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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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Re: Inclusion
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On 6/11/2006
Sumdumsurfer
wrote in from
United States
(71.107.nnn.nnn)
I feel like I'm an addict; Hi, my name is Mark and I'm addicted to skateboarding. HAHA!!
Inclusion? I've never really cared. I started skateboarding because it was something that helped me deal with the loss of my Dad when I was ten years of age. I just turned fortyfour and I'm still skating and surfing. Through the years, it's always been outsiders (meaning people that didn't know me) that've always said something like, "Aren't you a little OLD to be skateboarding or surfing?" I've heard that from the time I was a teenager till now. Although my family/friends/neighbors have always supported my surf/skate passion. The other one that also made/makes me laugh is, "Why do you skate or surf? You'll never amount to anything if you do those things." Maybe they're right... I probably never will. But I'll be a helluva lot happier and enjoying life a lot more than your average person.
So, yes... I'll be quite happy skating or surfing my boards, and not amounting to anything in society's eyes. If I'm included when I go to a skate sesh or not, I'm happy... and that's why I love being on my boards, whether I'm alone or with a few people. Either way, I'm STOKED. Skate and surfboards are like lifelong friends; they're always there, waiting for you. Through the bad times, good times, and everything in between. I recently lost my Mom and once again... I turned to my boards to help deal with my family's loss. Hence why I've been on my paddleboards, surfboards, and skateboards even more, these days. I dig all disciplines of skateboarding and I hope that I can ride boards for another 34 years. If skating comes and goes with the mainstream, I'll still be skating. Like I said... I really don't care what anyone thinks... I skate for me. Period.
SK8/SURF 4 LIFE!
Sumdumsurfer <---proud skate/surf addict!
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Inclusion
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On 6/10/2006 David V.
wrote in from
United States
(67.42.nnn.nnn)
Yah, I do feel included, but in a novelty sort of way. At 40+ and as the only adult skater in my area, I also feel unique. The local new schoolers my kids hang with see me as the "cool retro dad" or " twirlin' hippie" as my son calls me! Sometimes it's tough for me to explain to a kid who street skates why I'm perfectly happy simply cruising, carving up a hill or throwing down berts on the driveway. My local shops and parks don't really cater to old school or longboarding, but the smile on my face and the holes in my Vans tell the story--I've been around awhile, my style is different, but I belong--and I've yet to feel that I don't.
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inclusion
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On 6/10/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(67.70.nnn.nnn)
I'd like to change the subject here and talk about INCLUSION.
Do you feel included?
Do you feel a part of the skate community?
I think if you're at this site, you feel something...but what about your local scene?
It's taken a long time for longboarding to reach, Thornhill ONTARIO but I am happy to report, things are rolling.
How do you feel about inclusion?
At the local skate level, at the shop level and nationally?
Or do you care?
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NO YOUR OWN LIMiTS
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On 6/9/2006 Philife ECS
wrote in from
United Kingdom
(193.113.nnn.nnn)
I wear a helmet with no knee pads or elbow pads. Im into sliding. It helps coz I can slow down. I dont recommend going really fast without a helmet its crucial to your survival and sometimes your going to fast or its just to late to pull into a slide. I dont wear other pads coz I where two pairs of trousers - one to slide off the other - rather than my skin (like a nasty gravelcarpet burn). My skate buddy never wears a helmet and i think he is crazy but its what he likes. My point is we all have our own level of risk assessment - stick to it and dont be swayed to do anything beyond your own limits or what oyu dont fee comfortable with. We are our own judges and that works best. Do what you feel is right.
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Back to Black - A short story Part 1
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On 6/8/2006
JLS
wrote in from
United States
(71.9.nnn.nnn)
He had stood in this same spot thirty years earlier. From the summit, the road stretched out before him, a mile long, downhill stretch of smooth asphalt. It almost seemed steeper now than it had back then, was that possible he thought to himself.
