Imagine this: You are on snow (skis or a board), cruisin' through the mountains. Air is great, snow is great. The trees are beautiful, capped with new snow. Everything is quiet-Nothing but nature. Then BAM! You see something right in front of you. It's a long piece of metal. It's curvy, and it looks like a long pipe.. or a handrail? But there is no need for a handrail here, right? You are at 11,ooo ft. elevation! What is a random metal handrail doing on this snowy mountain slope!
Well, resorts across the world have installed rails for "grinding" "sliding" "fifty-fiftying" "nose-pressing" or whatever you want to call it. Like women shaving their legs, it may seem normal and even awesome now, but there is nothing natural about it. So, how was this socialy constructed?
Let's look at the origin of rail riding. The skateboarders could probably take credit for this version of extreme sport. While skating through a city which is filled with rails (installed for purposes other than sports) a skateboarder will use the metal terrain feature for a new challenge. SO snowboarding takes this to the mountain. And then skiing arguably would take that from snowboarding, right?
Well, resorts across the world have installed rails for "grinding" "sliding" "fifty-fiftying" "nose-pressing" or whatever you want to call it. Like women shaving their legs, it may seem normal and even awesome now, but there is nothing natural about it. So, how was this socialy constructed?
Let's look at the origin of rail riding. The skateboarders could probably take credit for this version of extreme sport. While skating through a city which is filled with rails (installed for purposes other than sports) a skateboarder will use the metal terrain feature for a new challenge. SO snowboarding takes this to the mountain. And then skiing arguably would take that from snowboarding, right?It wouldn't be the first time snowboarding/skiing has borrowed the fine aspects of skating. Did you know that when a snowboarder starts a trick with their opposite foot forward (fakie) and does a 360 rotation, the snowboard community will call that a "Cab 3." Skiers will do the same (taking-off fakie for skiers means take-off while skiing backwards.) WHAT DOES "CAB" HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING? A professional skateboarder names Steve CABallero is given credit for being the first to perfect this maneuver. That's right- a skateboarder. On a skateboard.
Skiers and Snowboarders grabbing their skis or boards in mid-air? Skate influenced, right? Some say it's from the skateboarders' need to hold their board in the air, since it's not attached to their feet. Some say surfers started the trend, holding their board on big waves to keep it from wobbling at high speeds. My logic leads me to believe the skate industry deserves the credit.Guess who else grabs their board, does "cab" maneuvers, and rides rails? Wakeboarders, waterskiers, kneeboarders, snowlerbladers, in-line skaters, BMX, Soaps (shoe) wearers, heelie-wearers... your mom could even be home doing grabs with her ironing board right now!
Long post, I'm sorry. Answer one of the two questions:
#1-What do you think makes skateboarding so "cool" that they start these types of trends?
#2- How has a sport that you DO NOT participate in affect things that you DO participate in?
26 comments:
sk8teboarding is so cool because it takes talent to balance. sk8ters start up trends after a lot of practice, just like in any other sport. it's not just a physical sport, it's also a mental one. so, mentally, sk8ters devise up new tricks that appeal to many different sports. plus, a lot of the younger generation is into sk8ting then snowboarding, skiing, BMK riding, etc. and as they move into other sports, they take the tricks with them.
Skateboarding is so different from other sports like football, basketball etc. It's unique. People like being different and this is how they can do it.
I think that skateboarding starts many of the trends because it is more popular. It is cheaper to be a skateboarder, and you can do it almost anywhere. Therefore, there are more people spending more time "messing around" and naturally new things emerge.
I agree with Abram. I think that skateboarding is a cheaper alternative to these other sports (skiing and snowboarding), and therefore more available for people to experiment and try things out. I went skiing for the first time this winter and I felt like I had entered a whole new world when i arrived at the slopes. Skateboarding is known and experienced by people everywhere, and therefore can have more of an influence on other sports. I hope that makes sense.
I think skateboarding is another way for people to "stick it to the man," as Mr. Schneebly says. Like rock n' roll was, and hip-hop is, it's another way to express yourself in an artistic and creative way while at the same time showing distaste for protocol.
Skateboarding is something that is so convenient and easy to start doing. you can get a relatively cheap board, step outside your front door, and ride. I think the popularity of that has caught on to other sports like skiing and snowboarding because it's those same people who want to take their love to another extreme.
