Sorry for the temporary lapse in coverage, everybody. It's been a couple weeks, and that means that I suck hard ass! On the other hand: If you've been paying attention at all, then you'll certainly remember that I was in Philadelphia last weekend, covering the World Championships of Freestyle.
It was quite a weekend, too! I came home exhausted. Whoever made up this myth that "freestylers can't party like champs" should seriously be kicked in the head. Here, I went to Philly thinking that freestylers were these extremely "quiet" types, that I'd get to bed nice and early every night, that I'd get a lot of quality rest in, and that I'd generally be able to take things pretty easy. The reality was that I barely got a wink of sleep all f'n weekend as I got dragged from restaurant, to pub, to nightlife, to skateboarding, to restaurant, to pub, to more nightlife...! To say that those guys were "pretty energetic" would be a horrendous understatement. They wore my ass out. I still haven't fully recovered, and it's almost a week later. I've developed a whole new level of appreciation for my Sealy Posturepedic, and I doubt that I'll be taking a good night's sleep for granted anytime soon.
While I was there "covering the contest", I also had the rare chance to catch a glimpse of what makes this whole freestyle community tick. I learned a lot. And, I came to the conclusion that those freestyle guys have a pretty good thing going on over there.
AJ Kohn (the event organizer), and random dad and son. This had to have been one of the most "inclusive" events that I've ever been to... ever. It didn't matter who you were, what your "status" was, how old you were, what your gender or color was, or even if you skated or not. Everybody was invited, and everybody had a great time.
The first thing that I noticed is that, nobody seemed particularly concerned about this whole "contest" deal that was going on. I had sort of imagined freestylers as a pretty serious group of guys that were all about putting together flawless runs, impressing the judges, beating each other about the knees with pipes and clubs, and doing whatever it takes to snatch the high scores. Strangely, I didn't see a whole lot of "hyper-competitive spirit" at all. In fact, a lot of the guys were actually helping out their "competition" in weird and unexpected ways. Kevin Harris, for example, won the 360's contest on a board that he "borrowed" from YoYo Schultz. YoYo got second... or, was it third? I'm not too sure, and I'm not too sure if anyone else is too sure either.
That's what the spirit of this "contest" was like. Basically, nobody kept score (except the judges, because that was their job), and nobody really seemed to give much of a toss about who won, and who lost. The consensus was pretty much: if you showed up, then you were automatically a winner. And, if you flaked out? Only then, were you a loser.
The "contest" was held under a bridge that carried I-95 through the south side of Philly. Think Burnside, but without the transitions everywhere. Still, I was amazed at how much energy... make that, "positive energy"... could come out of a rather bland and barren freeway underpass. It was tangible, too. You could literally feel it any time you approached the place. And it felt really, really good.
I wasn't the only guy that showed up. The best of the best freestylers in the world came out for this event. Ten countries were represented, which is staggering considering that the entire prize purse was only about $5000. I heard Kevin Harris remark that a lot of the guys would have come anyway, even if there was no "prize purse" at all. If you think Indianapolis is a long way from Philly, try driving in from Japan, Brazil, Sweden, or Spain. The whole thing felt like a family reunion... but, a good one. One where the "family" genuinely gets along famously, and keeps roving reporters up until all hours of the morning.
Three generations of freestylers, happily hanging out and sharing stories long after the day's "contest" activities were done. At the left is "YouTube Sensation" (As AJ called him) Kilian Martin; at the right of center is head judge (and notable freestylist in his own right) Daniel Gesmer; and at the far right is The Godfather Himself, Russ Howell. The lady in the photo is Russ' wife, who happily supports Russ in all that he does for skateboarding... which is, quite a lot.
"Camaraderie". I wish skateboarding had more of it than it does these days...
I drove almost 700 miles to go check it out. Eleven hours of driving, straight through. Truth be told, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The thing is, I'd never seen a freestyle "contest" before, first-hand. Actually, come to think of it... I'm not sure that I'd ever seen true freestyle skating first-hand before. It's really sort of rare... it's definitely not something that you get to witness every single day of the week or anything. So, to most kids... and even old geezers like me... it's actually sort of new, fresh, and exciting. So what if freestyle's "heydays" were the mid-to-late 1980's? I'll tell ya what, I saw a whole lotta shit going down in Philly that I could barely understand. Let alone, articulate. AJ [Kohn] tried to explain some of it to me, but my brain was just too feeble to figure it all out. Whatever these dudes were doing, it definitely didn't look "old" or "obsolete" by any means. Quite the opposite, actually.
Speaking of "kids", there were a lot of kids in attendance at The Worlds. Much to my amazement. If you listen to the "industry bigwigs" talk about freestyle, they'll probably tell you that it has no appeal, that it's not "marketable", and that kids won't get into it. Problem is, the place was fuckin' overrun with little kids, skating anywhere and everywhere. At one point, I was talking to someone... I think it might have been Kevin Harris again, but I'm not one-hundred-percent sure on that... and, we were looking at all these kids skating around everywhere. I remember telling him that I wish I had some of those "industry dudes'" phone numbers, so that I could send them cellphone pictures of all these kids, and ask them, "Okay, guys... how in the hell do you explain this, then...?!"
