I've been spending a lot of time lately talking about "all the stuff that skateboarding taught me" over the years. One of those things was, the difference that one person can truly make in the world around them. If they choose to do so, at least.
Because before I picked up skateboarding, I felt pretty powerless in the grand scheme of things. Of course, I was just a kid. And kids generally feel pretty "powerless", anyway. It sucks, but that's just the way it goes I guess.
Skateboarding, though, is totally empowering shit. Because it's all about individual effort, and individual results. Whether you're a success... or, a failure... largely depends on how many times you're willing to scrape your ass off the concrete, and give it another go. It definitely toughens you up a bit. But, it also feels pretty damn good when you finally make something happen by, and for, yourself.
The first "Public Service Announcements" (PSAs) we ever did, were part of the "Keep Indianapolis Beautiful" campaign. Which was hella funny, because Indianapolis is pretty much an industrial hicktown hell where morons routinely throw trash right out of their windows. Like they didn't get the memo about littering being a crime or lame or anything. Yay, Hoosiers!
We had to stop running this one... this is by far the funniest part about it, by the way... because we learned that there's actually a bona-fide, for-real "Keep Indianapolis Beautiful" organization. Christ almighty...
Most skaters will intrinsically know what I'm talking about here, because they've all been trough the same exact thing. Failure, success, elation, and onward to the next challenge. It doesn't matter how old they are, or what sort of skating they're into. They've all been through it, at some point or another. It's just part of the gig.
Sometimes, we do PSA's just to humor ourselves. The "Save The Dinosaurs" campaign was a result of an inside joke between Mike [Brooke] over at Concrete Wave, and myself. Obviously, he runs a [very respectable] paper magazine, and I run a [crappy online] goof-fest. Although Mike and I are technically "media competitors", he's still a great friend and an awesome fellow. We fully support Mike, and he helps us out a lot, too.
That doesn't mean that we can't screw with him once in a while, though! I think he secretly cringes a little bit, every time we run this one...
So, yeah... the whole notion of "one person making it happen" has become something of a conviction of mine. And if you know me at all, then you'll also know this: I'm not the sort of joe that's easily derailed from my convictions.
Third campaign, one image, one message: "Take some responsibility for yourself, and pick up your trash before you leave the skatepark...!" Holy crap, I wish more kids did this one...
The Solitary Life is a great example of one guy, making a [small] contribution to skateboarding that [apparently] makes a difference. Of course, "making a difference" wasn't really my original goal with The Solitary Life. The actual goal could probably be best summed up as, "Entertaining Myself". But based on feedback from the readers, as well as the advertisers... it seems like we're doing something "right" over here. Because people definitely seem to be pretty stoked on it.
The "If she can do it, why can't you?!" campaign. Designed to show our support for women in skateboarding, we actually got some really touching feedback on this one from all the girls out there. Probably our "most successful" campaign to date... just based on what we've heard from our readers and advertisers... this one led straight to the "Be The Scene" initiative.
A couple weeks back, I was talking to Richard Kirby on the phone. He's the guy that owns Big Mess, one of our regular advertisers and contributors. During our discussion, we talked about the way skateboarding was, when we were kids... versus what skateboarding is to most kids, today. In our day, skateboarding was all about freedom, exploration, and discovery. Today, skateboarding can be summed up with one simple word: "Consumption". Instead of motivating kids to get out into the world and raise some hell, we're spending our time motivating them to get out into the mall, and spend their money on some shit that they probably don't even really need.
So, what's the difference...?! It's not like the act of riding a skateboard around is really that much different than it was back then. So, where did things start going wrong? Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that for the most part, "the media" is the biggest difference. It seems like the media is doing an awesome job of giving the kids what they might want... but, they're doing a suck-ass job of giving the kids what they truly need. And what they need is a guide... "a kick in the ass" might be a better way of putting it... to help them go out into the world, and make the most of the whole "skateboarding" experience.
I'm hearing the same sort of thing from a lot of our readers, too. They like reading The Solitary Life because we talk about the stuff that needs to be talked about... but, nobody else seems to want to talk about.
What came out of all this, is our newest "initiative": The "Be The Scene" Initiative. Which is clearly the nuttiest thing I've ever done, out of all the nutty things that I've done so far with The Solitary Life...
It's the truth, kids. Don't ever forget it.
