why care? Because it makes other pros' hard work look like a joke. You think Cookie was stoked to see Sean, Sage, and Aidan go pro when he was working his ass off skating harder than any of them combined but was still am? How about Robbie Brockel? What if you were pro, but suddenly you're competing with people far below your skill level for a spot on a company even though they're also "pro"? And they get the spot instead of you only because they dress and act trendier? How could you possibly think that would be "well deserved?" without any indignation?
Yeah I get it companies work on different timelines and there's no hard set checklist but do you seriously think Aidan deserves a board? Imagine him at a demo where half of the locals at any park could skate better than him.
i don't really care for f.a. that much, but in general, it's pointless to question this. every team has different types of skaters, some pros never do demos at all, some pros are objectively worse than locals, yet some locals never leave their hometown, while the pros whip out crazy shit regardless of being objectively worse.
it's dills company and dill thinks aiden is sick enough to be pro so aiden goes pro. cookie doesn't ride for f.a. and would never fit the team or their edits, even though he might be technically better than everyone on that team, so comparing him with aidan or sean is ridiculuos. they all skate very different. aidan has wackjob style, but he skates fast and does weird stuff, so he is relatable to a lot of skaters, thus also liked. i'm not the biggest fan, in that i don't skate like this and wouldn't want to. but i think his skating is super entertaining to watch at least.
after all these dudes don't take money from cookie. and i'm sure cookie doesn't give a shit himself. kinda weird that you brought the guy up even and dragged him into this. i'm a big fan of cookie and wish he'd be on a better board brand than element. dude should be on krooked instead and i could buy his board with no remorse.
also, as with anything in life, hard work alone may not pay off. it's not fair, but we all know that. why should skating be different? pro skateboarding is not a meritocracy. you don't achieve it by working off a bucket list. i'd rather say there is a baseline of skateboarding ability you have to have or at least a few gnarly tricks, or an abundance of style. and you can make up the rest with personality, creativity and regular output. and connections.
no one remembers random midwest nick merlino lookalike fs lipsliding some 17 stair rail on insta. but everyone remembers the ginger kid in his kiddie patched pants hucking a manual downhill until he speedwobbles off the curb and eats shit into traffic. the lipslide is gnarlier in itself and probably took more work, but i've seen it a thousand times. if i'd seen that manual live i would have told everyone about how funny that shit was. also, skating recognizable spots like in ny always helps with character building, too.