In 1975 he was the fastest skateboarder in the world, approaching speeds of close to 50mph on what was then state of the art gear, a 24” Bahne fiberglass deck, Chicago Trucks and Cadillac Wheels. He rode in long pants, slip on Vans and no t-shirt. His safety gear consisted of his yoga training, self-confidence, a helmet and most important of all, the immortality one feels at the tender age of nineteen. He would never fall, it just wasn’t possible. Death never even crossed his mind.
He was the fastest skateboarder in the world, yet had never entered an official race. Oh, sure he had won many informal Sunday afternoon races on the fresh black top hills of Box Canyon. Going fast was something that came naturally to him, first running, then surfing and now skateboarding. When the new urethane wheels started finding their way onto skateboards throughout Southern California, he was lucky enough to be working for a surfboard manufacturer who saw there was money to be made, and quickly switched their production to fiberglass skateboards equipped with these new wonder rollers.
He progressed quickly from the sidewalk slope in front of the shop to the long, black, sweeping hills of the numerous housing tracts spread across the hills of northern San Diego county. He soon discovered that he was very comfortable going fast. At first 30mph seemed fast, but as the weeks passed his speeds continued to climb, 40mph, then 45mph. Soon he was knocking on the door of 50mph. He was never scared, it became his special place, a place others had yet to discover, a place he felt totally free. It was almost as if here he were flying, the wind rushing past, the tears welling in his eyes, the total concentration…nothing else mattered for those few seconds when he felt the bonds of gravity fall away.
He was good. He was lucky. It was a fall afternoon when some guy with a fancy Nikon camera showed up at Box Canyon. The guy began shooting photos as he made run after run from higher on the hill, pushing harder each time, straining to make his tuck tighter and more aerodynamic, trying to milk every possible mile per hour from the hill. When he was finished for the day, the photographer walked over and introduced himself as the photo editor of Skateboarder Magazine, and asked him a bunch of questions about his skating. The shooter asked him to sign a photo release before he left and then told him to keep an eye out for the next issue of the magazine.
Everything exploded over the next few months. He did watch for the next issue of the magazine and was surprised to see himself in a two page center spread. The following issue, he was featured in a “Who’s Hot”, which was followed by cover shot and interview in the next edition. He was soon being called the “fastest skateboarder in the world”. The photo editor had become the editor. As their friendship grew, the editor became Cosell to his Ali.
It all came at him fast, endorsements, travel, consulting jobs, announcing gigs and even the occasional skate groupie. He was a professional skateboarder, paid to play, a dream come true.
And just as suddenly it was over. A mid-week practice session at Black Hill, he wasn’t even going that fast, maybe 25mph. The kid just stepped off the curb right into his path, no time to turn, so he just jumped off and tried to run it out. The first step was fine, the second wasn’t. He felt his left knee give way in a twisting, burning flash of pain, even before his body hit the ground he knew his ride was over.
This was in the days before arthroscopic surgery, the ACL in his left knee was shredded. The surgery was seven hours, the scar was nine inches long and the rehab took was more than a year.
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Back to Black - A short story Part 2
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On 6/8/2006
JLS
wrote in from
United States
(71.9.nnn.nnn)
By the time he could even stand on a skateboard again, everything had changed, no one cared about downhill or slalom anymore, the skateboarding world’s focus was vertical. His wasn’t. The ride was indeed over, it was all gone.
As he stared down the hill, he couldn’t believe that this new generation of skaters even knew who he was. The first call had come a couple of years ago, not from a young skater, but from an older one, close to his age. The skater who was now a race promoter wanted him to be the announcer at a race being held on Catalina Island. The promoter told him of how “the world’s fastest skateboarder” had been his first skateboarding hero, how he tried to skate like him, dress like him and even wear his hair like him.
He readily agreed to serve as the announcer and over the next two years he provided commentary for numerous races, a few even ended up on Fox Sports and ESPN. Racers both young and old treated him with great respect, somewhat like a tribal elder. Slowly he began to skate again, venturing into the canyons that surrounded his high desert home. The new equipment was amazing, the wheels fast and smooth, the trucks stable and the deck firm. He was scared at first, the knee had long since healed, his confidence hadn’t. He began with small hills and lots of turns, as the pounds fell away from the uphill walks he moved to bigger hills with less turns, more speed. It felt good, it felt the same.
