Say something honest..

[Jerrys Kid]

I forgot who won SOTY this year.

[Xen]

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Ishod's slumped shoulder droopy arm landing fake steeze is worse than Dylan's monkey arm landing fake steeze.

[close]

It annoys the shit out of me how people say this. Like there’s nothing fake about intentionally doing something to make it look better. Gymnasts, surfers, ice skaters, numerous other people who are judged on aesthetics do this. The dogtowners, the bones brigade, the big cats had all been coached to have better hand and arm positions. Would you call Steve cabs style fake? How about alvas or peraltas? Get the fuck out of here with that fake stress bullshit. If you can make it look that good whether it’s by intentional thought or not it’s still your style, and fact of the matter is if you have had coaching like this(like myself and all the big cats) after about a year or two it becomes natural and u don’t even think about it. Y’all are mad dumb every single time I see this stupid fucking bullshit.

I think you misunderstood the title thread. Say something honest.

No where in this post did I say fake steeze was a bad thing, that's you being poor at reading comprehension; I merely said that Ishod's was worse than Dylan's. Read that again so it sinks in.

To your point, fine, steeze it out, make it look good, but that's not the result they're getting (Dylan, maybe).

This looks fucking terrible after such good tricks:

[drewsmahgoos]

Lately I’ve kind of been bugging on this and I would love some of yall’s opinion. When I was young I skated by myself all the time. Session my flat bar, ledge spot, or the local indoor ramp for hours without thinking anything weird about it. I’m 27 now and live in an area where I don’t know a lot of people and mostly skate parks. I meet up with some new friends sometimes but for the most part l just show up and see who’s there. I’ve been noticing lately that when there’s a good amount of people at the park I skate better and harder than if there’s only a few randoms. I’m worried that the main reason I skate now is to get that pat on the back from the shredders or a few cheers from the peanut gallery. Been going through some depression and people praising me at the park gives me this hollow sense of accomplishment. Has anyone else thought about this? I feel like I’m skating for others more than myself and it really bums me out and makes me feel like a kook. I feel more comfortable on my board than I have in a long time but I’m starting to question why I even do it. Existential crisis type of feeling. Please help.

Sounds like on some level, you're depressed and finding things to get bummed about. I'm not saying you don't skate better around other people, but to let that bum you out takes a lot of effort that could be diverted elsewhere. I skate better around other people. I do that because I usually see them do something and am more apt to try it. I think it's just more motivating. I don't get down about it though. I'm shit regardless first off and second, it's just not a big deal.

Try not to nitpick your way into a depressed state of mind on subjects like this bud. I totally get it though, it's a lot easier said than done. I've tried to off myself before and was almost successful, I get what bad depression is like so if you ever want to talk I'm here. On some level though, try to recognize that your thought process about this particular thing is most likely coming from your depressed brain trying to make itself more depressed through neurotic, self defeating overthinking. I don't know, just what it seems like. Regardless, I was sincere about being here if you need to chat. No shame at being depressed but reach out before it's too late.

[imposter]

I hate the people that ride egg shaped boards and 40mm wheels in 2020

[Christmas Complete]

I'm almost 36. I'm skating better now than I ever have before (which still isn't very good), and I'm going go have to have surgery for a hip impingement. I won't be able to skate for 5 months after, and it absolutely fucking terrifies me. I'm so worried that I won't get back to where I'm at now, and it freaks me out. A lot.

Had a friend go through this in his late 30s on both hips (one at a time) and he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He would never skate hard and was always the first to sit down on sessions, but after he recovered from the surgeries, he said it felt like he was in his early 20s and he even started street skating again. Just a positive (and honest) anecdote for ya.

[Strickland_Propane]

I have never tried a salad (the food) before in my entire life.

[silhouette]

Lately I’ve kind of been bugging on this and I would love some of yall’s opinion. When I was young I skated by myself all the time. Session my flat bar, ledge spot, or the local indoor ramp for hours without thinking anything weird about it. I’m 27 now and live in an area where I don’t know a lot of people and mostly skate parks. I meet up with some new friends sometimes but for the most part l just show up and see who’s there. I’ve been noticing lately that when there’s a good amount of people at the park I skate better and harder than if there’s only a few randoms. I’m worried that the main reason I skate now is to get that pat on the back from the shredders or a few cheers from the peanut gallery. Been going through some depression and people praising me at the park gives me this hollow sense of accomplishment. Has anyone else thought about this? I feel like I’m skating for others more than myself and it really bums me out and makes me feel like a kook. I feel more comfortable on my board than I have in a long time but I’m starting to question why I even do it. Existential crisis type of feeling. Please help.

