One of the most fun, and most significant things that we did this year was to dedicate September as our first-ever "Freestyle Month" here at The Solitary Life. That was a wise decision on our part. And we'd like to sincerely thank the entire freestyle community for being a part of it.
One of the most touching things that I heard this year, was how happy The Freestyle Community was that we actually take the time to give freestyle skating regular (monthly, to be exact), thorough, and dedicated coverage. What's more: Our very-first staffer (AJ Kohn) was brought on board, right from Day One, specifically for this reason. To give freestyle skating the regular, thorough, and dedicated coverage that we thought it deserved all along.
Yet: I've never freestyled a day in my entire life. So, what the fuck gives?!
Here's what the fuck gives: It doesn't matter what I personally do, or even what I personally think. Any sort of publication that claims to serve "The Greater Good of Skateboarding"... whether it's an online publication, a print magazine, or anything else... ultimately needs to step their shit up, and make decisions that actually serves The Greater Good of Skateboarding, and serves it well.
Covering freestyle (regardless of my personal inexperience with it) was a solid step in what I thought was ultimately, the right direction to take. In the name of The Greater Good of Skateboarding.
This particular article was originally dumped onto AJ's lap. AJ of course being our freestyle correspondent, that was a perfectly logical assignment to dole out. However: At the time, AJ was way busy organizing the World Championships of Freestyle in Philly (which we also covered). So, I ended up taking this one on myself. Even though I didn't know the first fucking thing about the history of freestyle.
But: Where other heads see nothing but roadblock, I tend to see nothing but opportunity. In this case, the opportunity to learn something myself, for a change. And learn, I did. This article was the net result of about nine months of solid research. In the course of all that research, here's what I learned:
1. Everybody's essentially a freestyler. 2. Freestyle is truly the basis of everything that we do, today. As such: 3. Today's freestyle is tomorrow's mainstream.
If you doubt me on this? Check out Kilian Martin's newest YouTube clip, go home, and cry yourself to sleep tonight. Because most kids (and pros, I might add) are going to see this as the end of their sponsor-me rock-star dreams.
But, the rest of us will see it for what it is: The dawn of a whole new era in creative thinking, and stylish doing. And once again: All brought to us by a tiny handful of freestylers.
Watch history repeat itself all over again...
Before I begin this freestyle retrospective piece, I wanted to say how happy I am that "Freestyle Month" at The Solitary Life has finally arrived...! I'm so stoked. Because, it's gonna be a great month. I can feel it, man...
A few months back, we made the announcement that we wanted help from the freestyle community, to write a brief "History Of Freestyle" for September. Of course, skaters being skaters, nobody responded. Figures. The only help that we got was from our resident freestyle reporter, AJ Kohn. But even he was relatively tied up with organizing The World Championships of Freestyle... which are right around the corner! Those are happening on September 18th & 19th in Philadelphia, and we're absolutely gonna be there. We wouldn't miss it for the world... no pun intended.
So... why freestyle? The fact is, if you know anything at all about skateboarding's history... most kids don't, but whatever... you'll understand that freestyle is the basis for all "modern" skateboarding. Almost everything that you're doing on the street, today (as well as, much of what you're doing on vert, in skateparks, et cetera) was a direct result of the freestyle movement of the 1970's, 1980's, and through to today.
Let's take a look at just one example: The Ollie. Which is the building block upon which most of "modern" skateboarding is built. Invented by Alan Gelfand in 1978, the "original" ollies were done by scooping the tail off of the protruding coping of the era's concrete skatepark bowls. But, it took some time for skaters to figure out how to "pop" the tail off of flat ground, which is where the "Ollie" truly transformed the fundamentals of skateboarding. The skaters that "perfected" the Ollie, were freestylers. And skateboarding has never been the same since.
Counterclockwise, from top left: Alan Gelfand fires the first shot in the coming aerial war; Rodney and the flatground ollie snatch the cover of Thrasher, underscoring their contributions to things to come; the inventors, Mr. Mullen and Mr. Gelfand; and, The Mutt snapping up a flatground ollie-to-indy. Notice how he popped it off the nose, to avoid the plastic skidplate on the tail.
Today, most of "the industry" views freestyle as a relic of a bygone era, a neon and grotesquely flamboyant stepchild of the 1980's. However, "The Industry" has proven itself to be pretty damned clueless on a whole lot of issues as of late, and this one is no different. The truth is that freestyle continues to progress and promote itself just under the surface of "mainstream" skateboarding. And given the evolutions that are going on, I see no reason why the freestylers of today won't continue to influence the rest of skateboarding, tomorrow.
These "evolutions" don't stop at the simple progression of tricks, either. Parallel evolutions in the realm of film (Brett Novak), promotions and contests (AJ and The Worlds, obviously), personal style and longevity (Kevin Harris), and creativity (Killian Martin) are surely going to bring freestyle out of the "underground", and back into our collective consciousness sooner, rather than later. After all, a creative, exciting, and vibrant scene of dedicated practitioners can't be held down forever...
As for "the article", I ultimately decided that the "story of freestyle" would be far better told in images and video, rather than in hundreds of thousands of words. Skaters aren't real "big" on reading these days, and to be totally honest, I'm getting pretty sick of typing my ass off all the time. So, here's the end result: A chronological timeline of freestyle's history, and freestyle's contributions to skateboarding, in pictures.
Enjoy...!
"Thank God for the internet"...!
Because of modern technology ("The Internet" and "Search Engines" being chief among them), the "history of anything" has suddenly become a hell of a lot easier to catalog, document, and pass along to future generations. This is a little piece that we discovered on YouTube, titled "Skateboarding 1965"... and, it's a great place to begin telling the "story" of freestyle.
Freestyle, by definition, is "Any type of skateboarding, above and beyond the simple basics of rolling, and turning". By that definition, the very first "freestyle" tricks were things like kickturns, rock walks (essentially, sequential kickturns), spins (basically, a 360-degree kickturn... which evolved into multitudes of 360's being done in a single, unbroken motion), and "wheelies" (modern-day "manuals") were all fairly commonplace at skateboarding's early genesis. This video illustrates basic "freestyle" skating... yet, you can also see snippets of what would become ever more "specialized" forms of skating. Jumping up on top, and off of the curbs ("up-curbies" and "down-curbies", respectively) point to street skating's future, while we also see the reflection of surfing's early influences (getting "tubed" under a truck bed, for example), which will ultimately drive the upcoming "vertical explorations" that will result in pool and vert skating.
