The Skateboarder Manifesto

By: Andrew Jones.

What makes skateboarding so different from other sports? Well first of all, it is barely a sport. There are no teams, no rules, no score. Skateboarders feel the freedom of doing what they want, when they want, where they want. Like other sports, skateboarding is temporal emancipation from life and thoughts; however, unlike other sports, skateboarding is emancipation from the “norms” of conformity. You pick up a piece of wood with wheels and go out into the streets, unbound by rules or coaches. As the skate culture grew, corporations saw the opportunity to capitalize, and skateboarding is now a huge industry. This mass production of skateboards has its pros and cons.

Thanks to the skateboard industry thousands of people are making a living from what they love doing. Companies sponsor good skateboarders for the advertising. If the most glorified skateboarder wears a certain product, there is instantly a high demand for that product. This commodification is true of any industry-backed sport. Because of modern capitalism, a person can pay the mortgage from riding a piece of wood with wheels.

But this is only one side of the story. The commercialization of skateboarding has put a cage around the non-conformism and freedom associated with skateboarding. The whole culture of skateboarding is based on seeing society in an abstract way: rails and stairs are not just parts of the socio-economic life style, they are skate spots, and the irrationality of cops and security guards is exposed allowing skateboarders catch a glimpse of the fundamental insanity surrounding our culture. The problem now is that because there are so many skateboarders, the younger generation of skateboarders are obsessed with conforming to the social norms of the skate-based culture. This peer-conformity is a product of the mental barriers which are produced by a capitalist economy. For example, because the most glorified skateboarder is wearing certain products, these products also become glorified: a certain standard of “cool” is proliferated by those companies who are so whole heartedly seeking profit, and one must have these accessories in order to fit in. This objective standard of “cool” introduces judging and hating into the skateboard culture, which was originally based on the freedom surrounding skateboarding. Although, if one can see through this economic fantasy, skateboarding is as free and non-competitive as ever.

This consumerist corruption extends deeper than the skate industry; it pervades every aspect of North American life. But as I criticize the state of capitalism and the consumerist society, I find myself loving the perfect, smooth shape of my mass produced 7.75 deck. But the point I am trying to make is that skateboarding is not about being sucked into the capitalist, consumerist mentality, but rather it is about penetrating the mental grip that this culture imposes upon each of us, which causes us to see even other skaters as separate from ourselves. Skateboarders of all countries, Unite!

Skateboarding; Art or Sport

By: Andrew Jones.

Humans have manifested various art forms which are based on expression. Abstract thoughts are turned into material reality. This process is responsible for human progress; all things start out as ideas and are put into reality (much like conceiving a trick and then trying it, and eventually landing it). Before surfboards existed, the first surfer conceived the possibility of surfing, then put his idea to action. Skateboarding has evolved from surfing, and now has evolved into a form of expression, or an art. Many see skateboarding as a sport, but ultimately the ideals associated with it are closer to those of an art.

Skateboarding, like art, promotes individuality. It is based on self accomplishment; it is the feeling skaters crave from landing a new trick. Instead of competing against an opponent, skateboarding is a self-challenge. The skater must overcome his fear and learn from his mistakes in order to land a trick. Style is an important aspect of any art. The uniqueness of each individual can be seen in every different skateboard style.

Secondly, skateboarding, like art, alters the skateboarders view of society and reality in general. Humans take in information that is relevant to us. This is why a skater might get excited walking down a set of stairs, and your date is looking at you weird, because really to her it’s just an insignificant part of society, but to you it is a skate spot. In fact the whole culture of skateboarding is based on seeing society in an abstract way.

Art or sport, skateboarding is about fun and progressing. The progression is tangled up in the fun; would it still even be fun if we didn’t progress? Beyond fun or progression, skateboarding can be seen as a form of meditation; the mind is completely focused on the present moment when trying a trick, it has to be or you’ll eat shit. Its not like any of life’s worries are occupying your mind during that moment when your at the climax of your trick.