I'm 32 and have never solo skated as much as I do now before. I moved back to my hometown a few years back and at that point already most of my old skate buddies had quit, or become less available due to work, buying houses, having families etc. so naturally I'd just end up at the skatepark and randomly bump into people. Met a lot of rad kids, a lot of annoying ones too, still skate with them when I see them but the generation gap I can feel, they've discovered skating from a completely different angle than I have and will never leave the park, barely even know their way around the city or where spots are.

What I eventually learned (or remembered) from that is that I skate for myself and not to impress people because pretty much everyone can wow people with some trick especially nowadays that kids learn all kinds of shit like it's natural, and on the other hand you can't even trust the majority of skaters nowadays on their appreciation of what good skateboarding is; you sound like you're putting pressure on yourself like you're trying to prove something to others by making it a point to skate 'well', but that's not going anywhere. Those days I actually hate it when people watch me skate (although I do enjoy sharing tricks and 'inspiring' kids with dumb moves or spot ideas - essentially the cultural transmission aspect), hence going back to solo sessions around town at random - the only person I'm trying to impress is myself. Growing older I feel it more than ever that experimenting with my own humble limits is what matters in the end and managing to push them just for yourself feels even more rewarding. Also the idea that my window of skate time in life might be slowly closing shut I've learned to tame and run as my main motivator, using existential anguish as fuel by considering all the things you've ever wanted to do on a skateboard and realizing as many of them as possible before it's 'too late' I find to be the greatest fucking boost. Maybe coincidentally, maybe not but nowadays I feel like I'm skating better than I ever did (I even find myself jumping down shit I'd never jump down in my teens) and I think that has to do with making skating one's sincere inner quest of the self as opposed to some kind of flashy notice for anonymous masses. Maybe that actually helps one better understand the mental limits they're actually putting on themselves, in turn resulting in natural progression.

I'm high as fuck not unsure how much of this is coherent but I feel like growing older took both you and I on completely opposite paths, funny how it can work both ways, also it's never too late to come back (I actually went through a period like yours in my mid 20's, that was the result of only skating with people 10/15 years older than me, the majority of which had a really jaded and nostalgic mindset that was contagious enough to set me back - I was still trying to skate hard for myself, but kind of was starting to 'lose hope' in a way that sounds similar - I solved it by switching up my skate session habits).

[flintstagram]

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It bums me out that I’ve had like 25 years of trying tre flips and heel flips and can’t do either. What’s the secret to those? I can kickflip. I even used to switch kickflip so it’s not like I have no flatground skills.

[close]

As a 35 year old who just landed his first tre flips this year, here's the advice I can give:

Hang your toes off the side of the tail, keep your foot in the pocket area.

Scoop really hard with your back foot.

Keep your weight back. I often look at the wheel on my toe side back truck right before I pop to make sure my head is in line with it.

Keep your shoulders closed.

Jump straight up. Not forward, not to the side. Straight up.

Tell yourself tre flips are easy. Once you get the motion down, the flip is almost effortless.

That's what's been working for me. I don't have them down every try, but they're really fucking close.

Good luck. You can do this. Also, don't be scared to watch a youtube video or twelve about it. There's a lot of good info out there.

[close]

Tried the back truck thing and landed five consecutive treflips bolts.  Thanks Dude!

Yes dude! So stoked for you!

[PatrickSkateman]

I almost bought a Jamie Thomas board today.

[flintstagram]

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I'm almost 36. I'm skating better now than I ever have before (which still isn't very good), and I'm going go have to have surgery for a hip impingement. I won't be able to skate for 5 months after, and it absolutely fucking terrifies me. I'm so worried that I won't get back to where I'm at now, and it freaks me out. A lot.

[close]

Damn that is genuinely scary. Good luck. I hope it works out for you and you can get back to a new prime after you recover safely.

Thanks, dude. I appreciate it.