He knew where it would take him, he didn’t even try to pretend. One morning he woke up before dawn and as he sat drinking his coffee, glanced at the framed center spread on his living room wall, he knew it was time. Packing his gear into his car he felt incredibly calm, with each passing mile he drew closer to Black Hill, with each passing mile he wasn’t quite so sure this was a good idea. And then he was there, the sun coming up over the ridge, chasing away the cold. He sat in the car for a few minutes, just remembering…wondering.
He was glad he had come early, the road was now lined with mini-mansions, a far cry from the halcyon days of his youth, when you could skate for hours, with your only company being hawks and coyotes. These days he wore pads and a helmet, he slowly pulled them on, then checked his trucks, spun his wheels and set the skateboard on the ground.
Now he was rolling, upright at first, then sinking into a hands forward tuck, the way he did when he first began going fast so long ago. As his speed picked up, he positioned his arms along side his body, hands trailing behind him, his back flat…the magazine had called it the “new fairing” when he had unveiled it. It was still the standard thirty years later.
The first curve came on quickly, his line was perfect. And now into the short, steep chute his speed was approaching 40mph, the big left was coming on fast, a quick air brake and he settled in for the final straightaway. It felt like he was somewhere in the neighborhood of 60mph, he felt good, he felt in control again. And then a movement a few hundred feet in front of him caught his attention, a dog coming down one of the yards, maybe he’ll stop before the road he hoped. It did, for a moment and then it began moving again, out onto the street. He began to gradually move his line to the other side of the road, another few seconds and he would be past the golden retriever. The dog cocked it’s head, hearing the sound of spinning wheels, and then it turned and saw the speeding skater. It sprang forward, all it saw was something to chase, something to play with.
It was too late, he was moving too fast, their paths were destined to collide, he started to come out of his tuck, but realizing that there was no way he could run this one out he reached down and grabbed his rail. He had only recently learned Coleman slides, but had never attempted one at more than 30mph. His grip was firm, he brought the board around, dropped his trailing hand onto the asphalt, he saw the dog flash by inches away. He was slowing, probably 45mph now, he was home free. He never saw the manhole cover, just felt it as the sliding stopped and his flight began. He was sailing through the air with his back parallel to the ground and his head facing downhill.
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Back to Black - A short story Part 3
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On 6/8/2006
JLS
wrote in from
United States
(71.9.nnn.nnn)
It was quiet, quiet for too long. Long enough to see that your life does really flash before your eyes in situations like this. His parents, his ex-wife, his sons, one of who had died much too young, they were all there. Weddings, friends, surf sessions, skate sessions, old teachers…the quiet was much too long. Am I already dead he thought. Is this what death is? Silence, with a never ending loop of life playing in your head.
And then with the noise and pain he had his answer, he wasn’t dead. He was sliding on his back, praying he would stop before he hit the curb. He didn’t, he felt the impact, heard his helmet shatter. Then nothing, just black and the quiet again. Then wet, lots of wet, but it wasn’t blood. The golden retriever was licking his face, he was alive, hell he didn’t even think he was hurt that bad, nothing seemed broken.
Now the dog was being pulled away by a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and the most incredible blue eyes he had ever seen. She kept asking if he was okay, and saying that she was so sorry the dog had caused him to crash. He was now sitting up, his head beginning to clear. Her face was now in focus, he had seen this woman before. He looked across this street and saw a blue convertible sports car with it’s door still open. “Yours”, he asked? “Yes” she replied. He pointed to the dog, “yours also”? “That’s Boomer”, she answered. And then it came to him, where he had seen her before. At the marina, where he would spend the day wandering the docks looking at sailboats, dreaming of someday owning one, sailing away with no plan. He had seen her at the marina. Maybe he had even seen her on one of the sailboats. By now he was recovered enough to steal a glance at her left hand, no ring. He smiled, she asked again, “are you sure you’re okay”? “How about a lift to the top” he said. She smiled back, “Sure, my name is Cathy by the way”.
