Why Nora Vasconcellos is the future of skateboarding
huckmagazine.com
huckmagazine.com
Sometimes teenagers would buy their own bicycles with their own money earned through doing actual work. However when it came to BMX and skateboard sales it would always be a parent that would be paying, with the child being one of those that has to walk three metres behind their mummy in a very teenage way. None of the skate/BMX crew had any money themselves and most were not that employable even in sales assistant roles (such as mine).
I also found it funny how important it was for BMX/skater types to get 'sponsored'. Someone might give them a T-shirt once and they then think they are 'ambassador to the brand' or some such nonsense. In their quest for validation on small wheels they ended up just trundling up and down the same ramps in the officially mandated skatepark and that was about it.
So this is the problem with the 'future of skateboarding' - the people that skateboard are skint and there just is not going to be a time when every town has a skateboarding shop. It is a sport where the boards/wheels bearings and T-shirts can be sold entirely online.
Besides, if you snap a board or pop some bearings early in a session being able to wander over to a local store and pick a replacement is a big deal. Back in the day I'd happily have paid the bricks & mortar premium if it meant rescuing a day skating from an early trip home!
The other thing is, as much as people make fun of those seeking validation, the fact is, everyone needs validation and attention. The big difference is that some people are getting it easily, for example because they are good in more popular sport or can be funny or something. So you know, if they can get that need filled by going up and down ramp, then good for them. It is actually healthy way to deal with that need (the us vs them culture that tends to arise is other issue).
The irony is that one of the most valuable lessons that skateboarding teaches you is:
You learn to not give a shit, and that's where all
the power, like, really lies.
- Nora Vasconcellos
Which I fully agree is a good thing.
Why? This feels like ageism. It's not like skateboarders start to fade away as soon as they hit 20-25 anymore (especially street). The culture evolves with better emphasis into physical training[0], warming up, stretching, healthy food, and less binging/smoking/whatever, and from Rodney Mullen[3] to Andrew Reynolds and especially Neen Williams[4] they promote healthier lifestyles and keep pushing at it well past their "prime". Relevancy doesn't stop when someone younger lands a better trick than the previous guy/gal.
Also, Nora's the future because she's a beacon that people can look up to, and the community's reaction and actions† also help set the tone for a more inclusive culture.
Anecdata: at our local spot the number of girls that show some interest in skateboarding seems to be increasing lately, and when we show them role models like Nora, but also Lacey Baker[1] and Leticia Bufoni[2], they're like "wow, I can do this, I can fit in this community".
> and the boys have some catching up to do
Personal pet peeve: I don't like that, as discrimination only stops when we stop talking about it, and this just fosters an "us vs them" attitude, even if jokingly so.
† that Adidas video is spot on
[0]: https://www.thedailypush.com
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17s7o2yBXrE
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fZWCxPevHU
[3]: (this guy is 50, can you believe that?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3tDvMG87Ro
As an ageing skateboarder I whish that would be the case. But it's not just about keeping physically fit and keep doing your tricks. Skating is an ever evolving art and the young folks are the ones providing fresh ideas and new styles.
Yes, the young generation definitely dictates the mainstream evolution of the skateboard culture. On the other side skating is probably one of the sports where if you get to a pro level, you can stay there for a long time (barring significant injuries and knee/ankle degradation). It is also an inspiration to see people like Daewon Song, who has been advancing and refining his style for ~25 years to still be active and also still up there with the best.
> Daewon Song
He and Mullen definitely still have a great influence on skateboarding, maybe some people feel like they're "stuck in their own styles", or releasing to a trickle, I'd rather see them chiseling and chipping to perfection, and pushing boundaries. Then Killian Martin takes a hint or three from their latest parts and mix it with his creativity, creating a style of his own.
I'm not sure what the dig at skaters in it just for the Olympics is about. If the sport makes it in the Olympics, the best skateboarders may well be the ones that treat it like a sport. Is there such a thing as living the "gymnast" or "swimmers" lifestyle?
I don't know if it was on purpose, but that last part sounded quite condescending.