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I'm almost 36. I'm skating better now than I ever have before (which still isn't very good), and I'm going go have to have surgery for a hip impingement. I won't be able to skate for 5 months after, and it absolutely fucking terrifies me. I'm so worried that I won't get back to where I'm at now, and it freaks me out. A lot.

[close]

Had a friend go through this in his late 30s on both hips (one at a time) and he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He would never skate hard and was always the first to sit down on sessions, but after he recovered from the surgeries, he said it felt like he was in his early 20s and he even started street skating again. Just a positive (and honest) anecdote for ya.

Hell yes! That's great to hear. Thank you for sharing this!

[cheetahsheets]

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Lately I’ve kind of been bugging on this and I would love some of yall’s opinion. When I was young I skated by myself all the time. Session my flat bar, ledge spot, or the local indoor ramp for hours without thinking anything weird about it. I’m 27 now and live in an area where I don’t know a lot of people and mostly skate parks. I meet up with some new friends sometimes but for the most part l just show up and see who’s there. I’ve been noticing lately that when there’s a good amount of people at the park I skate better and harder than if there’s only a few randoms. I’m worried that the main reason I skate now is to get that pat on the back from the shredders or a few cheers from the peanut gallery. Been going through some depression and people praising me at the park gives me this hollow sense of accomplishment. Has anyone else thought about this? I feel like I’m skating for others more than myself and it really bums me out and makes me feel like a kook. I feel more comfortable on my board than I have in a long time but I’m starting to question why I even do it. Existential crisis type of feeling. Please help.

[close]

I'm 32 and have never solo skated as much as I do now before. I moved back to my hometown a few years back and at that point already most of my old skate buddies had quit, or become less available due to work, buying houses, having families etc. so naturally I'd just end up at the skatepark and randomly bump into people. Met a lot of rad kids, a lot of annoying ones too, still skate with them when I see them but the generation gap I can feel, they've discovered skating from a completely different angle than I have and will never leave the park, barely even know their way around the city or where spots are.

What I eventually learned (or remembered) from that is that I skate for myself and not to impress people because pretty much everyone can wow people with some trick especially nowadays that kids learn all kinds of shit like it's natural, and on the other hand you can't even trust the majority of skaters nowadays on their appreciation of what good skateboarding is; you sound like you're putting pressure on yourself like you're trying to prove something to others by making it a point to skate 'well', but that's not going anywhere. Those days I actually hate it when people watch me skate (although I do enjoy sharing tricks and 'inspiring' kids with dumb moves or spot ideas - essentially the cultural transmission aspect), hence going back to solo sessions around town at random - the only person I'm trying to impress is myself. Growing older I feel it more than ever that experimenting with my own humble limits is what matters in the end and managing to push them just for yourself feels even more rewarding. Also the idea that my window of skate time in life might be slowly closing shut I've learned to tame and run as my main motivator, using existential anguish as fuel by considering all the things you've ever wanted to do on a skateboard and realizing as many of them as possible before it's 'too late' I find to be the greatest fucking boost. Maybe coincidentally, maybe not but nowadays I feel like I'm skating better than I ever did (I even find myself jumping down shit I'd never jump down in my teens) and I think that has to do with making skating one's sincere inner quest of the self as opposed to some kind of flashy notice for anonymous masses. Maybe that actually helps one better understand the mental limits they're actually putting on themselves, in turn resulting in natural progression.

I'm high as fuck not unsure how much of this is coherent but I feel like growing older took both you and I on completely opposite paths, funny how it can work both ways, also it's never too late to come back (I actually went through a period like yours in my mid 20's, that was the result of only skating with people 10/15 years older than me, the majority of which had a really jaded and nostalgic mindset that was contagious enough to set me back - I was still trying to skate hard for myself, but kind of was starting to 'lose hope' in a way that sounds similar - I solved it by switching up my skate session habits).

I fucking love you buddy, you are the fucking Chartreux my friend. Always great fucking posts. I find that if you don’t let the younger generation know about our culture and appreciate it then it will be lost for all eternity. There’s a difference between teaching the youth history and breathing down their neck to do this exactly this way. Obviously how they got into skating and what they find dope might be different, but it’s our responsibility to show then the history of skating. Cultural identity can only be maintained with standard bearers for that culture.

[munchbox]

i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[Tacotuesday]

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Ishod's slumped shoulder droopy arm landing fake steeze is worse than Dylan's monkey arm landing fake steeze.

