Misconception you had of professional skateboarding that was later clarified

[Mcfctid]

As a kid, and my only glimpse into a professional skaters lifestyle was On video's "cribs" Rob Dyrdek. I had this thought that nearly all pro skaters had a seemingly good life,  as in a nice car, and decent living accomodations. It wasn't till epicly laterd came on the scene that i saw the reality of a career in pro skateboarding.

So is there anything that you guys initially thought one way about in skateboarding/ pro Skateboarding that was later clarified  due to media/the internet?

[Surf-goth]

When i was a kid i thought every pro could do every trick ever and that's what made them pro. Boy was i wrong.

[sharkin]

I thought pros landed their tricks first try.

A non skating friend came to the stay flared demo with me and was like "These guys are professionals? I thought they'd be better." I told him they aren't pro because they can do it first try, they're pro because they can do it period.

It's like the northern lights. Every picture you've seen is a lie, in real life it's kinda faint and it might take a few tries to even see show up.

[Baron Samedi]

They all look big on video. Then you meet them in person and they're all like 5'5".

[MyUserName]

When i was a kid i thought every pro could do every trick ever and that's what made them pro. Boy was i wrong.

To further elaborate on this, young me thought when pros called out or claimed tricks (in tour articles for example) I thought it meant they were declaring who gets to film/photograph it since they can all do the same tricks.

[fulltechnicalskizzy]

It's like the northern lights. Every picture you've seen is a lie, in real life it's kinda faint and it might take a few tries to even see show up.

wtf

[ziggy]

I thought they'd be interested in skateboarding

[silhouette]

please bear with how naive and Berra-ish this is going to sound...

I lived a pretty secluded childhood in a small shithole of a town, and for my first year of 'serious' skating (11, 12-ish, still figuring out the basic flatground and curb tricks by myself, pre-Internet, studying every frame of every sequence in the first couple of mags I got with a magnifying glass, no older skate friends...), I was completely oblivious to the popularity of drug use, among most other things outside world-related. I lived in my bubble assuming that regardless of their different backgrounds, interests and personalities, every pro was just a 200% skate rat, getting their kick out of nothing but skateboarding, 24/7 and that this super specifically focused trait was what made them pro.

now, my first mags featuring Glen Friedman interviews about straight edge on one hand and Angel Boy comics on the other hand, and generally conveying a clean, pure, focused image of skateboarding in between Ocean Howell essays and Pat Channita trick tips didn't help broaden my childish understanding of things. plus I think the third mag I ever bought was one announcing Keenan's passing with a reference to substance use and the way they put it made it feel exceptional.

anyway, I remember that for quite a long time I found the idea of a pro skater doing drugs ridiculous, almost comical - like, why would they need this shit when they've got the most fun thing in the world at their disposal already ?

then I gradually, but quickly realized how widespread and almost mundane that stuff was, and naturally lost my innocence. difference with Berra is, said realization never really shocked me (although the early 2000's PD phase did piss me off, but for different reasons), I got the picture quick and just thought 'oh, well'.

but for a longtime I cultivated that innocent idea of pro skaters being always focused and never distracted and to this day, when I look back on it I still think it's beautiful to an extent (and not necessarily unrealistic : you do need a certain drive to invest thousands of hours into becoming remarkable on a skateboard - that can be mixed with other activities, is all).

TLDR : what ziggy said.

[MintySandwhich]

All spots look smaller on footage.

When watching someone's video part, I would always think "that's it? They could have done something way cooler". I vividly remember seeing a famous handrail for the first time, and shitting my pants cause it was so much bigger in person.

[Baron Samedi]

All spots look smaller on footage.

When watching someone's video part, I would always think "that's it? They could have done something way cooler". I vividly remember seeing a famous handrail for the first time, and shitting my pants cause it was so much bigger in person.

Dude I stumbled on that yellow rail with a bump up to it that Reynolds back 50's in Baker 3 while I was in LA a few years back, and I was completely blown away by how imposing it was. I'm not a small guy and I remember it being like neck high on me with a shitty, chunky bank that I can't see how you could keep speed on. I'm really impressed with anyone who's skated that thing.

