael,
Thanks for posting a reply to my post over at the C.D.
bulletin board. I appreciate the fact that you take the
time to read what's being said by your readers. I don't
think I accused you of "selling out". I did mention that
there seems to be a growing amount of advertising to edi-
torial content though.
That post at C.D. is just my opinion. It was not intended
as a "slam" towards CW.
My opinion is that CW is not capturing my imagination like
it did for the first 1 1/2-2 years that it was published.
I really looked forward to each issue arriving in the mail.
Now, I find myself not being so enthused about it.
While I still think that it's great that you are continuing
to cover the aspects of skateboarding that the major shoe
catalogs aren't showing, I think that the content has taken
a serious lean towards covering longboarding/slalom/downhill to almost
the exclusion of pool/pipe/ditches & reservoir/park riding(pictures
as well as articles).
Again, I continue to applaud your effort to cover, the "unknown"
aspects of skateboarding, as well as trying to foster a change
in how skateboarding is perceived. However, I'm also keeping my
fingers crossed that CW will again get me stoked when I see it
in the mail box.
chris olden
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what if all of skateboarding was in Kludyville
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On 3/13/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(64.229.nnn.nnn)
Bill Danforth said it best: "it doesn't matter what you're riding, as long as you're riding." That's why, I love that CW provokes people for a reaction. It gets the folks who've never seen slalom, freestyle, downhill etc to at least form a response (either verbal or non-verbal)...and for the folks who are old enough to remember this stuff the first (or second!) time round, it draws them in again.
Kludy is stoked. And I am stoked for Kludy.
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stoked
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On 3/12/2006 Anthony
wrote in from
United States
(68.49.nnn.nnn)
Hell yes, Rick
you da man
can't wait to visit Kludyville!!
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Skateboarders getting old
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On 3/12/2006 Kludy
wrote in from
United States
(68.7.nnn.nnn)
I drained my pool yesterday and today about 12 guys my sons age came by to skate it. The age whent from 18 to 12 within 5 mins.To skate anything any where is turely the fountain of youth!The young men that came today turned in to kids in just mins, thats what skateboarding does!Even I hit the light once in just day one which is very vert.Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ! My life rocks and to skate on a board keeps me very , very young. I love skateboarding and the racen is just a part of my life that is fun as fun can be, thats all there is to it.I jump from board to board, ride ramps, pools, dicthes, walls, and cones.
I am not great at any but love very much all of the above.I feel that does not make me hard core at all.Downhill is my ture love but again I am not the best , just like it alot! THATS SKATEBOARDING AND CW SHOWS WHAT MANY WILL NOT.I am now 44 years old and every time I step on a skateboard I am not thinking that hay better not fall and get hurt because I am to old but the mind over mater comes to play and I kill it! Thats the real deal and skaters never get to old to skate at any age. I love kicking around lemon grove ca. at 1 mile per hr. looking at stuff to this day.Just feel like sharing, hope its cool ?
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buyers guide s9 Add
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On 3/12/2006 no scanner
wrote in from
United States
(66.75.nnn.nnn)
anyone have a scan of the s9 add in the buyers guide? just wondering what kinda deck was under the stickers, looks like a..
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soul sk8brn
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On 3/12/2006
caddy
wrote in from
United States
(206.135.nnn.nnn)
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why does anybody do anything
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On 3/12/2006
Steve Collins
wrote in from
United States
(68.4.nnn.nnn)
I'm not knocking street. Street is cool. So is every other variation of skateboarding. If it's good it's good. I'm just agreeing with Kludy about our little world of racing. Who cares if it "goes anywhere"? F**k that. If it doesn't "go anywhere", will we all pack up and go home? Nope.
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Steve C
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On 3/12/2006
right on Ricker
wrote in from
United States
(65.19.nnn.nnn)
You are right Ryan I am no racer. I have been around it quite a bit in the last year. I will definately admit that Dh and the banked slalom at the Bear and at carmel last year was rowdy. I am a puss, I never would have even attempted to ride that course.
I am just am old wash up stirring the pot. I am a big puss who skates now and then. I am not serious and that is my point. I think a lot of people are like me and people beat up on the street scene a lot, so I am just reutrning the favor. I'm not trying to act hardcore or anything. I personally find pictures of someone running cones to be pretty boring. I just like to cruise around, flip my board around, do some grinds and more than likely heckle people. The whole racing subculture is just not my scene. I will be the first to admit that. And Ryan my street spot is sweet. I have never seen anyone else there so I guess I have nothing to complain about. I am just cynical, in general.
I also don't think racing will ever rush to the forefront of skating. That is simply my opinion. I think it is funny when people talk like it is. Just an opinion. But I do skateboard. I am not super rad or super hardcore. I just try to keep having fun. And sometimes it is fun to stir the pot.
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To Race
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On 3/12/2006
Steve Collins
wrote in from
United States
(68.4.nnn.nnn)
Kludy, I'm with you buddy. That one more thing is the only thing.
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Life vs Lifestyle
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On 3/12/2006
Chris Chaput
wrote in from
United States
(66.116.nnn.nnn)
Most racers embrace all forms of skateboarding, even if they don't participate in them. Most core skaters tend to embrace only the type skating that they are "allowed" to embrace - street and vert. And most of these skaters only get the chance to skate street, because vert is in short supply.
Because I always have (and always will) look at the skateboard market to include ALL types of skateboarding, "street" is just a subsection of the market. Yes, the demographic and the numbers in that subsection are huge right now, but "times they are a changin'". I think that performance based products will become a bigger piece of the pie, and I also think that performance based products will be largely responsible for increasing the size of the pie.
If you're one of those people who are worried that skateboarding is going to be invaded by the "wrong" types of skaters, you are absoultely justified in your fears. Popular forms of skateboarding are on the rise because they are fun, fast, affordable, and don't require the whole "one of us" core attitudes. It's really nice to go out and skate for the fun of it. With family, friends, or with those who are fiercely competitive.
Sorry core boys. You may have to find another way to demonstrate to the world how different and cool you are. How about trying to actually be different and cool instead of using skateboarding to define what you want to project? When you have a life, you don't need a "lifestyle".
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