Giant hasn’t existed for at least 15 years, so yeah, Destructos now are absolutely a brand-rights zombie. That part isn’t really debatable. It’s not about USA vs overseas manufacturing, it’s about who’s actually behind it and whether they’re contributing anything back to skating.
The bigger point I was trying to make wasn’t “don’t ride this or you’re wrong.” It’s that Slap has always filtered stuff through one lens: is this helping skateboarding? Is it supporting skaters, shops, and companies that are actually part of the ecosystem?
You’re totally right that skating is personal and subjective. Always has been. But skate culture also isn’t value-neutral. The culture a lot of us came up in leans left, leans art, leans small. It borrowed a lot from punk. DIY, skater-owned, keep it human, keep it local. Call it social libertarian if you want. Someone definitely read Schumacher at some point.
I get riding blanks while you’re dialing in shape and wheelbase. That makes sense. No argument there. But the “value proposition” conversation hits different when skate shops are closing, brands are hanging on by a thread, and plenty of pros are driving DoorDash to keep going. At some point the value isn’t about performance per dollar, it’s about whether you’re investing in skating at all.
If you don’t want shade on Slap, the easiest move isn’t defending gear choices, it’s showing you care about the bigger picture. Support your local shop. Try stuff from companies that are actually skater-owned. I live in Chicago and I’ve bought things from Uprise purely because I want them to exist.
And honestly, with 20 years in the Army, you probably have more stability and safety net than most skaters ever will. If you put even a little of that back into skating, nobody here is going to question your credibility.
Ride what you want, just know the room you’re in!
Topic: The Set-up Thread (Read 5883372 times)