Social Skateboarding Is An Art

[chimpoehurricane]

Cheers, I never knew the source but when I was in highschool mid 2000s my mate was like just search up Rodney Mullen Aerosmith haha. Big fan of that clip, the music suits it so well too.

Rodney Mullen is a OG and one of the greats. Legendary.

 

[Iron Mang]

Back foot inward heel flip. Took ages. My sponsor buddy taught me. I learned to pressure flip kick flip after. Was a huge fan of Rodney Mullen. Loved the strange things he could pull off.

I was a big fan of Muska and Penny back in my heyday. It influenced the way I skated. My signature trick was a frontside flip, through the legs like Muska. At my peak, the most difficult trick I could do was a nollie hardflip and switch hardflip. Oddly enough though, I was never able to learn to do a 360 flip. I really wish I would have stuck with skating back then. I had sponsored friends and had inroads to the industry.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

I was a big fan of Muska and Penny back in my heyday. It influenced the way I skated. My signature trick was a frontside flip, through the legs like Muska. At my peak, the most difficult trick I could do was a nollie hardflip and switch hardflip. Oddly enough though, I was never able to learn to do a 360 flip. I really wish I would have stuck with skating back then. I had sponsored friends and had inroads to the industry.

I caught a few but sketchy AF. No consistency whereas pressure flips came natural. I think it's anatomical why some stuff just comes natural. Everyone good at skateboarding was light and loose. Not stiff or tense.

I found fakie 360s were a better way to learn it IMHO. There's stuff like shuvits and fakie/nolie shuvits frontside or backside that I'll never forget.

The other thing is that, pushing on a skateboard created anatomically imbalances for me. Particularly, skating regularly goofy. I notice clicking on my left external rotation and internal rotation on my right. Don't get me started on my ankles. It's horrific on your knees. I know several that need knee surgeries before their 21st bday. Rekt cartilage or torn ACL.

Skateboarding was amazing. I started at 12/13. I was the last of my friends to stop. I think I waa 21 or so. The culture changed too. Everyone had a skateboard. The next generation had long boards. Nobody did flip tricks. Also, very fat kids on long boards. I've never seen a great fat skater.

I actually thought about buying a board but I heed caution. I likely will flip trick and end up hurt or worse. <Lmaoo>I do miss it. After 25th bday, I haven't owned one

 

[avenue94]

I wouldn’t put skating among surfing or snowboarding as correlating to those with higher incomes at all. I’d probably say there are more poor kids skating than well off kids, at least in my experience anyway. My friends and I had the streets to skate, and rarely went to skate parks. Plus 30 years ago, skate parks were few and far between.

These days, cities are making skate parks as they would a green park. Sure there are those out there that are a business, but open and free parks are more frequented than paid parks.

I can't say exactly but I would not be surprised if skateboarding had more low income participants than surfing.

Keep in my Huston is from a very well off family for what that's worth. And he's always been a bit of a spoiled dude, speaking as someone who has crossed paths with him for media stuff.

Also, when I say parks are expensive, I mean the capital investment. A well off city is more likely to spend money building a skatepark than a city strapped for funds.

 

[Oblivian]

The man is a living legend and was an inspiration to me in the 90's. It's understanding.

I'll do my best to keep current updates, though. The skaters these days are impressive beyond belief!

Definitely an innovator and absolutely great in his time, but lots of these threads turn into people saying guys today are no match for Rodney which is just ridiculous. The level today is so far above it's not even close. Rodney can get credit for being the greatest innovator and advancing skateboarding probably more than anyone, but it's been built upon to such a higher level. Just look at Nyjah's new part. Just watch Street League. The level of consistency and technical skating done now on huge rails is crazy. It always gets ramped up each year.

 

[Oblivian]

I can't say exactly but I would not be surprised if skateboarding had more low income participants than surfing.

Keep in my Huston is from a very well off family for what that's worth. And he's always been a bit of a spoiled dude, speaking as someone who has crossed paths with him for media stuff.

Also, when I say parks are expensive, I mean the capital investment. A well off city is more likely to spend money building a skatepark than a city strapped for funds.

Where are you coming up with this? His crazy Rasta dad and mom were pretty much broke. When they left his dad they definitely had no money. He literally supported the family with his first Street League win. This can all be found on the Nine Club as I know Dyrdek specifically talks about it.

 

[Iron Mang]

Where are you coming up with this? His crazy Rasta dad and mom were pretty much broke. When they left his dad they definitely had no money. He literally supported the family with his first Street League win. This can all be found on the Nine Club as I know Dyrdek specifically talks about it.

That's what I have always read and seen as well. The only other guy that I know gets hated on for that reason of being well off, or mostly a contest skater, was Sheckler. Ryan goes hard too, and I can appreciate his skating as well. I haven't seen or really heard about him at all lately.

 

[Tito Tapped]

Everything can be art if you film it, edit it, and package it as a performance.

 

[avenue94]

Where are you coming up with this? His crazy Rasta dad and mom were pretty much broke. When they left his dad they definitely had no money. He literally supported the family with his first Street League win. This can all be found on the Nine Club as I know Dyrdek specifically talks about it.

His wiki says his parents bought him an indoor skatepark as a child. I don't imagine that's cheap, especially in Davis.

 

[lostdog000]

 

[Oblivian]

His wiki says his parents bought him an indoor skatepark as a child. I don't imagine that's cheap, especially in Davis.