[cherry]

I used to think Scott Johnson was marc Johnson. I was about 6-7 years old. I must had seen a photo of Scott and then saw a marc Johnson a-team board. When I got yeah right I thought they were brothers.

[Makaveli]

I thought, despite what the marketing claims, that Theotis actually smoked and drank. Though he thought this was funny, he told me that he does in fact not smoke or drink.

[urdawg]

They all look big on video. Then you meet them in person and they're all like 5'5".

Ya same here, I never realized how fucking tiny most pros are. Even the taller pros aren't all that big, I've been 6'3" since I was like 16 and when I met Andrew Reynolds at that age I was surprised that I was at least his height, maybe taller

[pekkaaa]

I thought they'd be interested in skateboarding

[GAY]

Glamour magazine told me that I could impress boys with just 30 days or less and boy was I disappointed.

[givecigstosurfgroms]

  They don't all smoke weed.  I used to trade weed for decks and whatever from pros at slam city jam but some of the tranny dudes we're like "we only drink beer"

[coupedepill]

That the LA picnic tables were normal size.

[FS-OverKOOK]

That the LA picnic tables were normal size.

[BacksideWallride]

Cigarette smoking. Every fucking skater smokes cigs and it has always baffled me. I'd expect green but cigs? I don't get it... Don't you want to breathe?

In 2000 I was real good at bank skating. Went to NYC and goddamn the Brooklyn Banks were way steeper, dirtier and grittier in person. All those years I was like "I'd fuck up the banks"

Haha, nope.

[Hands down Hass out]

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That the LA picnic tables were normal size.

[close]

they actually are, just not commonly skated.

[shark tits]

i thought andy roy was a prison rapist w/ herpes

[Lenny the Fatface]

That all pics were makes.

[streetsoup]

I thought Mike Carroll was nice.

[Sanka Coffie]

Cigarette smoking. Every fucking skater smokes cigs and it has always baffled me. I'd expect green but cigs? I don't get it... Don't you want to breathe?

In 2000 I was real good at bank skating. Went to NYC and goddamn the Brooklyn Banks were way steeper, dirtier and grittier in person. All those years I was like "I'd fuck up the banks"

Haha, nope.

shut up nerd

[SonictheHedgehog]

Surprised at how normal most are. As a kid I was pretty intimated. Now it's quite apparent they are just like me and you!

[ChronicBluntSlider]

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That the LA picnic tables were normal size.

[close]

[close]

they actually are, just not commonly skated.

I've seen this discussed on here before and I've always thought it was weird. The small tables are at elementary schools. High schools in LA have adult size picnic tables. Do 6 year olds in other parts of the country all eat at tables that are way too big for them?

[pabloalvarado]

Back in the day I can’t understand why pros wore “normal” brands like Lacoste, Nike, Adidas, Tommy and stuff when skateboarding was supposed to be punk. In my head pros should hate all those brands. Of course to me Volcom/Emerica were punk af and pros should had green hair, pants with holes, wallets with chains. You know...I was thinking the skateboarding bubble was underground. But it was the year 2000 and I bought my first skateboard on some American Mall. Then it was obvious skateboarding was something well know and normal and pros were doing a lot of different works, some of them with something like Real State. It was fun to noticed that. The ones with family and kids and the pressure to be a functional part of society.

[DannyDee]

I'd say the one that surprised me was that sequence photos can be from multiple different attempts of a trick and pieced together.

I used to think Scott Johnson was marc Johnson. I was about 6-7 years old. I must had seen a photo of Scott and then saw a marc Johnson a-team board. When I got yeah right I thought they were brothers.

That's pretty funny because its Scott Johnston.

[Chris]

Everyone with good style must be cool.

[VHS ERA]

Cigarette smoking. Every fucking skater smokes cigs and it has always baffled me. I'd expect green but cigs? I don't get it... Don't you want to breathe?

In 2000 I was real good at bank skating. Went to NYC and goddamn the Brooklyn Banks were way steeper, dirtier and grittier in person. All those years I was like "I'd fuck up the banks"

Haha, nope.

Yup. I learned, and have watched others learn that the banks are not as easy as we imagined.