Once again this hill had changed his life. Today’s ride would be the last. He knew it was over the moment he saw her, the moment he got lost in those blue eyes.
As she drove him back up the hill, she turned to him and asked, “aren’t you a little to old to be riding a skateboard”? Before he could reply, she smiled and said, “Just teasing. Sorry, sometimes I can be a real smart ass”. He turned and looked back down the hill, and then at her, this time he knew he was going the right way.
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Who's Who
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On 6/8/2006
cad
wrote in from
United States
(71.105.nnn.nnn)
BLKPRJKT!!
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pads
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On 6/8/2006 Gary H.
wrote in from
United States
(71.139.nnn.nnn)
Geezer X, check your mail, need risers! : )
Sheesh I had no idea that you had a tumor; I am glad your doing well and back on a skateboard.
I wear pads/helmet at the park/pool and when I slalom (not too often), but when I ride freestyle I don't. Yes I know it is a risk.
keep rollin'
Gary H.
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Mitigating risk
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On 6/7/2006
Geezer-X
wrote in from
United States
(151.200.nnn.nnn)
My perspective is skewed by the fact that a really big slam led to the discovery of my brain tumor, for which I've had the necessary surgery and am very fortunate to at about 100% and back at work 3 weeks after. That said...
I love my helmets and pads and leathers and back protectors. I also dig my safety glasses, muffs, and work gloves.
I did some pretty diligent work for a long time abusing myself not through drink, smoke, and drugs, but through crashing bikes and skateboards and motorcycles and stage diving and all that sort of nonsense. about 20 years as a drummer in loud bands earned me some seriously used-up hands and shoulders and a nice case of tinnitus as well as moderate hearing loss. Decades of exposure to all sorts of nasty organic solvents may well have played a role in the little friend I grew in my right frontal lobe for many years.
I really wish I'd gotten down with earplugs and respirators years sooner, but they weren't *cool* .
I was riding in a few parks out west 2 months ago (if you're in Vegas, go ride Anthem. Please) and unless a pad-nanny demanded compliance, I was invariably the only voluntary skater with a full complement of Pro-designed's finest guarding my sharper corners.
Maybe the kids on the steps and rails have gotten so good at falling (and they do, about 95% of the time) that they never get it wrong. Maybe they're just wicked resilient. I know that it took a single unpadded slam to teach this old dog his lesson, and that was about 4 years ago.
A lesson motorcyclists who want to do it for a lifetime learn is that you can't ever go any faster on the street than you'd be willing to be going when you encounter a car turning left into you path or finding gravel in a corner.
The same applies to downhilling. I suspect every one of us has had that puckering moment of realizing that we Just Had To Ride It Out and that we were going to have to adjust our standards for how fast was too fast, right now.
Some of us emerged unscathed and exhilerated, some had some gnar roadrash to clean up, and some fare worse.
Maybe this tragic event will spur some outreach from those who know how to stop. maybe it will underscore pre-running your hill and making sure there's runnout.
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Going Fast . . . Standing Still . . . and Responsibility
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On 6/7/2006
WT
wrote in from
United States
(64.12.nnn.nnn)
Not to sound insensitive, but I have to say there is not a direct correlation between SPEED and DANGER. Yes, speed can be dangerous. So can standing still.
Two skaters I know (and some of you know) are Bobo and Patio. Both suffered serious head trauma while skateboarding. Both were practically standing still when it happened (maybe Patio was moving. I do know, though, that he was in no way engaged in some sort of headlong sprint when he fell.)
Yes, you can break bones and suffer head trauma at speed. You can also break bones and suffer head trauma if you twist your ankle stepping off a curb.
I suppose you could sit at home on the couch and not move and avoid all injury . . . it would just take a little longer for your arteries to turn into clay and you die of heart failure or a stroke.
What's the answer? There isn't one. The only thing to do is always exert yourself in a RESPONSIBLE MANNER. If you downhill, downhill responsibly. If you grind curbs and rails, do so responsibly. If you slalom, be responsible for your skating.