As for posers, skateboarding historically has gone through waves of popularity. It's cool, then it's not, then it is again. The people that skated during the time where it was uncool are obviously going to be defensive when all of a sudden it's cool again and there's a large influx of people who have no regard for the culture.
I'm personally for inclusion, but I also think that if there wasn't some degree of "gatekeeping" then the cultural side of skating would have been diluted long ago. And perhaps as a result of that the sport wouldn't have survived the periods where it was seen as something that only freaks and geeks did.
> I'm personally for inclusion, but I also think that if there wasn't some degree of "gatekeeping" then the cultural side of skating would have been diluted long ago.
As a skateboarder I feel it's more than that, and doesn't relate to the "coolness" much. I don't really care that people that never set a foot on a board wear Thrasher or Vans shirts. What really binds us skateboarders together is some core value, because to practice this sport, you have to be dedicated to such a level, or else you just give up because it's so incredibly punishing. That we have to have this passion burning inside of us, that our sole adversary is ourselves[0], is what binds us and makes it so that I can walk into anyone I see with a board on the street and tag him/her in for a game of skate.
That's also what acts as a sort of natural "gatekeeper" of sorts. Compare with football: anyone can hit a ball basically instantly wooohooo just like that you're having fun with friends, but even riding around a skateboard requires some form of dedication. Even skiing is more accessible because, well, crashing in snow might appear unpleasant but is fun and all and makes for a good laugh, while slamming on concrete is not exactly pillow-like and arguably some quite twisted definition of "fun".
What infuriates me though, is the brats that think it's cool to wear skateboarding apparel and draw ire of the crowd by acting like punks. Because then as skateboarders we're just fine and respectful people but get some shit thrown towards and kicked at or whatever by folks who conflate us with those little bastards. Some "regular" people feel insecure enough they come right up to us and get physical for no reason at all except us being skateboarders. I've had cyclists kicking me out of bicycling lanes as I was passing near them cruising around, or playing dare when coming up front. I've had cars trying to hit and run a friend on purpose. What is just going across the mind of those people?
> and there's a large influx of people who have no regard for the culture
Well if they have no regard for the culture they most probably will drop out because they won't be driven enough, and at some point the "culture" just brings you along, and guess what, we're all sufficiently into it that we can all recognise that if you're enjoying skateboarding, even if it's just riding around, even if it's just a little spark that you nurture, well, then you're one of us. Also, no true Scotsman.
«Riding a skateboard doesn't make you a skateboarder, being unable to stop riding a skateboard is what makes you a skateboarder.» — Lance Mountain.
> The difference is this time they ingrained the cultural aspects into the brand.
Many people don't seem to understand the economic dynamics behind brands in a fringe† activity like skateboarding. Pros and semi-pros emerge from the community pool, brands sponsor pros, parks, events, video parts, which crystallises culture, which entices people into skateboarding, which makes them buy hardware at shops, which finances pros... It's a tight, dynamic loop. Hipsters like to hate brands, but brands bring a lot economical and non-economical value to skateboarding.
† Let's not kid ourselves, it's fringe compared to the massive amounts of money displaced by mainstream sports like basketball, baseball, football, soccer, skiing, whatever...
All my skater friends are very particular about who's real an who's posing, and also rather hostile towards wrongboarders, inline-skaters, parkour-runners and any other street-based activity except BMX (they're cool somehow). It's all very tribal and I really can't relate.
No, unless someone's feeling strangely insecure about his own self. That's why I draw no ire per se: The only thing that enrages me is more of a side effect of some posers being dicks (mostly because they think sk8rs are deh bad4ss dop3 sh1t and making an attitude display of it), and other people hating skaters because of the shitty attitude of people that look like skaters to them.
Honestly I just compassionately find it quite sad that someone would rather pose as something instead of, well, being (or striving to) that something. The latter is so much more rewarding, whatever it is. Also, there's a failure of genuineness that I find intellectually bothersome. You could basically have the same argument about anything, like l33t h4x0r kiddies vs public perception of the "hacker" word vs the meaning of hackerdom (as in http://www.catb.org/jargon/).
