Liliana Simon
Writ 1133 – WP #2
The Community of Outsiders
“The skateboarding community is very welcoming, they are just used to being demonized by society, of course you’re gonna get made fun of when you start out and get called a wook, but once you’re in, it’s the most supportive group.”
Ean Carter describes the outsider community of skateboarding as a welcoming family. It may be hard to imagine the kids skating around the streets with ripped jeans and scuffed shoes, always seemingly banned from places as a family, but to those inside the community it can be an ideal outlet for self expression and athleticism.
Ean is a college student, visibly laid back, cuffed pants, a baggy t shirt and sneakers, a haircut in a mullet, a visible distinction of self expression. He is relaxed embodying everything you would think of when envisioning a skateboarder. He got into skateboarding when he was young kid and a neighborhood friend came over to hangout, brining a board along with him. Over the years he evolved into a relaxed street skater, skating in half pipes and goofing around on rails with friends, but when he first started it was the competitive skate scene that drew him in.
“I would classify myself as a downhill longboarder. Longboarding is kinda like a different sub category of skateboarding, it’s not really like street traditional skateboarding. It’s on longer boards, more stable setups, kinda designed for higher speeds, downhill is geared towards racing, so like with races, comps go down these big mountains roads, speeds get up to 75mph, it’s all about going the fastest and always trying to push myself to be the fasted guy out there.”
The competitive longboarding scene is unrecognizable to those who haven’t witnessed it. It seems illegal to race down a giant mountain road on piece of wood, but the community drive and competitiveness that Ean described was like any other elite sport.
Skateboarding seems to lie on the outskirts of society, whether it be cities exclusive skate scenes, or suburbs posting “no skateboarding” signs, it is a culture that is seemingly unexplained to those who don’t participate. The drained swimming pools tuned into half pipes for tricks, the oversized t shirts paired with baggy jeans, and the lack of responsibility and commitment are a few features that separate skateboarding from the rest of our ‘pristine’ culture. Skateboarding gets a bad rep, and the constant signes forbidding skateboarding don’t help. When speaking to Ean about his various skating mishaps he has elaborate stories of avoiding the law.
“So like a lot of times you’ll be skating somewhere then like a security guard or like a rental cop or police officer will come up to you and like chase you off. Most of the times they are like hey you gotta leave, like alright cool sorry. Like nothing crazy but I have run from the cops before, in like more serious situations but made it out all okay.” It’s strange to think of paying the price of a potential arrest in order to play on a skateboard, but to many, and not just nieve kids, it’s the price you pay on a daily basis.
The clothing and visual of skating is almost as big as the skating itself. It’s a community that ties itself together by the way it presents itself and the clothing is a major factor in this.
Ean explained there’s a really big risk you’re going to rip your clothes and put massive holes in them, which means you just wear whatever.
“Sometimes I’ll go to like a thrift store or something like that to get a cheap pair of pants that I think look cool or whatever but also don’t really care if I put a massive hole in the back of them.”
A lot of times too people will wear work pants, certain brands are very popular for a lot of skateboarders because they are relatively inexpensive and pretty durable. A skate shoe culture has also emerged and Ean talked about the shoes that he wears, always ones for skating.
“Like flat soled shoes that have good grip on a board but are also somewhat durable, the majority of my shoes will have holes in the just from being absolutely thrashed.”
The skating community is one that you never would envision as supportive and structured one, but speaking to Ean established a close tight knit community of empowered and passionate individuals.
It’s something to think of next time you walk past a “no skateboarding sign” or see kids ripping around a local park.