Just a few of the many...
Let's face a cold, hard fact here: Everybody "freestyles" at some point in their lives. Whether they realize it or not is another matter entirely... but, it's still true nonetheless. Most kids go out (with their moms and dads), buy their first skateboard... and then, what do they do with it? They go home, whip that bad boy out, run out to their driveway, and immediately start goofing off with it. Flipping it around and shit. Figuring out what's possible, what's probable, where this magical sled can really go, and what it can really do.
Well, kids: That's the basic essence of freestyle, right there. These guys just-so-happen to make careers out of flipping their board around on flat ground. They spend their lives taking the "impossible", and making it possible for you and I. It's become so cliche to say that modern street skating is based on yesterday's freestyle, that we sometimes forget that it's actually true.
If that's true, then what these guys are doing today is what you and I will be doing twenty years from now. Well, not me. I'm old. But, you'll certainly have a good time with it. Just because these guys seem to be having so much fun with it, right now.
Whatever the case may be, freestyle will always survive. I can't see it going anywhere but "up" anytime soon. In many ways, it's still the most "accessible" form of skateboarding out there. All you need is you, a board, and a slab of something smooth. Doesn't even have to be asphalt or concrete. Even your kitchen floor would work just fine (don't tell you mom I told you so, though). And unlike street or vert skating, flat ground exists pretty much all over the world. The same thing can't exactly be said for marble ledges, glossy-smooth handrails, and mega-ramps.
The weird thing about The Worlds was that, there were no fancy-ass "security" guys there, checking your credentials and shit. It was very open and welcoming. The friendliness, kindness, and hospitality that these guys displayed was astounding. I don't freestyle, myself. I never have. Yet, these guys treated me like I've always been a part of their close-knit little family.
But, what's more: They treated everyone like that! Even all those random kids that swung by to watch...? It wasn't long before they were on skateboards, spinning all over the place. These guys are the definition of "accessible". Parents, spectators, passers by... everybody was amazed at the humility and character that these guys (and, gals!) possessed. And, they absolutely marveled at the talent on display. Freestyle isn't exactly "easy". In fact, it's hard as hell. But still, these guys manage to not only pull it off, but they do it with a style and grace that I just haven't seen in quite some time. It was truly inspiring. I think I might have actually come home a changed person, having experienced it firsthand.
I don't say that sort of shit about too many contests...
There's a whole shadow industry that makes freestyle-specific skate equipment. True: Any "street" board would work, and work well for flatland freestyle. But, the really "serious" guys tend to stick pretty hard to freestyle-specific setups. As for the manufacturers, they all seem to get along pretty damn well. There's no backstabbing, no shit-talking, and no weirded-out, self-serving agendas. There is no freestyle IASC. Everyone's doing it because they enjoy supporting the movement, and they're all working together to bring the whole thing up to some sort of "next level". Just like the skaters, you get the feeling that they're also part of "the family". Everybody supports everybody else, and that's just the way it is. There's no "me", "you", and "them". It's just, "us".
Unlike most of skateboarding, the freestyle community not only accepts their roots... they embrace them, and even celebrate them. All around the contest area for example, there were these hand-made collages that illustrated the history of freestyle, and put the spotlight on some of the groundbreaking pioneers that made it all possible. Strangely, some of these "pioneers" are currently industry bigwigs that have seemingly all but scorned their own freestyle roots. But, the freestyle community never forgets their history. So, you're not only remembered: You're remembered fondly.
I doubt that people will ultimately remember your zillion-dollar mansions, your favorable balance sheets, or your heydays as an industry tycoon quite as positively.
If I had to pinpoint the one thing that made the whole thing great, I'd have to say that it was definitely the characters involved. There will be a whole sub-article, just based on the people I met while I was there. If there's one trait that they all shared, it's that they're all true individuals. Every freestyler at the event was markedly different from everybody else, and no two were even remotely alike. This is a group of guys that doesn't need to be anything other than exactly what they are. There exists no "popular freestyle fashion", because their boards and their personal styles say more than enough about who they are, already. And, this scene totally embraces and rewards creativity and individuality. There were no attitudes, no insecurities, no popularity contests, and no fashion police.
And the whole time, I'm thinking to myself what a breath of fresh air all of this was. I didn't really want to leave. I ended up leaving early, because "I had business to attend to at home"... which was pure bullshit. The real reason was that I didn't want to have to say "goodbye" to everybody. The drive home sucked. Truth be told, I would have been just fine staying in Philly. And I'd bet you some solid money that everybody else that was there felt the same exact way.
Looking back at the whole thing, it makes me really happy that I went and checked it all out. On the other hand, it's also sort of bittersweet. The only bummer about the whole deal is that it made me realize what the rest of us have been missing. Not so much the "skating" aspect of it... I doubt that I'll ever spend any serious time freestyling around. But just, the spirit of it all. The vibe, the community, and the generosity. The selflessness of the whole thing.
We could learn a lot from them. Maybe, we should.