The famous 1965 Anaheim Skateboarding Championships! This neat archive features a lot of the first-generation of skateboarding legends, such as Skip Frye (who wins the slalom event), Davey and Steve Hilton ("Yes! They are uncles of Paris Hilton!"), Danny Escalante, Torger Johnson (who would come back in the 1970's as a pro freestyler for Logan Earth Ski), and Torger's future boss, Bruce Logan himself. In this video clip, we see "freestyle" almost immediately being taken off of the streets... where it was initially allowed to evolve in near-total freedom... and, suddenly being "boxed" into an exclusive "flatland" paradigm. Once the competition organizers had their way with bastardizing the "freestyle movement", there was no looking back: "Freestyle" would forever be defined by the flat, featureless expanse of perfectly smooth and unbroken concrete (or, whatever surface could be contrived by contest day). It would take almost thirty years for "freestyle" to free itself from the "flatland contest burden", and return to it's original birthplace: The Streets.
Here, we have the first-ever, twinkick skateboard... the aluminum "Banzai" freestyle board. While most "skateboard scholars" credit the much later World Industries Mike Vallely "Barnyard" model as the first twinkick skateboard on the market, a much more accurate assessment might be that the Barnyard was first "functional, and practical twinkick skateboard". As a heavy, solid lump of aluminum ultimately proved to be neither "functional", nor "practical". And the fuckers killed ya when they smacked your shins, too. I've ridden one... and trust me, it's not exactly "fun". But, it was the first of the many! That much is for certain.
A much more "practical" answer to the freestyle skater, was the Power Paw Ed Nadalin freestyle model. In this composite, we see one of the original ads for the Nadalin (along with a complementary, more "classic" shaped directional board for his teammate, freestyle pioneer Russ Howell), and a close-up of the Nadalin's twin-tip freestyle shape. This shape, combined with the double-kick of the Banzai, was the harbinger of things to come.
This photo is a composite of several photos of classic skateboards featured at the Skull Skates online museum. Here, we have a steel-wheeled, homemade skateboard from the late 1950's; a clay-wheeled skateboard from the early 1960's; and, the Power Paw Ed Nadalin model, circa 1975. Here, we can very clearly see the evolution of freestyle skateboards from simple rectangular planks... to a much more surf-inspired, "curvy" shape... to the semi-blunt, "twin-ish" shape of the Nadalin. While most skateboards of the era built upon the surf-inspired "curved bullet" shape, freestyle wizardry tended to point to the functionality of the double-tailed platform.
This is some of the "raw" footage of the 1975 Del Mar Nationals, which was shot (and thankfully, preserved) by Hal Jepson. This is the contest that was heavily featured in Stacy Peralta's documentary, "Dogtown and Z-Boys" as the place where the Z-Boys solidified their "contest-reputation as skateboarding innovators". Truth be told, the flat and featureless wood platform was a horrible, horrible venue for the Z-Boys to "solidify" anything... given that their expertise was vertical terrain, not featureless horizontal platforms... but, whatever. The story goes that the Z-Boys "destroyed freestyle" by taking the "stand-up, spinning, wheelie-driven paradigm... and smashing it into the ground". Unfortunately for the Z-Boys, history does tend to prove them wrong to some extent... as freestyle's "upright stick people" obviously do continue to move forward and progress their sport, completely unfettered by the Z-Boys' interpretation of "freestyle"...
... as proven by these two clips. The first one is some contest footage that was shot in England, in 1978. The next video- which is a far more "complete" archive- was filmed in 1981... a virtual "dead zone" in our collective history, where most forms of skateboarding dried up, and almost went extinct. Many skateboard companies of the era went out of business, and the sole skateboard magazine (Skateboarder) was on the verge of becoming a much more diversified "action sports" periodical (Action Now) which also covered some lame-ass pursuits such as horseback riding, and BMX. All in all, it was a pretty sad state of affairs for skateboarding. Yet through it all, Del Mar's "stick people" survived... maybe even "flourished", as we can see skateboarding moving from being a "Californian pastime" to a "Worldwide phenomenon", just based on where the videos were shot at.
In this reel, the subjects are Mark Christensen and Richard Ortiz, who are skating for Pacific Shore Surf Shop in Boulder, Colorado. You can see that "freestyle" is still evolving, and coming into it's own as the "freestyle" that we would all recognize as "Classic '80s Freestyle". And, the spread will continue to all corners of the world, from North Carolina (Reggie Barnes), to Florida (Rodney Mullen), to Sweden (Per Welinder), to France (Pierre Andre), to England (Don Brown), and back to Southern California (Primo Desiderio) before the end of the decade.
Classic contest footage from Vancouver, 1985. The subject: Steve Rocco, who would become heavily influential on the next "wave" of freestylers... notably, the the very young (and, very impressionable) Rodney Mullen, who credits Steve as being one of the smoothest and technically advanced freestylers ever. Here, the "Mullen Influence" is readily apparent in how quick, seamlessly, and effortlessly Steve executes his routine.
Louisville, Kentucky, 1988. "The Greats" of their generation are all lined up, and put on the chopping block at a fairly typical NSA-sanctioned event. Note the lack of spectators: The arena is nearly empty, showing that even in its heyday, freestyle wasn't "widely celebrated". Also note that the producers of the video mis-spelled "Per Welinder", and that the "announcers" really don't have much of a clue regarding what's going on out there on the floor.
Ultimately, it would take a whole new movement- the emerging "streetstyle" scene- for freestyle's numerous and incredibly important contributions to be fully clarified, defined, refined, and taken to "the masses" of skaters, everywhere.
Rodney Mullen, Future Primitive (1986)...
Rodney Mullen, Rubbish Heap, 1989...
And Rodney Mullen, in Plan B's Second Hand Smoke (1995).