Now comes the bigger question: what's "responsible?" Well, that's for YOU to determine. Sometimes irresponsibility is easy. It's like porn: you know when you see it. Being responsible, however, takes a little more effort to recognize. You know what you can do responsibly. You know your limits and you know what's out of bounds . . . for you.
I can't think of a single instance where it's responsible to skate without a helmet, but that's for you to determine, not me. Personally, I don't think I've skated without a lid since 2002. I skate sometimes without pads but for some reason that goes back decades I don't feel comfortable on a board without my gloves. That's me. What you do is your idea of being responsible.
I liked John Pyles' answer about whether or not he'd destroy Joe's longboard. "Somebody asked me the other day, 'Did you take your son's longboard and cut it up and throw it in the garbage?'" Brooks said. "If anyone needs to cut it up and throw it away, it's going to be him. He's the one who needs to realize what a danger that is."
Mr. Pyles is right on the money. It's Joe's RESPONSIBILITY to make that decision when (and I do mean WHEN) he recovers. Joe may very well decide he's had enough of longboarding.
Or he may decide he needs to improve his braking techniqie and work more on his board control at speed.
Whichever decision he makes, though is his RESPONSIBILITY.
P.S. I will pass judgement on video skate media. I find it incredibly irresponsible how FUEL and other sources constantly show vids of guys railing and curbing completely padless. It's something that grates on me. Sometimes I wonder if all these guys skate that way or if the videographer says, "take off your helmet before this shot. It'll look a lot cooler!"
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safety gear...and common sense
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On 6/7/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.93.nnn.nnn)
You know, a lot of folks have serious issues with how skateboarding is portrayed...but whatever your feelings, one thing is for certain, if you are bombing hills, you are CRAZY not to have some sort of protection AND common sense.
Kludy is bang on the money...if you are new to downhill skateboarding, you need to progress carefully.
For the next evolutions dvd we are trying to get some coleman slide instructions...
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another story...from Seattle
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On 6/7/2006
Adam
wrote in from
United States
(198.144.nnn.nnn)
This looks related to a post by Jim Weir on 6/1/2006 in the Speedboarding forum.
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Where is it safe to ride longboards
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On 6/7/2006 Kludy Sr.
wrote in from
United States
(64.60.nnn.nnn)
Parking stuctures and I love the Sector nine and Victors Idea . Give us that on a saturday nite. Its safe and a controled place to learn, just dont hit the wall! Haa
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Skateboarding fast
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On 6/7/2006
Kludy Sr.
wrote in from
United States
(64.60.nnn.nnn)
It blows my mind how many kids are starting to bomb hills in the last two years and alot of it may be starting here on N.C.D.S.A. They read how fast we go and its turns them on but we need to start posted the safest places to do it and to be honest the inner city crew is not helping just showing more kids how to get hurt bad. They ride all night between cars, run from the cops and with no regard for there own safey.I like them alot and have been out with them, great guys but to show them bombing cities streets at midnight is bad because of kids that dont know whats up on a skateboard can die real fast. I have been racing for over 9 years and now my two sons are starting. They only ride down big hills with no turn outs and few drive ways and no stop signs.I have showed them how to use slide gloves and to wear a helmet and how to come off a skateboard if need be. I would hate to think that all these years and all our racing could come to a end because of kids not knowing whats up.Even the races as of late, DB5 was great but alot of newbbes could not stop there skateboard at the end, Flying over hay bails into and across the live road into the woods over the top of each other and under the truck. That was crazy to watch so the worker came over to me and asked , HOW CAN I STOP THIS,I said to move the finish line up 500 feet and it stopped. My point is teach safly and if you like to go fast on a skateboard by god learn how to use it!
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LONGBOARD CRASHES
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On 6/7/2006
HACKETT - BLACK LEATHER RACING
wrote in from
United States
(68.66.nnn.nnn)
Michael, that is a very sad story about that kid crashing and losing his leg and smashing his face due to his high speed crash on his longboard.
