Would skateboarding be enjoyable...

[TheLurper]

...if we weren't able to ever see our own movements through a third person perspective?

If we never saw footage of ourselves doing kickflips, grinding rails, or jumping down some gap, would we have even been interested in doing these motions? Without the video recorder would skateboarding have stayed closer to "sidewalk surfing"?


I'm getting my bigspins back. I always thought they were one of the coolest looking tricks, but the first-person blur of doing one isn't nearly as cool looking as seeing someone else do one or seeing myself on video.

[Plan9Customs]

Absolutely.
Never saw myself skate for the first 4 years(renting a video camera required a $200 deposit in the mid/late 80s). I did have a few pictures thanks to a girlfriend or friends. Still enjoyed it and didn’t care. Very rare to even break out the sad dad cam unless I’m trying to learn something.

[scab]

the first-person blur of doing one isn't nearly as cool looking as seeing someone else do one or seeing myself on video.

I get that, but isn't the answer obvious? Forget how it looks, how does it feel? That's where I find the magic. Each trick I do feels infinitely cooler than it looks. Even my best kickflip looks sloppy at best, but even a shitty one feels better than most other things I do in my life. I like that feeling. So I keep skating.

[in love w/ fs shuvs]

...if we weren't able to ever see our own movements through a third person perspective?

If we never saw footage of ourselves doing kickflips, grinding rails, or jumping down some gap, would we have even been interested in doing these motions? Without the video recorder would skateboarding have stayed closer to "sidewalk surfing"?


I'm getting my bigspins back. I always thought they were one of the coolest looking tricks, but the first-person blur of doing one isn't nearly as cool looking as seeing someone else do one or seeing myself on video.

i skated without filming for most of my time on a board. ofc people who are interested in pushing rly hard wanna get it on film tho, could lead to stuffs

[Pastasash]

haven't really filmed myself for the past 3 years as I have been dealing with injuries/re-inuries, feel like I'm constantly trying to re-learn my tricks, and when I do try to film myself I absolutely hate the clips.

I want to get back to it like I used to when I was skating well esp from '19-'22 but I find myself having way more fun lately trying to get my groove back and not stressing about trying to clip up.

[DNTRODDEN]

I have only seen myself skate 2 or 3 times, and I look kook as hell....

Growing up / skating in the late 80s we never saw ourself skate....

DNT

[I-am-12]

As long as you can see others / your friends skate, then yes. You can see style, and someone doing something really good right in front of you sticks with you for life....it's probably the reason we all started. You still want to be that guy and you can feel when you do something clean and smooth, and know everyone's going to give you props and you feel the satisfaction. And the skating itself feels good and is fun, and the feeling of landing anything is addicting, we all know.


If you were the only skater in the world with no images, you would probably still skate because it's fun but I think youd probably avoid certain tricks you deem too hard or stupid, or feel bad. Like, the motivation to battle certain things wouldn't be there.

[The Huffer]

For me, the way skateboarding "feels" is no 1.

How many times have you felt good about a trick or line/run and then seen the footie and been deflated...?

Of course, watching others is inspirational but the actual feeling of doing it is the best and perhaps better left undocumented.

[gringo_viejo]

For me, the way skateboarding "feels" is no 1.

How many times have you felt good about a trick or line/run and then seen the footie and been deflated...?

Of course, watching others is inspirational but the actual feeling of doing it is the best and perhaps better left undocumented.

OMG this.
Stoke levels pegged at 11 when I land it… then back down to 4 when I watch my old slow ass on video.

[formula420]

Skating is more enjoyable without being filmed. The only reason I film stuff is because of a self imposed 35th bday part shared with a friend.  And a couple clips here and there for a discord. I never filmed my skating till my late 20s.

[matty_c]

Expand Quote

the first-person blur of doing one isn't nearly as cool looking as seeing someone else do one or seeing myself on video.

[close]

I get that, but isn't the answer obvious? Forget how it looks, how does it feel? That's where I find the magic. Each trick I do feels infinitely cooler than it looks. Even my best kickflip looks sloppy at best, but even a shitty one feels better than most other things I do in my life. I like that feeling. So I keep skating.

Agreed
I fucking hate filming, stresses me out and fucks the session. Best shit I done was no camera
Some of my friends say is dumb, often I forget tricks I have done. Years ago when I was maybe 30 I’m telling my friends man I gotta do a rail before I’m too old. And my mate Robbie’s like uhh man you done that already don’t you remember you were probably 17 and everybody look at me funny like bro

So is sad in a way that probably forgotten many tricks and many feelings but is also like a personal pursuit, y’know?

But also I don’t wanna be that old cunt making people watch his holiday pictures, just skating is enough for me

[propaganda]

Skating all about the feels
Just olleing up a curb feels like the shit

Forget where but I heard somebody saw skating so crazy ppl might not even believe it if not caught on camera. Seeing other ppl skate is inspirational I prolly wouldn’t believe I could do things if I never seen them done on camera or in person

I know im not gonna be able to do it forever. I dream about showing my grandkids my sick clips one day. My then ai will prolly be so crazy. I’m building my rep in my local scene tho no one can take that away.

One more thing I wanted to say but I I forgot??? Ohh I think seeing yourself on camera help with learning what you can do better/ what you can change in your style

[mattchew]

As a kid filming my own skating felt very important to me, and in my late 20’s it felt very important for me to be filming my friends and documenting my local scene, now in my late 30’s I have absolutely no desire to film or to be filmed, and in the age of social media I am kind of repulsed by the idea at this stage in the game. I do not care about witnessing my own or others skateboarding after the fact, I care about engaging in the act of skateboarding with myself and my friends in the present.

All that being said, next year I’ll be 40 and I’d like to film 40 tricks over the course of the year in order to have something to look back on later in life as I’ve never done something like that before, especially now having probably only filmed about five tricks in the last ten years or so but feel as though I’m skating the best that I ever have been.

Filming also just inherently invites ego into the equation which I believe serves no purpose in what I’m looking for out of skating, though I do often wonder if filming myself more would make me a better skater in some regards, but ultimately it does not seem worth it to me.

I’m also not really looking to be thinking all that much while skating, and filming narrows the scope down and creates an unwelcome sense of awareness for me.