If there is any series of video clips that truly illustrate why Rodney Mullen is the living legend that he is... these three clips will do it. Compare Rodney's skating to any of his "generational peers", and you'll see real quick that Rodney was light-years ahead of everybody. The reason? Rodney lived an incredibly solitary, almost hermit-like existence that allowed him to focus almost exclusively on his "craft" (as Mike Vallely so eloquently puts it, in On Video's Rodney Mullen retrospective), with a bare minimum of deviations and distractions to inhibit his progress.
In Rubbish Heap, we can also see the first shots in Rodney's "defection" to the world of street skating... shots that become a barrage by the time Second Hand Smoke is released six years later. We can largely credit Mike Ternasky (Plan B's founder) for bringing Rodney out of the "free", and into the "street".
A Powell-Peralta ad for the Rodney Mullen "Chess" model, which was in production between (approx.) 1983- 1987. The outline schematic on the bottom clearly shows how close this shape is to the Ed Nadalin model that we talked about earlier in the article.
The legandary Mike Vallely "Barnyard" model, circa 1989. Compare it to the Mullen freestyle deck above! As you can see, the Vallely is a bit bigger (nearly 10", instead of about 7.5" for a typical freestyle deck). And, the Vallely has a modern double-kick concave (as opposed to the flat, single-kick profile of a freestyle deck of the era). Still, visually speaking, the obvious fact of the matter is that this Rodney-designed shape is nothing more than a scaled-up freestyle deck, stretched out to "vert" proportions. By bringing it back down to size, we've ended up with the current "popsickle stick" that most of us (but, not all of us!) skate, today.
This composite image shows a timeline of Rodney's pro models between 1983, and 2009. It's the best and most direct way to illustrate just how much of an impact freestyle has not only had on the way we skate, but also on what we skate. The Vallely "Barnyard" would roughly coincide with Rodney's first "street" model... but right away, the size starts to come back down to "freestyle size" with most boards measuring in the 7.5" to 8" range.
"The House That Rodney Built" advertisement, Plan B Skateboards, 1992. One of the best testimonials ever created to the vast influence that freestyle has had on the modern street-skating movement. Even today, kids are "inventing" tricks that Rodney (and, his many peers) actually invented in the late 1970's and 1980's. The old cliche still haunts the new generation: If you don't know your history, then you're dooming yourself to repeating it. Not that that would be so bad...!
But still: You'll definitely sound like a kook when you claim that you "invented" something that's actually thirty years old.
Yet, through it all, "classic freestyle" (oftentimes referred to as "Rodney Mullen Freestyle") fails to die. Here, we have footage of "The Next Rodney Mullen", aka Cristobal Bahamonde, circa 2007...
... Kevin Harris for TransWorld SKATEboarding, circa 2008...
...Killian Martin, November 2009...
... and Kevin (again), with euro champion Steffan "Lillis" Akesson, demoing at the Ultra Bowl, August 2010. Supposedly, freestyle has been clinically "dead" since Rodney whittled out his first "street" model way back in 1991... but, the evidence just doesn't support the lie. Truth is, freestyle continues to pick up new practitioners every year. And it won't be long until freestyle returns as a recognized and influential aspect of skateboarding that continually points and paves the way toward the future.
This article would not have been even remotely possible without the following websites, their creators, and the photos, videos, and stories that they've contributed to the world wide web. They include:
Marc McKee, and www.skateboardgraphics.com
PD, and the Skull Skates online museum; www.skullskates.com
Russ Howell, and www.skatewhat.com
YouTube, www.youtube.com (as if we didn't know that already),
and Blair Watson at Skull and Bones, www.skullandbonesskateboards.com/forums.
Thanks to you all for your contributions to preserving and archiving our history. You're good men, and I wish you well.
This year will mark the second snowboard season in the short life of The Solitary Life. As time marches on, we're getting more and more support from not only the readers, but also the snowboard industry. Which is great! Because without snowboarding, our winters would be hella boring and depressing, to say the very least... Historically, insofar as skateboarding goes, we've only supported a small handful of companies that we feel really reflect the best that skateboarding has to offer. Generally, we try to support a diverse group of brands that cover the entire spectrum of our pastime. As far as snowboarding goes, we didn't feel any need to deviate from our core mission of supporting only the best that the industry has to offer. The policy seems to be holding water just fine, so why even consider changing it...?
That said, here's the roster of brands that we're supporting this year here at The Solitary Life:
Growing up in Concord, New Hampshire, Burton was always our "homegrown, backyard" company (being located in nearby Burlington, Vermont). Burton was one of the first-ever, fully legit snowboard companies (the other being their west-coast arch-rival, Sims). They've always fully supported snowboarding right from day one, and have consistently made great gear that holds up to the test. Airs, Floaters, Customs, Kings, Mayhems, Supermodels, Deuces... yeah, we've ridden (and loved) them all. This year, we're product-testing the Burton Customs (bindings), a couple more gloves, and hopefully (if we're lucky), those neat new Freestyle One-Up bindings.
5150. Back in the day, one of the coolest snowboard brands. After a few rounds of buyouts, re-positionings, and consolidations, 5150 ended up being the big-box budget brand within the snowboard world. However: They are still one of the most underrated brands out there, given that their Dealers, Movements, and Strokes are always top-notch products at a hell of a steal price. This year, we've scored two new Strokes (in the 161 and 164 sizes), with the new Rad Rock rocker design.
And of course, we also support the hell out of 5150's big brother, Ride. Whereas 5150 is on the "budget" end of the yardstick, Ride generally handles the midrange-to-high-end market. Their Fleetwoods (sadly, gone this year) and Yukons (also gone this year) were legendary around The Solitary Life headquarters. But hopefully the Slackcountry (introduced last year) and the Highlife (brand-new for this year) will fill the voids in our hearts quite nicely.
Lib Technologies. Two words: Jamie Lynn! Fantastic Plastic? Banana Technology? Magne Traction! Whichever two words you choose, Lib Tech has always been one of our favorite snowboard programs, right from Day One. And to make things even better: They're made "Near Canada" (in the USA), and have a perpetually perplexing sense of humor that we really love around here. This year, our big-mountain gun is a Magne-Traction-equipped, 190 cm Skunk Ape.
