Liliana Simon
WP #3 Draft
A 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.
Skateboarding culture is like no other, there is a dialect and unspoken language amongst skaters, as an outsider looking in it is seemingly impossible to understand. 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 unexplained to those who don’t participate. The drained swimming pools turned into half pipes for tricks, and the lack of responsibility and commitment are a few features that separate skateboarding from the rest of our ‘pristine’ culture
To many skaters the ability to elaborate on creativity and style is critical, while skae groups usually appear to be teenagers, skating knows no age limit, ranging from small children playing in their front yards to middle age commuters in between. Skating is available to all genders, intellects, religions and races.
An introduction to skateboarding
Like many kids, Ean Carter an art student from Colorado Springs got into skateboarding when he was a 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.”
Similarly Liza a twenty year old college student from Minneapolis with strawberry blonde hair wearing vans and a flannel says “I become interested when I was six or seven, because all the kids in my neighborhood were skateboarders and I always thought it was really cool”.
“There are skate parks in every town” says Preston a Park City native, getting at the idea that this community stretches so far because of the accessibility. “All of my friends started doing it, and growing up in town, it was a fun thing to do in the summer.”
It goes to show that regardless of hometown or age many kids are drawn to skateboar
Self Expression Through Scuffed Shoes
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 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.
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.”
Preston, a Park City native firmly believes that the culture is influenced by the manner of dress. When asked if skateboarding influenced the way he dresses he responded “Yes. All Black.”
Avoiding the Law
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.
“A lot of times like, it’s considered unlawful to skate in a lot of places, because you’re like a big liability to wherever it may be. Because if you get hurt you can like sue wherever you’re at. 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 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.
Preston the park city native describes similar situations of ‘almost’ getting arrested in a Mcdonald’s parking lot when he was 15.
We have all seen the signs in public places forbidding skateboarding, with no real explanation why. This is the constant pressure that many skaters talk about. Skateboardings outside culture creates a community within for many individuals as a way to express their creativity and athleticism.