That could have been avoided, if he had a brake installed on his longboard like the little girl in the photo above. Look at her- No pads, no gloves, smile on her face- in control, knowing she can stop (or slow down) at any time.
I have been working with the inventor of this great new patented product that can be applied to any longboard- PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS and AMATEURS! - So if anyone is interested in more information or buying some, please contact me at:
hackettslash@gmail.com
HACKMAN
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Brooke's Background Check
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On 6/7/2006
Sumdumsurfer
wrote in from
United States
(71.107.nnn.nnn)
Ah... scared ya, didn't I, Michael? LOL!
Seriously, though... I think that's the first post, in this forum, that you've ever had on a grey background. As opposed to a blue one. God, I MUST be bored to notice such things. Ha! Time to go surf.
SK8/SURF 4 LIFE!
Sumdumsurfer
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another story...from Seattle
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On 6/7/2006 Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.95.nnn.nnn)
Skateboard crash imperils boy's life
A Mukilteo teen lost control while riding a skateboard and hit a parked vehicle.
By Scott Pesznecker
Herald Writer
MUKILTEO - John Pyles didn't think twice about giving his son a specialized skateboard for his birthday.
Now he'd give anything to take it back.
His son, 15-year-old Joe Pyles, is in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He suffered life-threatening injuries May 17 when he lost control of his longboard on a steep, winding road in Mukilteo and slammed into a parked sport utility vehicle, Mukilteo police said.
Since then, doctors have kept him heavily sedated because his injuries are so severe.
"It's your worst nightmare times 10,000," John Pyles said. "For the first few days, I kept hoping I'd wake up out of this nightmare, and then reality starts setting in."
Every bone in Joe's face was broken. He also suffered a punctured liver, ruptured spleen and a fractured right femur. Doctors had to amputate his right leg.
His condition has improved since then, according to a journal his family has posted on the Internet.
Joe's pupils are responding to changes in light, and he's showing signs of recognizing friends and family members. Doctors began reconstructive surgery on his face last week.
Family and friends have stayed at Joe's bedside since the accident.
Several of his classmates at Kamiak High School shaved his initials into their heads, and some have styled their hair into "JoHawks," said Chelsi Brooks, the older sister of Joe's best friend, Mitch Brooks.
Joe has played high school football and had enjoyed skateboarding, snowboarding and baseball, his father said.
"This is a very active kid," John Pyles said. "He's going to have an extremely hard time adjusting to the changes in his life."
Longboards are wider, longer skateboards. They're more stable than skateboards at high speeds, and they're faster because of their larger wheels, said Matt Gormley, owner of Frontside Board Shop in Monroe.
They can easily exceed 40 mph on downhill stretches, he said.
"To bomb hills, that's not traditionally what a longboard would be used for," Gormley said. "For the most part, a longboard is just going to be like a sidewalk surfer."
Longboards were novelties five years ago, but now they can be bought almost any place that sells skateboards, Gormley said. They've become more popular because they appeal to a more mellow crowd, he said.
"It's for someone who's looking for the feeling of a skateboard under their feet, but doesn't want to do tricks or go to a park, just cruise," he said.
"It's super unfortunate for young kids to get hurt," he added.
John Pyles said he didn't know longboards were capable of going so fast. Had he known, he would not have bought one for his son.
"There's nothing on the road right now that can run these kinds of speeds without brakes on," Pyles said.
Tony Woodward, division chief of emergency medicine at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, said the bigger problem is where people choose to board.
When speeding down a hill, skateboarders and longboarders don't have enough time to safely react to parked or moving cars, he said.
Also, safety gear isn't designed to protect someone who is skateboarding too fast, Woodward said.
People should use designated skate parks, he said.
"Kids who are going 30 to 40 mph are usually pretty good at what they're doing, they just aren't doing it in a safe environment," Woodward said.
Joe and his friend, Mitch, often went longboarding together. David Brooks, Mitch's father, said he's talked to his son several times since the accident about the dangers of their sport.
Brooks isn't sure whether Mitch will longboard again.
It's up to him, his father said.