This year, we're also going to be spending some time spotlighting some of the smaller, "core", made-in-the-states microbrews that we love so much. Keep your eyes peeled for coverage of smaller companies like Smokin', Humanity, Venture, Herr Vaughnster, Winterstick, Never Summer, and more.
As far as boots go, we're pretty committed to the whole Vans deal. Simply the best boots made, as far as we can see. This year, we're revisiting the timeless High Standards before we begin branching out, and checking out other brands next season.
Of course, just like skate, we fully endore and recommend supporting your local, independently-owned snowboard shop. However, if your needs are super-specialized (like ours), or you live in the middle of nowheresville (like we do), we do have two e-tailers that we can highly recommend. Those are The House (www.the-house.com), and Dogfunk (www.dogfunk.com). We've shopped both for years, and they consistently outperform. We love 'em.
Waxing and tuning are serious concerns to serious snowboarders, and we're no different. In the past... like, for the last twenty years... we've exclusively used Swix tools and waxes. Especially their excellent F4 all-temp, all-condition wax.
However, this year, we decided to check out alternatives on both the wax and tool front. With the waxes, of course, we're going to be testing those on an ongoing basis throughout the season. Some of the brands that we're looking at are Magical Go-Go, One Ball Jay, Whacks, Bluebird, Dominator, Toko... the list is pretty much endless, at this point. The wax testing alone pretty much guarantees that we're gonna be on for a solid 45-day season this season. Any less than that, and we would be testing waxes well into next year.
But as far as advertisers go, we decided to support someone a little more close-to-home this year. As in, "Made In America". And, that brand is Hertel. Terry Hertel also happens to believe that they're going to totally dominate in our head-to-head wax-testing, which is a pretty stiff claim that we're just itching to put to the test. Hot Sauce, Racing FC739, and Spring Solution are all in the house, and ready to rip.
For outwear, we generally support two brands that most snowboarders might not immediately think of: Columbia Sportswear, and Under Armour. Our position is that most snowboarding outerwear has gotten too flashy, too expensive, and too hype-and-style driven. Which is fine, as far as it goes. But when you're stuck out in the backcountry waiting to get picked up, or you realize that you have to hike your ass back to civilization? Hype and style aren't gonna save your ass from the elements. Let alone, save your life. Straight-ahead function, thoughtful design, and excellent execution will. That's why we sort of "support the unexpected" on this one. Watch for thorough reviews of both of these lines this season.
And, there ya go! The short-list of snow-brands that we support here at The Solitary Life. We hope that all of this makes your snow-buying a little easier this year. Have fun on the mountain! We'll see ya out there.
Here's a couple of super-cool things that just arrived in my inbox last week:
The Legion is underway with their new Ron Allen model. Ron is a legendary street skater (many of us older-schoolers might remember him from his H-Street/Life Skateboards days) that is always model-worthy. Look for more stuff from Frankie Hill, Eric Ricks, and the crew at:
www.thelegionskateboards.com.
Richard Kirby at Big Mess is one of the coolest dudes on the planet, and he just paired up with one of the biggest legends of skateboarding in Rick "The Doctor" Blackhart for the newest Big Mess deck. Check out those dimensions and drool, because this puppy looks totally shred-worthy. What you can't see in the comp, is that it's also got front-truck wheelwells. Rule, rule, rule.
www.bigmessskateboards.com.
A couple weeks back, Jason Filipow over at By The Sword sent me a news tidbit for me to check out... and like a total loser, I completely spaced/misplaced it. Jason, I am sorry! In any rate, I went and checked out Regulator Distribution's website (www.regulatordist.com) to see if I could find what Jason was referring to... and, this looks like it might be it. The Fall 2010 By The Sword decks are in stock, and shipping! And, they look great, too. Good job, guys.
While was at Regulator, I also happened upon this little tidbit from 1031 (Kristian Svitak's gig). Now, this is kinda ruling for two reasons. One: Notice that Breeders deck down there. If you don't know who the Breeders are, and why I'm all kinds of happy over this... just, go YouTube 'em. Actually, on second thought, y'know what?! I'll just do it for ya:
The Breeders' classic single from their "Last Splash" album (which kicks ass), "Cannonball"... directed by the one and only Spike Jonze...
... although I personally dug this one even better. Kim Deal's follow-up project, The Amps. From their cult classic album (Pacer), this track's called "Tipp City". Fucking ripping, man. Genius.
But, also note the "100% Made In The USA" quip right there. The rumour mill has been spewing for months that 1031 is sourced in China. I asked Svitak about that on the Glory Bound tour, and he assured me that the rumour mill is totally incorrect. As it generally is, I might add...
That's all for this week! Keep that news coming in, guys...!
The summit is [finally] set for Saturday, May 14th, 2011 through Sunday, May 15th, 2011. The venue? Ollie's Skatepark in Florence, Kentucky.
The available space for this show is staggering: 12,000 square feet of indoor warehouse space, directly adjacent to their indoor skatepark. This makes the show weatherproof, accessible to the public (if this is desired by the exhibitors), and skate-accessible for all attendees. Just leave the gate, and go rip.
The space also has convenient loading-dock access, for those loading or unloading bulky materials into or out of the summit site.
Retailers and exhibitors can pre-register at homegrownsummit@yahoo.com.
Admittance to the show is free for all retailers and working media.
Exhibitors: Booth deposits have been set at $200 per booth space. Booths will comprise of pop-up tents (provided by the exhibitors). Electrical power, display tables, ample on-site parking, and recycling options will be provided for all exhibitors. This fee will be due upon conformation, and is a non-refundable deposit. Exhibitors can request multiple booth spaces, and all space will be allotted on a first-come, first-serve, first-right-of-refusal basis.
We will be publishing the final pre-registration list around January 15th, 2011. We'll be asking for confirmations and deposits at that time. Whether the show goes forward as scheduled at this point, depends entirely on retailer interest and pre-registration.
45 skateboard brands have already pre-registered for the show. Although space is relatively plentiful, be aware that space is also being optioned very, very quickly.
If we come in substantially under budget (and, it looks like this very well may be the case): Refund checks will be sent back to the exhibitors, based on their original deposit amounts.