[close]

It annoys the shit out of me how people say this. Like there’s nothing fake about intentionally doing something to make it look better. Gymnasts, surfers, ice skaters, numerous other people who are judged on aesthetics do this. The dogtowners, the bones brigade, the big cats had all been coached to have better hand and arm positions. Would you call Steve cabs style fake? How about alvas or peraltas? Get the fuck out of here with that fake stress bullshit. If you can make it look that good whether it’s by intentional thought or not it’s still your style, and fact of the matter is if you have had coaching like this(like myself and all the big cats) after about a year or two it becomes natural and u don’t even think about it. Y’all are mad dumb every single time I see this stupid fucking bullshit.

[close]

I think you misunderstood the title thread. Say something honest.

No where in this post did I say fake steeze was a bad thing, that's you being poor at reading comprehension; I merely said that Ishod's was worse than Dylan's. Read that again so it sinks in.

To your point, fine, steeze it out, make it look good, but that's not the result they're getting (Dylan, maybe).

This looks fucking terrible after such good tricks:

How does ishod have fake steeze? He obviously is natural and loose on his board.  You may be stiff when you skate but that doesn't mean that someone who isn't is faking steeze

[VHS ERA]

i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

[dooley]

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i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[close]

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

It's funny how Primitive basically gives him Zero graphics because they know this as well. He rips and I'm glad he's being paid but that sentiment is spot on. Honestly don't have an answer for that either, let's just say Krooked.

[flintstagram]

i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

Agreed. It seems so odd that he's on such a kind of preppy marketed brand. He's a dirty skate rat, not the clean cut, mom friendly primitive image.

[Monkey_Mcpott]

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i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[close]

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

[close]

It's funny how Primitive basically gives him Zero graphics because they know this as well. He rips and I'm glad he's being paid but that sentiment is spot on. Honestly don't have an answer for that either, let's just say Krooked.

Considering he skates the Heroin egg shape and Fos has done a few graphics for him I think him on Heroin would work.

[DrunkleJesse]

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i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[close]

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

[close]

It's funny how Primitive basically gives him Zero graphics because they know this as well. He rips and I'm glad he's being paid but that sentiment is spot on. Honestly don't have an answer for that either, let's just say Krooked.

Am I the only one who could possibly see him on FA? Or maybe even Toy Machine? I don't know, might be a stretch. Either way, I agree that he deserves more than just being Primitives token "alternative" dude.

[dooley]

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i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[close]

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

[close]

It's funny how Primitive basically gives him Zero graphics because they know this as well. He rips and I'm glad he's being paid but that sentiment is spot on. Honestly don't have an answer for that either, let's just say Krooked.

[close]

Considering he skates the Heroin egg shape and Fos has done a few graphics for him I think him on Heroin would work.

He might take a paycut but that would be so good. Shape, graphic-wise, and their guys skate differently too. Maybe it's the distance and probable paycut thing, but fuckit, quit Primitive tonight and hit up FOS like a man, Franky.

Am I the only one who could possibly see him on FA? Or maybe even Toy Machine? I don't know, might be a stretch. Either way, I agree that he deserves more than just being Primitives token "alternative" dude.

He deserves better than FA, he's actually got some originality.

[symmetry group of a skate]

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I'm almost 36. I'm skating better now than I ever have before (which still isn't very good), and I'm going go have to have surgery for a hip impingement. I won't be able to skate for 5 months after, and it absolutely fucking terrifies me. I'm so worried that I won't get back to where I'm at now, and it freaks me out. A lot.

[close]

Had a friend go through this in his late 30s on both hips (one at a time) and he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He would never skate hard and was always the first to sit down on sessions, but after he recovered from the surgeries, he said it felt like he was in his early 20s and he even started street skating again. Just a positive (and honest) anecdote for ya.

Doc just called me today to inform me about my hip MRI results. Degenerative labrum tear + impingement from a rough cartilage surface. I think it's from hucking too much as a grom. I wish someone told me to bend my knees and skate switch more often. Like, on top of being way sicker on a board, your body probably appreciates the symmetry. I'm hoping I can go abroad to get cheaper surgery and get good results, get an internship in India or something like that. I know Josh Harmony had hip resurfacing done and I also have a friend who's had it done and both had a great improvement.