"Somebody asked me the other day, 'Did you take your son's longboard and cut it up and throw it in the garbage?'" Brooks said. "If anyone needs to cut it up and throw it away, it's going to be him. He's the one who needs to realize what a danger that is."
The crash happened about a mile from where Joe lives with his father.
John Pyles, a concrete worker, has continued working to maintain his health insurance benefits. The rest of his time is spent at the hospital.
He seldom sleeps more than a few hours a night.
"You sit here with all this time, and your mind runs crazy," Pyles said.
The worst part for Pyles is not being able to help his son. It's too early to predict how Joe will recover, he said.
He only hopes others might learn from his family's pain.
"It doesn't matter what time it happened, it happened," he said. "It could have happened to anyone."
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From San Diego Newspaper
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On 6/7/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.95.nnn.nnn)
BOMBING SAN DIEGO
Downhill skateboarding blows up… safely
by Michael Klam
Downhill skateboarders risk breaking bones for the sake of an adrenaline rush. They go searching for perfectly paved runs—steep, smooth roads, ditches and parking structures—where they push the limits, going faster and longer than ever before.
The city is their playground, but it’s not all fun and games. Since the advent of longboarding, downhillers have been living in a perpetual Tom and Jerry episode, pitted against security guards and police. The typical scene: a crew of skaters at 3 a.m. spot a cop and scatter from a hardcore session of bombing—racing, carving and sliding—down a nearly empty concourse parking structure.
The authorities say riders aren’t supposed to be there. Yet the skaters’ passion for their sport—particularly their desire for speed—overrides any official doctrine. They break the rules without hesitation.
Downhill skateboarding is not a crime.
The sport and its riders, however, have matured since the Dogtown days of reckless abandon. As safety and precaution have become the norm, the skaters have developed new ways to deal with overzealous security guards.
“We try to talk to them,” says Tye Donnelly of the Inner Vision crew. Donnelly makes longboard skateboards out of exotic woods, and his team travels all over Southern California and Hawaii in search of new spots to skate. “We’ve converted some of them,” he says.
Donnelly and his Inner Vision partners, Darrin Neiner and Brian Ward, show the guards their equipment: helmets, knee and elbow pads and slider gloves—hand protection used for sliding to a complete stop after reaching speeds of up to 45 mph.
“We treat it almost like a job,” says Ward. “We do our best to stay injury-free. We don’t get drunk and skate. We’re not being foolish.”
All three members of the crew are working professionals in their 30s—not hellions out wreaking havoc and thrashing all night. Both Donnelly and Neiner have small children at home.
“We’re constantly pushing each other to the next level,” says Neiner. “We don’t limit ourselves, and that means we have to focus on equipment and safety.”
Steve Lake, founder of Sector Nine skateboards, agrees that caution is imperative. “Anytime you choose to go down a hill without any brakes, it’s going to be dangerous,” he says.
Lake estimates that 85 percent of people riding longboards use them for transport, to ride to the beach or across town, and to have a good time. If he were to give any advice to the other 15 percent about hardcore downhilling, it would be safety-related. “I’ve seen what can happen. People fall, hit their heads and end up in a coma. They can fall and die. There’s a time and a place for [downhilling], and it’s not for everybody,” he says.
Lake and partners Dennis Telfer, Dave Klimkiewicz and E.G. Fratantaro put longboarding on the map for good in 1993. They mass-produced the boards and brought them to the mainstream.
Telfer started it all by attaching trucks and wheels to a Burton snowboard. People saw him bombing hills, using the alluring surf-style carving method, and asked Lake and his crew to hook ’em up.
Sector Nine skateboards basically began in Lake’s parents’ backyard in La Jolla. His crew made long pintails out of plywood and fiberglass and sold the first boards for $25 each. Lake’s parents soon stepped in and helped the crew out with an initial investment of $10,000. About a year later, their first big contract for longboards came from a Japanese distributor.
Now Sector Nine boards sell for $150 a pop, and the business is thriving not only for Lake and his colleagues, but also for other local companies, including Gravity, Dregs and Silverfish.