From here on out, all questions, concerns, and comments can go to the homegrownsummit@yahoo.com e-mail address.
Stay tuned to The Solitary Life for ongoing Homegrown updates, as well as FAQ's and our ongoing coverage of events leading up to the summit.
Thank you for all of your support on this project! We couldn't have done it without you...
I'm a little bit unsure how I want to begin this little essay I'm about to write here. So, I'm going to randomly begin here:
Michael Brooke (of Concrete Wave Magazine) and I (of The Solitary Life Blogger Crappiness Worldwide)... technically speaking... are vile and relentless competitors.
It's true. Technically speaking, we're both media outlets. Technically speaking, we're both competing for the same sorts of readers. Technically speaking, we're also competing for many of the same advertisers. Technically speaking, we both have personal and professional agendas that don't always mesh together well. Technically speaking, we're probably each others biggest critics (or, is a better word "critiques"?). Technically speaking, we're also many times competing for the same stories, the same contributing writers, and the same photographers.
So, yeah. Technically speaking, maybe we should both wise the hell up, and start fighting each other tooth and nail. Because we are, after all, competitors.
However, here's the everyday reality: Michael Brooke and I are actually super-good friends. In reality, we actually share a lot of resources. Michael writes for The Solitary Life, and I write for Michael. We undertake a lot of projects together. We spend a lot of our time bouncing ideas and insights off each other. We definitely learn a lot from each other, and value each others opinions. We allow Michael to advertise his magazine on The Solitary Life, and Michael also advertises The Solitary Life to his readers at the magazine. When the shit really hits the fan, we're both grabbing for the phone to call each other and figure out what the hell needs to be done, and how fast we need to get on it. Realistically speaking, we actually offer each other a lot of mutual support, and mutual respect. Even though, technically speaking, maybe we're both absolute retards for doing so.
So, I guess the obvious question becomes: Why are we so stupid?! Why don't we just do what we should be doing, and start calling each other "gay", and kicking each other in the nuts at every available opportunity...?
Well, the answer is this: We actually get a whole hell of a lot more done... and, cause a lot more damage to the "status quo"... and, I might add, we have a shit-ton more fun doing it... when we work together, than either of us ever could hope to ever accomplish by being jerks to each other, kicking each other in the gonads, and strictly going it alone.
Yesterday I was at a skate shop, talking to a skate shop owner about the Homegrown Summit. This guy was fundamentally, a really awesome guy. Very bright, super articulate, mega insightful, and he had a pretty witty sense of humor to boot. Basically: The kind of dude that's always a pleasure to meet. Just, a really rad all-around bloke. I don't need to tell you who it was: He knows who he is. And, I'd really like to thank him tons for his time, and his insights. I learned a whole bunch of stuff. Among them: The present-day outlook of the average, everyday, struggling skateshop owner.
But like a lot of shops, this guy did have one philosophy that I sorta had to fundamentally disagree with. And, that philosophy was that he- as a shop owner- is an island. An individual. That simply sees no need in working with anybody else, on anything else. The only thing that matters in skateboarding, he said, was Individual Effort, and Individual Results. Skaters are, after all, selfish and solitary people that are at their very best when they're left entirely alone to do selfish and solitary things.
Which, of course, I naturally agreed with. Somewhat. I do, after all, run a blog called "The Solitary Life". If there's any guy that can totally appreciate the value of selfishly solitary pursuits, and selfishly solitary results, it's me.
The key word in all of that, however, is "Somewhat". The problem is that I [obviously] do not subscribe to this theory of "100% solitude, 100% of the time". As illustrated by my "Michael" example above, I do have the capacity to recognize the value of collaborative effort, when a collaborative effort actually helps to advance my generally selfish and solitary agenda.
Here's a few more examples that any skater worth their shit can relate to: Building a ramp. Or: Building a backyard bowl. Or: Creating a DIY skate spot. Or: Starting a DIY skate company. Or: Starting a DIY skate shop, for that matter. It is absolutely true that any single skater can undertake these sorts of projects all by themselves, without any outside assistance whatsoever. It is absolutely true, that any skater would be well-served by showing just this sort of individual spirit, and individual initiative. It is absolutely true that any skater could learn a whole hell of a lot from the individual experience. And it is absolutely true that, conceivably, any individual skater could get it all done, perfectly fine, all by themselves
But: Having a collaborative effort behind these things usually does a lot more for skateboarding, and yields a lot more fruit for the individuals involved, than they would if they were strictly individual projects. A Helping Hand is, after all, a Helping Hand. And so: Even as a selfishly solitary guy... I do sometimes value giving... or, getting... a helping hand with things.
Collaborative efforts actually extend far and wide in skateboarding. Besides the media example that I opened this essay with, another example of a major collaborative effort might include IASC. Where the bigger manus collaborate on projects. Not always successful ones... I've made an entire career, after all, based on pointing out IASC's seemingly endless list of flaws. But to be fair, a few of those IASC initiatives have actually been really, really cool. The Public Skatepark Development Guide, for example, was a real winner for IASC. And it actually helped get some really good, free, public skateparks built. Which actually helped everybody... the entire community of skateboarding.
In my eyes, that sort of thing is the ticket. That's when collaborative efforts are at their best: When everybody helps, and everybody gets something out of it. Put another way: When "the greater good" and "the selfishly solitary" can see eye to eye, and get along just dandily.
Even outside of IASC... when we look at the current crop of "smaller companies"... again, there are major collaborative efforts going on there, too. Many of these small companies work together quite enthusiastically on all sorts of projects, big and small. I talked to a company owner yesterday on my way to Cincy that is actually building a website for one of his direct competitors. Well, you might ask yourself: Why would he do such a thing?! Why in the Lord's name would he openly help his competitor market their products, and reach their customers more effectively?! His answer? "We're all friends here, and there's more than enough for everybody. Those dudes are my brothers. Of course I'm gonna help 'em out, dumbass!" Many of these small companies are actually banding together, and launching independent distribution companies, to better get their products to market. It may sound weird for small companies to work together on these sorts of things... after all, they are all "competitors".