> also rather hostile towards wrongboarders, inline-skaters, parkour-runners and any other street-based activity except BMX (they're cool somehow). It's all very tribal and I really can't relate.
In decreasing order of hatefulness we hate scooters (because it's lie a skateboard, with a handlebar. hah, trainers.), parkour-runners (because they just use their feet. gross.), inline-skaters (because the wheels are merely tied to the feet, how lame is that?), and longboarders (because they didn't bother to learn to ollie). BMX get a pass because they slam their nuts on a bar similarly to how we do on a rail (but hey they have a handle too, so...) Buuuuut really that's all in jest, nobody's serious about it and we definitely try each other hardware from time to time, having fun at how "easy" each other's sport is and laughing our ass off at how much we suck at it.
ps.: I mean, instead of "keep it this way", I'd actually prefer much more "counter" and always a bigger "culture", you need to grow with quality, right?
Source: long time skater
Punk and thrash are cliquey for the same reasons, I should think.
As for riskness, here's Chistian Flores arduous two year journey to land a laser flip down a triple set of stairs[1], or take a look at Jaws jumping down 25 stairs at Lyon[2], but the test of one's physical and mental stamina of the former is much more inspiring to me.
[0]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSv2qggIrJaprGDRSwgUQ...
Flores video was thrilling. He says it, the sheer determination is what they are about. It's something I value a lot after years.
I wonder if physics teachers should analyze that with pupils. It's so damn impressive how much control they get out of their bare feet, in motion, about to leap over voids ..
The final few paragraphs are a blatant attempt to shoehorn a sexist us-vs-them political agenda into a culture where girls were never not welcome.
This is in stark contrast with the video embedded right next to that part, which clearly is not being unwelcome:
«I just think being a woman in skateboarding, it was just a very solitary thing, in the beginning i was by myself but also solitary and the social and community aspects of it, a lot of guys are intimidated by a girl being at a skatepark just as much as I'm intimidated by them being there»
I have a hard time believing Nora would say the following out of the blue: «For some reason, women are more welcoming and maternal. Skateboarding could really use that personality.» especially given the display of supportive people laid out in the Adidas video, and especially with Andrew Reynolds acting like such a supporting, open and welcoming figure since so long. It feels like some twisted out-of-context quote.
Also, I can't speak for a past I was not involved with, but this is the skateboarding community I know: welcoming for everyone, of any sex, gender or colour, or status, as long as you're genuine about skateboarding.
“In 2018, skateboarding is going through a similar change from the inside out. There’s increasingly less space between what skateboarding actually is and what a bunch of middle-aged men perceive it to be. That wave of change is best represented by the breakout success of Nora Vasconcellos.”
I’d argue the “white” in “middle-aged men” is implicit.
The situation is much less clear cut these days. There are the die-hards that will never ever buy those newcoming brands, sure, but Nike and Adidas skateboarding offshoots do embrace the culture and sponsor great talent with a genuine skateboarding spirit like Sean Malto (Nike), Shane O'Neill (Nike), Daewon Song (Adidas) or Chris Chann (Adidas); plus the shoes are objectively good stuff for skating. They certainly have less of an extreme attitude than Ali Boulala and Dustin Dollin, but that never was what skateboarding was about.
I'm a long-time rock climber, and a handful (or two) of years ago, Adidas jumped into that market by purchasing a well-respected shoe maker (Five Ten). They continue to produce shoes under the Five Ten brand, but Adidas also sponsors a bunch of professional climbers.
There is some cultural backlash in climbing, but mostly around the increasing commodification of the sport (which has always been seen as anti-establishment). Even those folks who rue big climbing competitions and big "shows" (the Dawn Wall climb) still wear Five Ten.
No you won't.
Working hard and winning an unheard of competition? Yeah very fascinating.
Understand that anyone can rewrite their past to draw out a cock and bull story of succeeding against all odds. Want to hear mine? This is fairly banal. A narrative like this is best reserved for people who succeed in affecting something bigger than themselves or are at the very top of their profession.
You could probably create a Markov generator to create these stories. "I don't fit in, look at my talent! Let's talk women. She'd stand out in any decade!"
Snore.