However, Lake says that for Sector Nine, it was never about revenue. “We look forward to going to work every day,” he says. “We wanted to create a product where people could cruise and have a good time. It’s just as much about that as anything else.”
Victor Earhart, 60-year-old skateboard legend, longboard history guru and a board maker for Sector Nine, has been bombing hills in San Diego since 1963. He’s one of the sport’s most colorful and knowledgeable characters. He says Sector Nine came along at a good time, when nobody else was making that kind of product. Now, he says, it’s time for the city to admit that the sport’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Earhart and Lake both agree that the city of San Diego should allow skaters to use existing parking garages after hours.
“We need somebody with a law degree to go to City Council meetings and propose a night where the police department blocks off a space for longboarding,” Earhart says. “I look like Charlie Manson, so if I showed up at a council meeting, they would tell me to grab a broom and a dustpan and start sweeping.”
The International Association of Skateboarding is sponsoring Go Skateboarding Day on June 21;
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Bearing
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On 6/6/2006 Jamie M
wrote in from
Canada
(65.93.nnn.nnn)
Just read Buds article on bearings and maintainence. Nice job!!!!
Family guy hands down. Don't watch it all the time, but I laugh every time that I do!
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Simpsons Rule
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On 6/6/2006 jaybyrd
wrote in from
United States
(64.219.nnn.nnn)
Ahh Haa,
Bart killed Kenny!
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Re: Simpsons vs. Southwhatsitsname
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On 6/5/2006
Sumdumsurfer
wrote in from
United States
(71.107.nnn.nnn)
No contest! The Simpsons dates back to being a cartoon in 1987 (The Tracy Ullman Show) and before that, I'd read them (Life In Hell) as a comic strip in a local underground magazine called Uncle Jam.
Besides, like what's been previously posted, The Simpsons' humor and quotes are easy to remember, whereas Southwhatitsname and The Family Guy are easily forgotten. I'd say that the Southwhatever show is the bottom of the barrel. In my opinion, television would rule if it were nothing but The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and Beavis & Butthead 24hrs. a day and 7 days a week. Of course, my surf and skateboard time would go down a lot. LOL! Hence why today's television is a thorough waste of my time. Thank God for skating/surfing.
SK8/SURF 4 LIFE!
Sumdumsurfer
www.teamgoononline.com
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good question, Wes
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On 6/5/2006
Michael Brooke
wrote in from
Canada
(65.95.nnn.nnn)
Ok, Family Guy vs South Park....
we'll take a few more posts, then back to our regularly scheduled program
: )
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Prime Time Cartoons
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On 6/5/2006
WT
wrote in from
United States
(205.188.nnn.nnn)
Well, since you asked . . .
THE SIMPSONS is a better show. The reason is simple: THE FAMILY GUY uses a humor that PANDERS to its audience. Sure, you laugh, but the next day you forget what made you laugh. THE SIMPSONS, though, INNOVATES and STIMULATES with it's humor. Thus, we remember all the great dialogue, funny situations and less than subtle innuendo.
THE FAMILY GUY is a cartoon sitcom that does some crazy stuff because live action won't allow it. THE SIMPSONS is an animated commentary that never fails to deliver on a promise of a funny half hour.
What's more remarkable is THE SIMPSONS have now kept it up through 18 years and 100s of episodes. THE FAMILY GUY even got cancelled and only barely got a second chance after FOX realized it's huge upfront investment in animation wouldn't be recovered with so few episodes for syndication. (Yes, TV execs really do worry about profit and losses along with biting social activism.)
Now, though, comes the REALLY BIG QUESTION:
Which is better, THE SIMPSONS or . . .
SOUTH PARK?
My vote still goes to THE SIMPSONS, but SOUTH PARK trounces THE FAMILY GUY for 2nd place.
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ewww
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On 6/5/2006 snoball
wrote in from
(70.127.nnn.nnn)
The Family Guy s-u-c-k-s.
Might as well have a cartoon written by englbert humperdink and Ralph Wiggum.
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