But, there's also a quiet understanding afoot that if one small company wins in the marketplace, then they all win in the marketplace. If all of these efforts actually make it easier for everyday skaters to make individual, DIY contributions to this industry of ours... well, why not play a part in that?! After all, shouldn't the skateboarding industry be run by the very skaters that it's there to serve...? Small companies are the first guys to say "Yes" to that one. So: They're paving the way for even more skaters to own even more companies that can realistically survive... even thrive... in the current-to-future marketplace. Because everyone thinks that would be great for skateboarding. And so, everyone seems to be lending a helping hand to make that happen.
Thinking about it: The only place where there is not a widespread acceptance of collaborative, mutually beneficial support, is among the independent retailers. The independent retailers, after all, are the islands of the industry. They are generally hateful and bitter competitors. And as such, they're all generally at each others' throats, all the time. Which is not only fundamentally out of touch with what skateboarding is all about... it's also horrendously out of touch with what's going on all across our industry, today.
I might add: It also conveniently helps those capitalistic, corporate ass-munchers at Zumiez, via the "divide and conquer" theory. Just wanted to point that one out really quick.
I, for one, have spent the better part of the last three years (maybe more) trying (in vain) to talk to shops, and get them to understand the obvious benefits of communicating with each other, and/or working together towards common goals. But, let's forget "working together" for a minute. That's a pretty hefty long-term goal, when it comes to the everyday skate shop. The much more immediate hurdle, is just getting them to talk to each other. That's plenty hard to do, all by itself.
Every shop that I talk to... every independently-owned, skater-owned, "core", whatever-you-wanna-call-it skate shop... feels mighty weird about talking to other skate shops. Doesn't even have to be the guy right up the street, or across town. It could just as easily be a shop across the state, or across the country. I ask these guys, "Don't you have things you'd like to ask other shop owners? Don't you have questions and insights you'd like to share with somebody that you can relate to? Somebody that understands your challenges?"
And of course, every shop that I talk to says "Sure, Bud! That would be awesome if I could do that!"
But then: No shop does anything at all to make that happen. And the whole circle begins anew.
Even when a chance to do so something presents itself front and center, shops are generally pretty damned hesitant to seize the opportunity. A few years back, I worked on a concept called "The Collective". Which was essentially a free-to-join skateshop union. The philosophy was simple: Strength In Numbers. And, Job One being to get shops talking to each other, and sharing ideas, experiences, and expertise amongst themselves. Although it was a minor success, it was in many more ways a dreadful failure. Some shops were hesitant to participate. Many were openly questioning of the whole shebang. Others still were outright negative, while a few of the more memorable ones were actually pretty hostile and hateful.
And, the net result was that many of these shops went right back to being islands. Not all of them. But: Most of them.
The irony here is that, while the independent retailers largely decided to stick their heads in the sand, or up their asses... the media, and the manufacturers actually developed really good working relationships amongst themselves, and with each other. So while the "intended beneficiaries" didn't get a damned thing out of it, the "unintended beneficiaries" actually got a shit-ton out of it. And while I'm happy that somebody ultimately did get something out of it, I still walked away thinking that the whole gig was really pretty fucked up. Because the "intended beneficiaries"... the guys that were supposed to get the most out of it... actually ended up getting the least. And, that was largely due to their own hesitation to even get on board with the concept.
Now, if you know me at all, then you'll surely understand that I am not a guy that gives up particularly easily. I love me a good challenge, and a tough nut to crack. Independent skateshops today, are the last of those tough nuts. The whole reason for having an Industry Summit, is to have The Industry... independent retailers included... come together, and work in a collaborative manner that benefits everybody involved. Including, the independent retailers.
Yet as I'm putting this all together, I am seeing once again the specter of the same-'ol-situation happening all over again: The media and the manus getting a hell of a lot lot out of the ride, and the independent retailers not even being on the wagon.
At some point, the independent retailers have to understand that winning at "the game" means having a willingness to step up, and play the game... play it well... and, play it to win. Because if you're all about losing, then why in the hell wouldn't you just throw in the towel, concede defeat straightaway, and march your ass home...? It might make sense to you. But, it sure as hell doesn't make any sense to me.
I get asked a lot, why am I so passionate about these things? What's in it for me? Well, really, there's not much in it for me at all. Minus being an interesting project, and an opportunity to make a difference somewhere, and/or learn something along the way. All things that I'm pretty motivated by. Mostly what I actually get out of all of this is a migraine, and a recurring chain-smoking habit.
But, there's other reasons why I masochistically torture myself on a regular basis with these sorts of "fun little projects". Here's one of them that hits close to home: I, as a skater, quite literally grew up in an independent skateboard shop. I whittled away a hell of a lot of my formative years hanging out in skate shops. Watching, listening, and learning. As a kid, it was my afternoon day care, and my learning portal to all things "skateboarding", as well as a whole lot of pretty important "life lessons". It was a vital part of my youth, and it really did shape, in many ways, the adult that I am today.
And even as an adult, I still heavily rely on independent skate shops to get from here to there. A case in point: In my many travels back and forth across this great skateboarding land of ours. In that case, I literally rely on independent skate shops to get my fat ass from "here", and to "there". Skate shops are an infinitely handy and informative, nationwide network of people that know what the hell is going on in their backyards. When they know what they're doing, at least. As a roving reporter, that shit is kind of important to my work.
Try walking into a Zumiez, and getting directions to the local skatepark. Trust me: I've certainly tried. And, trust me: It's absolutely fruitless. Bordering on ridiculously hysterical. I'd probably laugh my ass off, if I wasn't crying already.
Without "real" skate shops, my days as a storyteller would definitely be over. No shops? No scenes. No scenes? No directions. No directions? No travels. No travels? No adventures. No adventures? No misadventures. And, finally: No misadventures? No stories.
And so, there ya go. Frankly put: The idea of living in a skateboarding world without independent retailers scares the living shit out of me. Skateboarding, without independent retailers to support local local kids, local scenes, and local skateboarding communities, just wouldn't be "skateboarding". It would be lifeless.
As I rode back to Lew's after a long day of "skateshop diplomacy", I asked the kid that I was toting around how he would be personally affected, if his local independent skate shop ceased to exist. Immediately, he replied that he wouldn't be affected one damned bit by it at all. Which is probably, a pretty common mindset. Which might go a long way toward explaining why so many independent skate shops are going out of business, today. The customers just don't give a shit. Let alone, two shits.