[munchbox]

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i honestly wish franky villani wasnt on primitive. soo many better fits for him but i bet they pay him well

[close]

Franky is for real one of the best dudes out. Primitive is corny but I’m not sure where I picture him.  What board sponsor you wanna see him on?

[close]

It's funny how Primitive basically gives him Zero graphics because they know this as well. He rips and I'm glad he's being paid but that sentiment is spot on. Honestly don't have an answer for that either, let's just say Krooked.

[close]

Considering he skates the Heroin egg shape and Fos has done a few graphics for him I think him on Heroin would work.

[close]

He might take a paycut but that would be so good. Shape, graphic-wise, and their guys skate differently too. Maybe it's the distance and probable paycut thing, but fuckit, quit Primitive tonight and hit up FOS like a man, Franky.

Expand Quote

Am I the only one who could possibly see him on FA? Or maybe even Toy Machine? I don't know, might be a stretch. Either way, I agree that he deserves more than just being Primitives token "alternative" dude.

[close]

He deserves better than FA, he's actually got some originality.

frog is my crazy choice
polar is my sane choice

[Arto!Arto!WakeUp!]

if the point of this thread is to air unpopular opinions and make embarrassing admissions then here are mine:

i own a thank you deck (not really my fault but still)

i got brian wenning's stance wrong watching the dc video as a kid (who does switch back 3s off shit?) and thought he was really boring until quite recently (now one of my all time faves)

i also thought photosynthesis and mosaic were really boring. (like both now, but prefer mosaic by quite a lot, which i guess is not the 'right' way around).

a lot of other skaters probably deserve a slice of the adoration i spend on tom penny, but i've made my delusional fanboy bed and i'm not getting up

i don't have that many strong opinions about skating. pretty much everyone on any team is fucking amazing and i enjoy almost all of them more or less. i prefer a gustav tonneson or a dylan hughes to a nyjah or a shane, but if the energy drink elite drop parts, i'll watch with my jaw on the floor.

for ages i was insistent that the way fs and bs nollie tricks are labelled was backwards and refused to go along with it, but now i've converted i can see that the majority were actually right all along.

its a bit hypocritical seeing as i often feel like focusing/throwing my board just trying flat-ground tricks at walking pace, but i always think it looks suuuuuuuppper wack when pros have a full meltdown in public. couldn't stomach AVE for years just based on that intro where he helicopters his board towards that kid. (like him now though). that's one of my fave things about penny - total lack of stress. like that clip where he's trying kf manny fs pivot to fakie manny fs kf out. a really tech trick by his standards and he keeps getting robbed but just finds it funny.

deep down i know the real reason i find the vhs aesthetic so annoying is the simple fact that if kids are fetishising obsolete technologies that were a completely mundane aspect of my own childhood, that means i am officially old.

ethan fowler has awful style. fight me. (please don't).

for the most part, i find it really hard to enjoy those videos from the mid 90s where its all mongo pushing and 8 trick lines with like two ledge basic ledge tricks and a load of filler - all with an exclusively hip hop soundtrack and no attempt whatsoever to edit the footage so that it syncs with the track. would rather watch the worst of the early 90s do-a-late-flip-noseblunt-on-a-parking-block or the worst of the early 2000s do-a-feeble-on-a-10-stair-handrail-four-times-in-the-same-part than that stuff.


...

on the 3flip discussion, i agree with flintstagram, but would reiterate what others have said about the front foot actually having a pretty important role. if you actually flick through your ankle like on a kf then yeah, you'll end up with a double vflip - but if you just kind of stiffen it a little it'll help keep the board ahead of you. the back foot also has to help with that. scoop hard sure, but not too sideways - use your toes to shoot the tail under you rather than behind you.*

*i land less than one in ten 3flips so my advice is probably worthless, but my attempts are always good enough that i at least look like i can 3flip. so if that's a landmark you're aiming for...

[ouija.]

when we first got into skating, i skated with my bestfriend for 2 years before i realised he was skating mongo, not that we really even cared anyways.
even when I stopped skating for like 10 years, i still bought skate shoes because a lot of them they look good as casual shoes too. I hate basketball shoes and don't know why people wear them everyday to every event.

