Last weekend, the skateboard industry had their annual fall ASR trade show at the San Diego Convention Center... along with all of the "peripheral" shows that ride along on ASR's coattails (Agenda, Crossroads, etc). But as usual, I blew the whole thing off (again)...
So, what was I doing while the industry bigwigs were hobnobbing at this season's trade show festivities? I was sweeping out a ditch in central Indianapolis, and skating with "the guys"...! That shit beats trade-show hobnobbing, any day!
And, that's a pretty good analogy for where skateboarding is, right now. Generally speaking: While "the industry" is talking about doing shit... or, "strategizing" about getting something going... the smarter and wiser of us "industry" types are actually out there, getting it done. We don't need the blessings, or the backing, of any of our "peers". We just get up, get going, and get busy turning talk into action. Just like any true skater would do.
In short: We Lead, and The Others Follow.
Here's the ditch session that caused me to miss the ASR Bummerfest this season. You see that big feller off to the left over there? That's our corporate CEO, Bart Kelly. Here, he's "delegating" sweeping responsibilities to the Old Indy Skaters stakeholders, which in turn are fine-tuning our "corporate message" by rocking those dirty, sweat-stinkin' OIS tees. This, my friends, is a true leader in action. Forget the crap that IASC spoon-feeds your ass: This dude's the real deal.
Unfortunately, I get mis-labeled a lot these days as an "industry leader". I'm just not buying into that for one second. I never, ever set out to be an "industry leader" of any sort. Indeed, I don't even like the label one damned bit. My perspective is that, if I'm some sort of "industry leader"... all that really says, is that there's something super-fucked-up about this "industry" of ours. Apparently, the bar on "industry leadership" has been set so low, as to make it totally achievable for a complete dork [like me] to make the grade! I mean, shit. If I can show some sort of "leadership potential", then why can't our "industry leaders...?!
Maybe, "You Can Do It!" should be our rallying cry here at The Solitary Life! If you wanna be an "industry leader"...? But you're doubting yourself, or your capabilities? Just remember that tagline, everyone! "If a dork like me can do it, then surely you can too!" And, you'll pretty much be good to go from there.
Believe in yourself, and the world is yours for the taking...
The really striking thing that happened over ASR Weekend, was the lack of any news to chase down. Let alone, to report. Typically, I'll get somewhere between 20 to 30 calls over those three days. Guys phoning in to tell me what a loser I am for slacking it again, and to tell me about all of the awesome stuff that I'm totally missing out on. Well this time around, I got exactly three calls. And, those were to tell me what a great job I did on the Mike V. piece...! I mean, seriously...? What gives?!
I finally got so tired of waiting around for ASR info that I gave Erik Basil (from Silverfish Longboarding) a call, and asked him what the hell was up?
His answer, was pretty telling: Nothing! Nothing at all. ASR was just, a big fat yawn this time around. I got the impression that, for those that did attend? It was probably a huge waste of time and money for everyone involved.
Even Boardistan had very little to report on the fall show, besides a quickie blip about some kid that won a pile of money at the Crossroads "Best Trick" contest. Beyond that, though...? Nada. Just, the sound of crickets everywhere.
I never in a million years would have guessed that "The Place To Be" during trade show weekend, would turn out to be a quiet ditch in the middle of a cornfield in Indianapolis, Indiana...
But, that's truly where "the action" is these days. Skateboarding, in a very real sense, is burrowing "underground" for the time being. Of course, there's the very "mainstream" bullshit that's still right there, in grotesquely plain sight for everyone to gawk at... the annual ASR bullshit, the perpetual IASC comedy of stupidity, those Stale Bigwig Brands, the pro-skater reality shows, Zumiez, The Big Fat Money Cup, etc...
These things, though... they're very rapidly becoming irrelevant. I don't think that the average skater-on-the-street really gives a shit about who won the Maloof Money Madness, or how Billabong performed in the third quarter. ASR is merely a shadow of it's former heavyweight self, and IASC has universally disgusted everyone with a fraction of a brain in their heads.
This is Cody, at the brand-new OIS Headquarters. You can see that he's skillfully sizing up the profits-to-weeds ratio, and quietly examining our bottom line for out-sized cracks and pebbles. He's not the type of guy to let a bunch of moss grow under his feet. He sweeps that shit outta there, and gets busy skating.
But then, there's this very, very compelling "Keeping It Real" scene that is making some huge inroads right now, that is "hiding" just under the bubble. Small, truly-skater-owned companies. Activist skateboard shops, and The Collective. Niche happenings (longboarding, etc). A New Media. Some cool new shit happening in the "distribution" paradigm. A resurgence of the DIY ethic. Skateboard Clubs are popping up and expanding everywhere. Hell, even at the ditch sesh, Bart was telling me about how an Ohio Chapter of the Old Indy Skaters thing is already in the works. And, the OG club isn't even a full year old yet? That's crazy.
But, that's what happens when people see that you've got a really good thing going. They see it, and they say "Holy shit! That's pretty f'n cool! How in the hell do I sign up?!" And, they get involved! And then, it spreads and spreads. It's just how stuff works, I guess. Human nature.
If nothing else, it's a sure-fire sign that everyday skaters are finally taking back control over their local scenes, and striving to build better ones.
There's also lots of traveling, networking, idea-sharing, and friend-making going on... both online, and increasingly, in person. A general weeding out the dead wood, the bad vibes, and the over-sized king-shit attitudes is starting to materialize... a lot of these things are being philosophically [and, physically] pushed out of the way by skaters that are just sick and fucking tired of all the crap. In a weird way, this "underground" scene is turning itself into a collection of pretty heavy movers and shakers. Just because, this "underground" scene is actually getting something useful done...! Finally...!
These things, are the "truly exciting" things that are going on in "the industry" right now. Not the fake, hyped-up bullshit-brand of "exciting" that The Industry is constantly feeding us. What I'm talkin' about here is shit that is truly ground-breaking. And really, pretty fuckin' remarkable.
That, is where "The Action" is right now.
Thankfully, The Solitary Life is right there on the peripheries of it. Asking the hard questions, getting the straight answers, checking it all out, and telling the stories that deserve to be told. It's totally true: Now really is a good time to be a skateboarder...! But, I've gotta tell ya: It's an even better time to be The Independent Skateboard Media.
The ugly truth of the matter is, I'm not leading a goddamned thing. I'm just covering the true leaders of tomorrow. That's all. Enjoy the rest of the articles, and I'll see all y'all in a couple weeks.
Bud Stratford
Editor-In-Chief,
The Solitary Life