But then, he sat and thought about it for a minute or so. And as he thought out loud, he started talking about how that shop had really always been there for him. How that shop had given him a sense of self-worth and of self-esteem, while all of the other shops in his 'hood were way too cool to even be bothered with talking to him. How this particular skate shop always had a welcoming vibe, a friendly smile, and easy answers to all of this kid's questions. And how this shop had really supported him, and his skateboarding, right from Day One.
And as he thought about it, he said "You know what? I guess I would be pretty affected by it." And the more he thought about it, the more affected he realized he'd be. The final answer being that he would actually be quite affected, bordering on "extremely affected".
My biggest worry in the world, is that skateboarding is made up of millions of skaters, and skate company owners that are not as reflective, or not as imaginative, as that kid that I was toting around in my car yesterday. I think that we all assume that losing a nation of independent skate shops is really not "that big of a deal". After all, the internet has put everything and anything that we could ever hope for, right at our fingertips. Skateboards are a dime a dozen, and available any time of day, any day of the year for instantaneous purchasing gratification. And that's great! As far as it goes.
But, the question becomes: How far does that really go...?
My ultimate nightmare is waking up one day down the road... many years into the future... and having all of us say to ourselves "Holy crap, skateboarding sucks! This is pretty fucked up. Where in the hell did all of this shit start to go wrong...?!" And looking back, and realizing that unbeknown to us, the independent retailer did way more for skateboarding, than merely "Supplying skateboarders with readily accessible consumables". That the skate shop was far more vital than we'd ever imagined, for reasons that (at the time) we did not fully recognize, let alone understand.
And, worst of all: Realizing that through our own actions (or, inactions), we quietly allowed them all to fade away.
For my part, a lot of the reason that I'm spending such a gigantic chunk of my time working on this Homegrown Industry Summit Shindig, is to have exactly this type of conversation. With everybody. Of course: I could always take the easy way out, write the essay, throw it up on the 'ol blog, and be done with it. But, I think that cultivating interpersonal relationships is something that I'm really into right now. To be honest, I'm just really sick and tired of typing on a screen. At some point, even a selfish solitary jackass like me likes to hit the road, and meet some actual, bona-fide people.
That's what skateboarding is really all about, isn't it...?
But for that to happen, I need independent skate shops on board. And by "on board", I need them to do one simple thing.
And that is: Show Up.
There's one more thing that I think every skateboard shop, every skateboard company... hell, every skateboard business... needs to understand and [hopefully] embrace. The biggest critique that I have heard about these trade shows/industry summits/whatever-you-wanna-call-'ems, is that they merely exist to do bu$ine$$. To buy and sell stuff. Which is partially true.
But: Not entirely.
In my world, these things do more than just being a place to do business. In my eyes, they also exist to help perpetuate business. There's a key difference there. And, it's an important distinction to make.
Let's face facts: A lot of skateboard business owners start businesses with the intent to help other people. In the realm of skateboard shops, a lot of these guys (and gals) start shops in order to help kids. Skaters. Their local skate scenes, their local communities, whatever. I hear that a lot, actually.
Well, here's the problem: A skate shop can only help other people, if it succeeds and prospers. The same goes for any company. In order to help other people, the first and foremost thing that any business needs to do, is to perpetuate it's own existence. The harsh reality being that a business that goes out of business, isn't in any position to help anyone at all.
The biggest downfall of most trade shows- as I see it- is that they are generally far too narrow in scope, and purpose. "Doing business" is only part of the equation. But, the far bigger part of the equation is helping manufacturers and retailers network, interact, and discover better and more sustainable ways of perpetuating their businesses. For the benefit of everybody involved.
That's where we... all of us that are involved with this project... all hope that a summit like Homegrown can make a difference. But, like so many things in skateboarding: There's no way that we can do it all by ourselves.
Without skate shops on board, the whole rationale for having an industry summit ceases to exist. Then, it's back to "lack-of-business-as-usual" for everyone.
And I don't think that anybody really wants that...
As you've probably heard by now, the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) trade show [finally] pulled the plug after 29 years in business. I'm not even going to bother doing any coverage or commentating on it myself, since Shop-Eat-Surf has been doing such an excellent job of providing up-to-the-minute, comprehensive reporting on events as they unfold. Check it all out, here:
www.shop-eat-surf.com
However, with ASR's immediate demise, a few of us outsiders-looking-in quickly realized that this would leave a huge gulf of uncertainty and inactivity in its wake. There would surely be a lot of solid questioning about the ramifications of all of this. What sort of show would replace ASR...? What would be the fate of Crossroads and Agenda...? Do we even need "trade shows" at all...? Are they ever worth the time, effort, and money...? The list goes on and on. And, it'll all probably be subject to debate and dialogue well into the future.
But, here's the deal: Some of us aren't the "debating" sorts. Some of us will always prefer decisive action to vacillating inaction.
Michael Brooke and I have seen all of this coming for a couple of years now. It's not like we're really all that bright: The rest of the planet saw it coming, too. Indeed, Mike has even been writing about it for a couple of years. As for myself, I just didn't give a shit. I long ago stopped caring about ASR, or anything that might (or, might not) have happened there. As for what I saw and experienced there, my lips are forever sealed. This is, after all, a child-friendly publication that I've got going on over here.
"First off... fucking awesome. What a pain in the ass it is, and no one writes orders like they used to at the show. I remember back in like 2000 they were crazy. Remember the Osiris "D3" booth... like 3 stories tall. The smaller, more core-related shows that are more skate-specific are better, cheaper, you don't have a light-up razor-scooter-wheel dude next to you, spend like 1/20th and reach the right dudes... no brainer. Rad! Thank you for brightening my morning!"
- Skull and Bones user "Goon", on ASR's demise [edited for grammar and spelling]. We're actually hearing a lot of this. Looks like ASR might not be missed that much...