Just like a quarterback is considered cool to certain people, skateboarders are considered cool to a different demographic. This demographic are the anti-sports athletes. Those that dont like having a coach tell them what to do or when to do it. Those that are considered anti-authority because they participate in a "crime" and do what they want to do.
I think other sports having influence outside of their specific sphere is a good thing. It serves to broaden the mind and expand the realm of possibility. So now there is grinding in skiing which creates a lot of new tricks for a person to do. Maybe in the future more main streem sports will learn from this and we will finally get to see tackling in baseball.
tackling in baseball would be so sweet.
I also with Abram. Skateboarding is cheap and you can do it almost anywhere. You don't need other friends to be available to go and "play". You can do it on your own time. I think it is perceived as cool because it was the "new" thing to do in our generation. People wanted to be different. I also find it interesting to see the clothing style skating has impacted, skater shoes, etc.
I have never actually thought about how weird it is that we put rails on ski slops to snowboard on. I have seen on occasion snowboarders use a fallen tree as a rail instead. I think it's awesome how we can incorporate our surroundings into most of the sports that we do.
I think that just being on a board--whether its a snowboard, skate-board, wake-board--requires similar skill so if you're gonna grab your skate-board while you're in the air and if it requires the same skill to get air on a snow-board you're muscles are gonna remember the same movement. There is a culture with boarding that I don't really understand, but I've been told it has something to do with liking the thrill of speed combined with controlling something that is hard to control over unpredictable terrain. Skate-boarding came first and once snow and wake boarding came along people converted their love for one into the others. I've only figured out wake-boarding so far and I've tried snowboarding a few times..yea, I just don't get it. haha.
I think the reason skateboarding has such a strong appeal, especially to adolescents, is that it allows people to learn a fun new skill, and it provides an instant image. An image that many young people find to be cool and acceptable.
I like the "Stick it to the man" comment. Very true statement. Might as well show them how fancy you can be while doing so, right?
Snowboarding is a favorite hobby of mine, but it can be a costly one. Skateboarding has influenced me because it has introduced me to a new winter sport called snowskating. It's a lot like skateboarding but on snow! The best part is, once you buy the snowskate, the rest of your entertainment is completely 100% FREE!
I never really thought about skateboarding influence on other sports. I guess the only way to explain it is to agree that people like the extreme and want to be different than the rest...more than average.
Michael Jordan influenced just about every one by starting to wear long shorts back in the early 90's
I think skateboarding has achieved it's influence because you don't need much to start in the sport--all you need is a board and some creativity. While in other sports there are high participation costs, skateboarding is not one of them.
I used to skateboard as a kid until I broke my arm. But for the last 10 years I ve been into wakeboarding and I just barely got into snowboarding. I got into it because someone had a wakeboard so I tried it and fell in love with the sport.
i think skateboarders are punks who vandalize others' property. go to a skate park.......that's what other sports do....they play in their own arenas...not some business's front entrance.
I'll be honest I skated a little bit in high school - why? I wanted my snowboard style to look more like skateboarding. Why? cause it's SICK.
I think that skateboarding is "cool" and influences other sports because it was first on the scene. The tricks skateboarders do have just been translated into other sports where they are applicable. There's nothing wrong with that...:)
How in the world did skateboarding influence all the other board sports? I remember watching Dog Town and the Z Boys and how for them and that culture skating and surfing were synonymous. Skate mauvers carry over into surfing as well, with a specific example of pop shove its. I think the reason for skating to be referenced throughout all other board sports is because it is the most accessible. All you really need is a board and the rest is only a perk.For this reason it became universal and followed its enthusiast to which ever sport those chose to branch off to.
i agree with abram on why skateboarding seems to have a huge influence on other sports. Snowboarding and wakeboarding are very similar to skateboarding, the nature of how you ride the three boards is very similar and skateboarding was the first one to come around giving it a chance to name most of the things you can do with that board shape and standing position.
i think its just that skateboarding originated before wakeboarding or snowboarding (at least to my knowledge—maybe it was just more popular first) and so the branch-off sports naturally look back to skateboarding for new techniques or whatever
I think there is a definite sense of freedom when it comes to skateboarding. There are opportunities to go almost anywhere you want at almost anytime. It does take talent and it is very popular. Although, I don't know how much the skateboarding skills are developing.
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