Report Number One: The Resurgence of Freestyle
The resurgance of Flatland / Freestyle skateboarding has been growing since '97, when Stefen "Lillis" Akesson, a Swedish Freestyle Champion, started the INFSS Online Magazine. This was the first forum on the web that talked about Freestyle Skateboarding, and who's founders and members organized get-togethers... and eventually, contests. This little website, and the efforts of a few die-hards, developed into what is now it is known as the WFSA, and the "F Forum", which connects thousands of Freestyle skaters and enthusiasts from all over the globe...!
Stefen "Lillis" Akesson. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
In addition to this website, the dedicated practitioners of this form [of skateboarding]... the commercial exposure of the legendary [freestyle] skating of Rodney Mullen... the THPS Video Games... and, even the Game of SKATE tournaments have also helped in rekindling and interest in flatland and freestyle skateboarding in the U.S.
Freestyle Overseas, vs. Freestyle in the U.S.:
Overseas, it is a different story. As most other countries tend to be more "inclusive", and accepting of all forms of skateboarding. And, many top riders in freestyle are legends in their respective countries, even being seen in the pages of Transworld and other major media outlets [in their home countries].
The problem that freestyle runs into here in the U.S., is the short-sightedness the majority of the current skateboard industry. Especially, the companies... and especially, the media. The only "major" exposure that most kids get to freestyle, is via Rodney Mullen. So, most of them assume that he is the one and only. I can't tell you how many times I, or others, get "Whoa, its Rodney Mullen skating!" reactions from the kids. And, that's due to the lack of support from major companies, and the media...
Who's this bloke...? Oh, yeah: It's Rodney, back when they used to call him the "F-word". The "F-word" being "Freestyler", of course. It's easy to forget that all modern-day "street" skating... starting with the flatground ollie... is all based on Rodney's flatland and freestyle experimentation from the early '80s. Today, the freestyle scene is coming back. What are they doing today, that the rest of us will be doing ten or twenty years from now...? Photo swooped from the Age Of Consent blog.
"Overseas, it is a different story. As most other countries tend to be more "inclusive", and accepting of all forms of skateboarding..."
People been freestyling since the '50s. Freestylers today are doing things that the top pros weren't doing in the '80s, when Rodney reigned supreme. I give Rodney all the props in the world... but, he isn't the only one out there... and, he isn't doing it [anymore], or progressing skateboarding on that level. The difference, is major company support and media exposure.
Freestyle In The Media:
Their have been a few advocates in the media, such as Concrete Wave Magazine, and For The Crew Magazine (FTK)... but, other than that, most media outlets have straight up ignored or snubbed us in the U.S. Even if that magazine covers it in another country such as Japan... TransWorld SKATEboarding covers Freestyle in Japan (8 pages in the one issue!), but why not in the country where it originated...?!
They (major media and skate companies) know we are here, as we have been crashing their events since 2001... we've performed demos for the executives [of those companies], and [we] even got other demos from some of the people who work for them. So, why are they hedging on covering events, or supporting riders...?
It comes down to control of what's "cool" here in the U.S. And, it's controlled by the companies who have influence... which is not to be confused with "true clout", but with advertising dollars. What they don't get, is that if a freestyle skater shows up to an event... they will garner the most attention, because they stand out. I can't tell you how many demos we have crashed (or, that we were legitimately invited to perform at) in the past to test this theory... and at all of them, freestyle stole the show. It's partially due to the uniqueness if the movements, as well the fact most people never seen [freestyle] "live", which makes it even more impressive. And, if you're a demoing freestyler, you are on point about 90% of the time, and it's [landed] trick after [landed] trick after [landed] trick... which is truly incredible, from a spectator standpoint.
"It comes down to control of what's "cool" here in the U.S. And, it's controlled by the companies who have influence... which is not to be confused with "true clout", but with advertising dollar$..."
Major companies of today... most of which are owned by former freestyle skateboarders... have forgotten their roots, and don't support this new movement. Even though they have profited, and are where they are today, largely due to freestyle. The "Game of SKATE" is a perfect example of this. The basic essence of this game is a dumbed-down version of freestyle contests. The reason that I say "dumbed down" is that, it is extremely limiting, insofar as to which tricks are "allowed" during a game. For the last couple years, they haven't let any of the known, "higher level" freestyle skaters enter any of the events. And, they have outlawed many variations of trick combinations that they had allowed in the past. Hence, no cross-foot landings, one-foot landings, etc.
Don Brown (top) and Pierre Andre (bottom), "back in the day". Before they were footwear gurus and mega-millionaires, hell-bent on dictating and controlling what's "cool" in our industry. Photos from Outlook Skates' Freestyle Museum, and flickr.
I was told via email from a representative at eS, that "No one wants to see a no-name skater, doing tricks that no one does". I countered by saying: "Well, let the people decide...!" And, I received no response back. What's even crazier is that the whole "Game of SKATE" is a marketing initiative from a former freestyle champion (Don Brown), who along with another freestyle champion (Pierre Andre), run the Sole Tech empire...
Last time I checked, skating was about pushing your limits... creatively, and technically. Skateboarding is not about being regimented, or controlled. This is "skateboarding", not little league! These days, there are many skaters who are really proficient at flatland (from playing SKATE), as well as manual pad skating, etc. And, they are more open to learning different styles and approaches. So, there is hope.
"Last time I checked, skating was about pushing your limits... creatively, and technically..."
But, the question is: When will these companies "get" that freestyle is a viable form [of skateboarding], and that it's back...?!