Regardless: When the word came down, we had quite a powwow about it. My contention was that IASC would be powerless to act (as usual). And even if they did, they'd probably just screw everything up anyway (as usual). BRA might have a few good ideas (as usual), but might not be able to articulate them clearly enough to build any sort of consensus (as usual). Crossroads and Agenda would probably fight for dominance (a title that Agenda has already openly claimed on Shop Eat Surf, those arrogant bastards), while they both duked it out in the face of still-declining buyer turnout. And as for the buyers... well, they'd probably just opt to avoid all the bullshit, and end up staying home.
Which, apparently, is what they're already doing. Which brings us right around full-circle.
The bottom line was simple: If we in The Media wanted something to cover this year, then we in The Media would probably have to take the lead, and design some sort of Brave New Paradigm ourselves. Nobody's gonna do it for us, that's fersure. And besides, ASR was always a real bore to cover. Personally, I would have much rather slit my own wrists than cover another ASR. As for Mike, I'll let him speak for himself.
In the face of this, Mike hunched that the future of any sort of "trade show" might be in much smaller, much more intimate, much more realistic, much more accessible, and much more affordable trade show formats. I agreed, adding that it'd be extra-nice if it actually included some stuff to skate (that everybody could skate, not just the big-time pros), and dispensed with the usual "industry hogwash". A little bit of straight-ahead honesty, after all, might actually be kind of refreshing these days. Let's be totally truthful for a minute: Frankly speaking, this industry could use an open, honest, and fluff-free dialogue about a whole range of topics, far above and beyond the immediate ASR-news-of-the-moment.
So, what's the answer...?! Same answer any true-blue skater will give ya: When you need something done, you do it yourself. Enter the "Homegrown" industry summit/trade show...
When AJ Kohn concurred, and suggested a simple, no-frills, backyard-style BBQ/skate session/trade show, I was all ears. Any time that some head mentions BBQ and skateboarding, I'm usually all ears anyway.
Within 36 hours, we had it all set up. Lew Ross (of Fickle Skateboards) generously offered his acreage over in Cincinnati for the shindigs. On the property there are warehouses, a mini ramp, and the makings of a backyard, concrete bowl. And, there's a fire pit to boot. Which is bonus, because I'm planning on camping out. The weather is really nice that time of year, so why bother spending the dimes on a hotel...? This is skateboarding, people. Midwest/East Coast Style. We don't stay at the Marriott or the Ritz Carlton when we hit the road, because we're not weenies. We rough that shit.
Consider that fair warning: This show just isn't designed for the "Non-Skater Crowd". Got it, people...?
This is the flyer that'll start trickling out to skate shops all over the midwest this week. We don't screw around, and we don't wait for The Holy Ghost to give us a sign. We're skaters: ASR's suddenly ceasing to exist was all the "sign" we needed.
I've already fielded a whole lotta questions about "Why Cincinnati?!" Well, first of all: The world doesn't revolve around California, buddy. As much as Californians would like to think that it does. Truth be told, Cincinnati has a really bustling skate scene going on over there. There's world-class skateparks (Colerain's massive and flawless kidney springs right to mind)... Ollie's fabulous indoor facility is right there... Cincy's fully accessible to anyone east of the Mississippi... there's a full-on DIY skatepark, just south of the city (in Newport, KY)... there's hella legit shops all over the place (many that have never gone to a trade show in their entire lives)... and maybe most importantly, it's reality, boys. This isn't palm trees, big money, hookers, and blow after all. This is concrete, hamburgers, brews, and family. Good times, but not the fake-bullshit, let's-build-corporate-'excitement' variety.
And, that's exactly the way it should be. Either you're in, or you're out.
This map conveniently illustrates why Cincy was a logical choice for any sort of "midwest skateboard show". Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus, St. Louis, Detroit... they're all within 8 hours. And, 70% of the entire US population lives within a one-day drive. The skateboard industry loves to overlook the midwest, the east coast, clear statistics, as well as the blatantly obvious: That this is literally the geographic the heart of skateboarding, right here. In many ways, it's the ideological heart of skateboarding as well.
By the feedback that we've already gotten from the brands, as well as shops, we're on the right track. People can't believe that we're doing this, but we are. There's no time to lose, and no time to wait around for our salvation. If you want shit to get done (and done right), ultimately you're gonna hafta get that shit done yourself.
Everybody's invited to this deal. I'm not a higher-than-thou sort of jackass, and I'm always down to bro down with anyone. Lew's the same way, and he's a hella smart and hospitable chap to boot. A lot of the smaller companies snapped up spots straightaway, no questions asked. Every shop that I've called has been genuinely stoked that, finally, something's gonna happen in The Midwest for a change. But again, it isn't all about "us". East Coast, West Coast, whatever. We're all skaters, man. We're all one and the same.
Oh, yeah! Almost forgot: We don't discriminate based on "types of skating", either. Street, vert, mini ramps... they're all nearby. But longboarders, speedsters, slalom racers, cruisers, and freestylers are all welcome in this house, too. We believe that everybody should skateboard, and that there should be a skateboard for everyone. If you're a skate shop, and you want to see the full spectrum of what the future of skateboarding has to offer? This is the place to be.
If you're a brand, a manufacturer, or an independent skate shop, and you're down for having a good time on some random Saturday in May? Then, you're part of the family. Bring your board, a sleeping bag, a pillow, and a bowl of cole slaw, and you're good to go. We'd love to have ya, and it's gonna be a blast.
As for the costs: Brands, we're working hard to keep this thing as affordable as possible. Lew thinks it can be done for under $200 per manu, but I wanna try for $100. Either way, it's damn cheap. And charging more than what's absolutely necessary to pull the party off is for assholes. Nobody's gonna make a damn cent off of this, and my checkbook is open to help Lew out if he needs it. We lead by example.
Once again, just so everybody gets this: This isn't about us. It's all about skateboarding. It's grass-roots, it's budget, it's raw, and it's real. We like it like that around here.
Hopefully, we'll see you there.
This show is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 28th, 2011. Anyone interested in pre-registering for this event should e-mail (or call) Bud Stratford straightaway. Pre-registering is not a sign of absolute commitment, but rather an interest in participating.The e-mail is budstratford@aol.com.
By January, we hope to publish a complete list of pre-registrants. Based on the number of pre-registrants, we'll be asking for commitments at that time.