I highly suggest you listen to some podcasts with him or others that knew his situation. He did not come from money at all, and they certainly did not have money after the divorce and estrangement from his father. Nyjah basically supported the family once he started making money.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

This doesn't really have much to do with anything, just my all-time favorite skate vid. This video, it is probably one of my top five favorite things I ever discovered in this life. I would say that it is for sure a work of art.

 

[ThinkGreen]

For everyone who likes Rodney Mullen, check out the BATB. It’s a flat ground only comp they do every year and it’s awesome. It’s insane how consistent those guys are.

Another amazing flat ground/Mullen type dude is Jonny Giger. That guy is super good.

 

[BoogerDawson]

 

[Boomb]

I used to skate in my teens. I was never good as I could never land more than two or three tricks but I liked the community, hanging out with friends...it was a cool hobby to have.

 

[shockaholic12]

This is probably the hardest video of street skating that I have ever seen! Nyjah absolutely murders everything in the vid!



I thought Yuto would be catching up to Nyjah soon, but damn I am just left in awe here. He even pays homage to Yuto in the vid by doing his trick (nollie backside 270 to noseslide), that Yuto did to win SLS in Jacksonville this past year. Enjoy the vid, Sherbros!!


POST #40 - Skater of the Year poll link to Thrasher, with vids included.

Still skate in my late 30s and watch skate videos every day. While I would have been ok with Nyjah getting Skater of the year, I mean I get the difficulty and size of obstacles that comprise his parts were unmatched…but I still struggle to even finish watching his parts.

He’s just clearly a contest skater skating street spots like he’s still in a contest and it looks more like someone doing a sport than making art.

His trucks are SO tight he can only approach anything he’s skating from straight on and the roll aways are either him landing perfect bolts and rolling straight away or almost falling off the board because again, trucks are too tight to actually ride it normally. Same reason some of his pushes in his lines look like he just leaned how to skate, because he can’t really turn his board.

There’s zero flow, looks like a gymnast just lining on the tumbling floor and completing impressive passes in straight lines back and forth. He clearly has gotten use to riding in parks where you just start a few feet back and roll straight at the big rail and then pick up your board and walk back up.

Whereas watching some like T-funk skate, he throws down he’s board with a ton of speed, ollies up a curb like a gazelle, carves into whatever he’s skating like he’s on some concrete wave and then rolls away cleanly and it’s all one beautiful smooth series of movement, not just the trick. Very evident which skater has been training to execute tricks for judges and which one has been in the streets developing a style of his own.

 

[Oblivian]

Still skate in my late 30s and watch skate videos every day. While I would have been ok with Nyjah getting Skater of the year, I mean I get the difficulty and size of obstacles that comprise his parts were unmatched…but I still struggle to even finish watching his parts.

He’s just clearly a contest skater skating street spots like he’s still in a contest and it looks more like someone doing a sport than making art.

His trucks are SO tight he can only approach anything he’s skating from straight on and the roll aways are either him landing perfect bolts and rolling straight away or almost falling off the board because again, trucks are too tight to actually ride it normally. Same reason some of his pushes in his lines look like he just leaned how to skate, because he can’t really turn his board.

There’s zero flow, looks like a gymnast just lining on the tumbling floor and completing impressive passes in straight lines back and forth. He clearly has gotten use to riding in parks where you just start a few feet back and roll straight at the big rail and then pick up your board and walk back up.

Whereas watching some like T-funk skate, he throws down he’s board with a ton of speed, ollies up a curb like a gazelle, carves into whatever he’s skating like he’s on some concrete wave and then rolls away cleanly and it’s all one beautiful smooth series of movement, not just the trick. Very evident which skater has been training to execute tricks for judges and which one has been in the streets developing a style of his own.

I was going to really rip you, but I actually enjoy T-Funk's new part more than Nyjah's. I think you are highly wrong about Nyjah though. Have you ever watched his raw footage or warm up footage? He certainly has flow. The "problem" is that he's at such a high level that everything he's putting into a part needs to be a complete banger and absolutely perfect. Below is an example. I'd say he's clearly one of, if not, the best skateboarder out there now. But to your point, he's probably not in my top 10 to watch. I like guys like Busenitz and T Funk - so we probably have similar tastes.

 

[shockaholic12]

It's just a sport/recreational activity. Yes, there are some masters out there that make you go "holy shit!", but you can say the same thing for beer pong players doing stupidly impossible trick shots on Youtube.

This is really the dumbest comparison lol.

It’s like saying choreographing and executing the moves of an original ballet and making a fun foosball shot are the same thing because I mean maybe you hit the ball off a couple pint glasses and then it goes in.

 

[shockaholic12]

I was going to really rip you, but I actually enjoy T-Funk's new part more than Nyjah's. I think you are highly wrong about Nyjah though. Have you ever watched his raw footage or warm up footage? He certainly has flow. The "problem" is that he's at such a high level that everything he's putting into a part needs to be a complete banger and absolutely perfect. Here's an example:

That’s my point. He has this belief that what makes the best skate part is compiling edits of chomping big tricks on huge rails and hubbas over and over again and to be successful at this approach he has tightened his trucks so much that the parts before and after the tricks are awkward looking or simply cut out so there’s little to no flow in his parts. It makes them hard to enjoy sometimes. Still think deserved SOTY over Tyshawn.

Jah may have better flow in warm ups or raw footy but that’s not what he’s putting out there to represent his skating so doesn’t matter.

 

[Iron Mang]

006 Untitled vid, with some great street skating.

https://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/videos/untitled-006/


Sorry for the link, I can't seem to embed the vids from Thrasher.