By: Scooter Newell
Article Category: Jedi Grind Tricks 1 Comment
JEDI GRIND TRICKS
By Scooter Newell
If there’s any one thing that’s important to skateboarding it’s the local skate scene. Not the skateboard companies. Not the shoe companies. Not the X-games. Not the videos. Not even the newest magazine ads or articles (except, of course, this one).
What we’re talking about here are the individuals who make up your skate scene. The skaters — from the rippers and the old guys, to the girls and beginners — the park operators, the core shop owners, the photographers and videographers, and the biggest factor in the scene: the parents. Yes, the parents.
I decided to roll through Brevard County and stop into a few skate shops to check out the different local scenes. Even though I only put about 30 miles on the X-wing (which is what I’ve always called my car; and now I write a column called… hmmm, strange…), I noticed a vast difference in these four scenes. Some stores are selling a lot of one type of board while down the road a different brand is the more dominant seller. It was the same with shoes. Some skate brands fly off the shelves in one area and a totally different but comparable brand is the hot item at another. It’s obvious that these different shops, while mostly supporting the same companies but pushing different ones, are contributing to a real, organic skate scene. If every skate shop pushed the same exact product then they may as well go “corpo” and call themselves “Sk8-Mart.”
All four shops had skaters hanging out inside. Some were just lurking, some were working, and some were shopping or upgrading some part of their boards. Each shop had some kind of activity going on — someone trying on shoes, grip-taping a skateboard, or prepping to enter the park and skate. O.K. So what? you might say. Different parks and shops have different people and scenes. So what’s the big deal? The big deal is that without you, these scenes can actually die. Now of course you can just skate, and skate your way well away from people and never reach out to the skate community for the rest of your life. But that’s something you’ll be bummed out about down the road. It is your time and your scene. Get involved!
If you own a shop or park, then ask skaters what they want when it comes to products, events, contests, video premieres, etc. Parents can get involved at contests running registration or tabulating scores; just ask the shops or parks how you can help out. I would say start a skate park carpool — but many of you already have that one down. Photog’ and video dudes: start a skate film and video festival at your local park. The park guys are busy, so you’ll need to do most of the promoting and logistics yourself. Work for it!
You don’t have to own a shop or a park to be a major part of your skate scene. Ask the shop people if you can volunteer at their events, contests, sidewalk sales, etc. Take pictures of your local shop crew skating or just hanging out after sessions. Get them printed and bring them to the shop. Support local contests, even if you don’t compete. Make a video with some friends and drop off DVD copies at local skate shops. Start a local magazine — print it at home or bust out some nickels and go to the corner store and make copies. Interview your friends. Start an online blog or web page. Make stickers. Research some skateboard history on the ol’ google machine. Document the times you have while skateboarding. Write a book about it. Teach someone how to skate. Most importantly, get out there and take part in your skate scene in some way, shape or form.
For some reason, this guy who was a friend of my parents made a skateboard and gave it to me when I was a 3-year-old pre-grom. He died in a lobster diving accident shortly after. His name was Warner. I never got to thank him or tell him how much that skateboard has changed my life. I always looked at skateboarding as the “sport of kick-downs” because of that gesture.
During my four-shop cruise I was stopped by a skater named Robert Bowling. He wanted to thank me for giving him an old, beat-up board when he was starting out and didn’t have a sufficient one to ride. That was over 8 years ago, and he said he just wanted to thank me. Of course I was stoked to know that he was thankful for the board and happy that he gave me a shout after all these years. And I probably should have told him this in person: You’re welcome, Robert. Just give an old board to someone else who needs it when you have an extra one. And help our very important local skate scene grow. Just like Warner did.
News Rants
* Grind for Life contest at Eastwood Skate Park on February 27
* Congrats Sam Rooks for getting hooked up with 1031 Skateboards.
*Local skate band Arkaydia just finished some shows on the sunset strip in L.A.
* Bruce Walker Premiered his film “The Payoff” at Surf Expo
Words of Wisdom: “Think and therefore you shall be thinking” –- Que Es.
Shred the Word…
Send all Sk8 Mail and H8 mail to sk8scooter@gmail.com
Potentially Related posts:
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- Jedi Grind Tricks
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- Jedi Grind Tricks
- Jedi Grind Tricks
• Issue 12, Volume 5, February 2010
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Awesome article…I think it is right on the dot. Bobby has definately hooked up alot of people with used stuff in our shop, we encourage it and give a discount on new stuff when recyclable goods are left behind. Bobby has brought alot of his used stuff before he even worked for us, and has hooked up alot of less fortunate kids with their first boards, and even some older skaters whom may break boards more often or just can’t afford new stuff for whatever reason.