The whole thing is basically a two-part series of messages that are designed to do three very distinct things. The first part is strictly designed to be "motivational" and "empowering" in nature. The idea is to motivate them to take an active part in their local scenes, at a grass-roots level... and then, go about convincing them that they can actually get out there, and do it. That's the "empowering" part.
Because if kids really believe that they can do stuff, then they'll totally end up running with it. Kids are good like that. That's why kids kick so much ass.
Anybody can do what I'm doing. Seriously. It's just a matter of making it happen...
The second part is merely a whole series of ideas of things that kids can actually do, to make a difference in their scenes. Most of these things are the same exact things that the magazines taught me, when I was a kid. Some of them, like "Be cool to your fellow skater", "Give a stranger a high five", "Make a friend in a foreign country", "Pick up the trash at your local skatepark", or "Support your local core skate shop", are really pretty easy to do, and relatively self-explanatory. These are really small, simple, and stupid little things that literally any skater can do, at any time. They might even seem sort of pointless and dumb.
But believe it or not, small things like this can really add up to making a huge difference in somebody's life. Namely: Your own.
On the other hand, there's gonna be harder stuff to do, too. Things like "Build a quarterpipe", "Start your own 'zine", "Make something out of concrete", "Teach yourself how to screen print", "Make a home-made skateboard", and "Start your own small company" are obviously a hell of a lot tougher than just giving some random dude a high five, or picking up a can at the skatepark.
In these cases, we're actually going to include a small article on how to actually do these things. So, something like "Build a funbox" might include some basic woodworking skills, and plans for a simple, easy, and portable box that any skater (or, their parents) can make at home.
This stuff might seem almost too ambitious, and woefully difficult to do. But, really: It's a lot easier than you'd think. After all: We managed to figure it all out, somehow. So, we should be more than able to do it all over again.
We don't just preach this shit, kids. We actually get off our asses, and do it. Years ago, back when I had my own company, I used part of the proceeds to build a ton of skate-obstacles for hosting local skate jams. Later on, I drew plans for those portable obstacles, and submitted them to Fess at www.rampplans.org (an awesome resource, by the way). Later still, I started getting e-mails from all over the world [literally] from kids that had built these boxes, and had a blast building and skating them. And now, it's all coming full circle.
One dude, kids. All it takes, is one dude...
And then, in the middle, we have stuff like "Wax a curb", "Sweep out a ditch", "Go spot hunting", "Bring a boom box to the session", "Take a road trip", and "Read an old skate magazine". These are a little bit challenging, but not too taxing. Still, it's all really beneficial stuff worth doing. And, that's all that really matters.
Another totally easy thing to do, that makes a huge impact on the entire world of skateboarding: Photographing, documenting, and submitting your local skatepark information to the guys at Concrete Disciples... so that they can keep their [most excellent] skatepark-finder up-to-date. I spent the majority of 2008 on the road, working this gig. It was fun times, and Jeff at CD was soooo appreciative. I might be the only guy in the entire midwest that has skated... literally... every single skatepark in the five-state area.
To this day... every time a new skatepark pops up, I'm long gone to go check it out. Best motivator ever...!
In compiling the whole series of messages, something struck me that kinda made me laugh. In the thirty-years-or-so that I've been skating, I've actually done every single one of these things at one time or another. I can tell you right now, if "the naysayers" are gonna bitch about anything, it's gonna be that I've gotten all "preachy" and shit. The thing is, you don't have to read any of this crap. Or even do it, for that matter. I really don't give a damn either way. Your skate scene is your business. And whatever you do with it, is just fine by me.
On the other hand, I can tell ya this much: Skateboarding just wouldn't have been quite as much fun if I hadn't taken the time to get off the couch, go outside, and do stuff like this. Just like anything else in life, you get out of skateboarding what you put in to it. A funbox might take an afternoon to build, and it'll definitely cost you a few bucks. But on the other hand: You're gonna get years of fun out of that bitch, and the things you learn... and, the memories you make... are gonna be totally priceless.
Trust me on this one, because I know what I'm talking about.
So: Go ahead and have some fun with them (if you choose to), and thanks for checking it all out. And lastly, give a round of applause to our advertisers. They gave me a lot of ideas, feedback, and suggestions. You can thank them by supporting them.
Especially Kirb. He's a good man.