[Mickey Knox]

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Lately I’ve kind of been bugging on this and I would love some of yall’s opinion. When I was young I skated by myself all the time. Session my flat bar, ledge spot, or the local indoor ramp for hours without thinking anything weird about it. I’m 27 now and live in an area where I don’t know a lot of people and mostly skate parks. I meet up with some new friends sometimes but for the most part l just show up and see who’s there. I’ve been noticing lately that when there’s a good amount of people at the park I skate better and harder than if there’s only a few randoms. I’m worried that the main reason I skate now is to get that pat on the back from the shredders or a few cheers from the peanut gallery. Been going through some depression and people praising me at the park gives me this hollow sense of accomplishment. Has anyone else thought about this? I feel like I’m skating for others more than myself and it really bums me out and makes me feel like a kook. I feel more comfortable on my board than I have in a long time but I’m starting to question why I even do it. Existential crisis type of feeling. Please help.

[close]

Sounds like on some level, you're depressed and finding things to get bummed about. I'm not saying you don't skate better around other people, but to let that bum you out takes a lot of effort that could be diverted elsewhere. I skate better around other people. I do that because I usually see them do something and am more apt to try it. I think it's just more motivating. I don't get down about it though. I'm shit regardless first off and second, it's just not a big deal.

Try not to nitpick your way into a depressed state of mind on subjects like this bud. I totally get it though, it's a lot easier said than done. I've tried to off myself before and was almost successful, I get what bad depression is like so if you ever want to talk I'm here. On some level though, try to recognize that your thought process about this particular thing is most likely coming from your depressed brain trying to make itself more depressed through neurotic, self defeating overthinking. I don't know, just what it seems like. Regardless, I was sincere about being here if you need to chat. No shame at being depressed but reach out before it's too late.

Wow, Thanks man! Really appreciate you saying this. Need more people like you in this world. As far as my post I need to pick my words more wisely. I shouldn’t have used the word depressed, more so unfulfilled with my job at the moment. Ive dealt with major depressive disorder as well and I’m glad I’m not dealing with that in my life right now. Definitely agree with you on the overthinking thing. A busy mind is sickness. As far as the pressure to put on for the crowd, I was feeling a little disappointed in myself for sure. However, after thinking about what cheetah said, it’s  nothing to be embarrassed about. Getting attention at parks is just kinda weird but I’ve been skating a shit ton lately and feeling comfortable on the board so no point in being ashamed of it.

[eranka]

I forgot who won SOTY this year.

yesterday it took me and a friend a few moments to remember too, we then agreed that back in the day all the sotys were legends and not just the best skater of that year.

[bodega vape pods]

that Rowan shoe being spammed is ugly as hell

[Coco Santiagos Kitten]

that Rowan shoe being spammed is ugly as hell

It reminds me of the Vans they used to sell at Mervyn's.

[cosmicgypsies]

Lately I’ve kind of been bugging on this and I would love some of yall’s opinion. When I was young I skated by myself all the time. Session my flat bar, ledge spot, or the local indoor ramp for hours without thinking anything weird about it. I’m 27 now and live in an area where I don’t know a lot of people and mostly skate parks. I meet up with some new friends sometimes but for the most part l just show up and see who’s there. I’ve been noticing lately that when there’s a good amount of people at the park I skate better and harder than if there’s only a few randoms. I’m worried that the main reason I skate now is to get that pat on the back from the shredders or a few cheers from the peanut gallery. Been going through some depression and people praising me at the park gives me this hollow sense of accomplishment. Has anyone else thought about this? I feel like I’m skating for others more than myself and it really bums me out and makes me feel like a kook. I feel more comfortable on my board than I have in a long time but I’m starting to question why I even do it. Existential crisis type of feeling. Please help.

I don't think it's necessarily wanting the pat on the back/cheers or whatever, although lets face it that is a good feeling that you shouldn't feel bad about - in general if you're skating with other people then it gets you more motivated, better vibes and so forth. There's been times I've been trying to learn tricks, feeble fakies is the last one i can recall. Went at it on a solo session for an hour, had the body/board positioning perfect but just couldn't commit to bringing it back in, next time I skated transition with some friends I had it in ten minutes.

[SneakySecrets]

ethan fowler has awful style. fight me. (please don't).

Can you put into words what about his style is unappealing to you?  Not trying to get into some regular internet argument or anything. Just legitimately curious since I always thought he had really great style.

[johnes]

FA and Hockey have 0 appeal to me.
I have no quarrel with people liking those brands, I just do not.