2021 unpopular opinion thread

[petersmolik]

The new Pizza video is good and the current team rips.

[Dwyck]

4k is beyond overkill for longlens

[EXTRA SPICY]

Low impact relatable skateboarding is relatable to those who don't skate often. If trajectory holds, such video content will ultimately not include skateboarding; the ultimate form.

[RichardBarkley]

Low impact relatable skateboarding is relatable to those who don't skate often. If trajectory holds, such video content will ultimately not include skateboarding; the ultimate form.

What's that hard cold brew like ?

[Texas_Tone]

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Johnny laytons “berrics” part is better than a LOT of the parts in Propeller, and he should have had a part and dollin/Rowley should not have had any parts

[close]

is this unpopular? at least for the first half, i think it’s kind of undeniable layton had an exceptional part that outshined his more marketable older contemporaries and younger replacements. he was just a buck short and toy machine cashed his check for him. can’t think of a brand that’s blown it harder than toy in the last decade.

[close]

Not getting the 2021 part of this conversation.

^^ this...

[Star Whores Episode I: The Fellatio Menace]

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Any line that doubles it’s length because of that goddamn push into the street just for a flatground trick (or any instance tbh— nobody should have to wait that long for the tre flip we saw coming from miles away. Fakie flip is also expected if going switch.)

[close]

Poppalardo talks about this when reviewing his old parts especially how doing a flat ground trick is just zero value if only one thing is before or after. I can’t get that idea out of my head now.

[close]

If you have to push to add a flatground trick to the end of your line then yeah, nah. If you can squeeze one in with the momentum left over from your last actual gap/bench whatevs, and can make it look casual and stylish, then I'm not mad. Grind, push, then flatground trick does not count as a line imo.

The only exception I can think of is Arto's first line in Mindfield. I remember people cheered at the flatground 360 flip at the premiere

[DanCorteseFromMTVSports]

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Low impact relatable skateboarding is relatable to those who don't skate often. If trajectory holds, such video content will ultimately not include skateboarding; the ultimate form.

[close]

What's that hard cold brew like ?

My girlfriend was drinking one recently and said it tastes like Yoo-Hoo. If I have one in the next few days I'll report back.

[Billy Bitchcakes]

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Any line that doubles it’s length because of that goddamn push into the street just for a flatground trick (or any instance tbh— nobody should have to wait that long for the tre flip we saw coming from miles away. Fakie flip is also expected if going switch.)

[close]

Poppalardo talks about this when reviewing his old parts especially how doing a flat ground trick is just zero value if only one thing is before or after. I can’t get that idea out of my head now.

[close]

If you have to push to add a flatground trick to the end of your line then yeah, nah. If you can squeeze one in with the momentum left over from your last actual gap/bench whatevs, and can make it look casual and stylish, then I'm not mad. Grind, push, then flatground trick does not count as a line imo.

[close]

The only exception I can think of is Arto's first line in Mindfield. I remember people cheered at the flatground 360 flip at the premiere

That's at the start of the line though?

[coldbrew]

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Low impact relatable skateboarding is relatable to those who don't skate often. If trajectory holds, such video content will ultimately not include skateboarding; the ultimate form.

[close]

What's that hard cold brew like ?

It’s garbage. It tastes like chocolate water gone bad.

[PatrickSkateman]

Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

[boi-cuzudo]

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Any line that doubles it’s length because of that goddamn push into the street just for a flatground trick (or any instance tbh— nobody should have to wait that long for the tre flip we saw coming from miles away. Fakie flip is also expected if going switch.)

[close]

Poppalardo talks about this when reviewing his old parts especially how doing a flat ground trick is just zero value if only one thing is before or after. I can’t get that idea out of my head now.

[close]

If you have to push to add a flatground trick to the end of your line then yeah, nah. If you can squeeze one in with the momentum left over from your last actual gap/bench whatevs, and can make it look casual and stylish, then I'm not mad. Grind, push, then flatground trick does not count as a line imo.

This is a popular opinion I think, I agree

[DanCorteseFromMTVSports]

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There’s nothing wrong with mall grabbing.

[close]

It feels crusty to hold a board by the trucks when they're worn out a bit though.

[close]

This. I was a mall grab supporter and then progressed to doing lots of truck grinds and now it feels really grimey to do myself. full support for others doing it though.

Few days ago, grabbed the deck out of the car by the trucks. Ended with metal shards in my index finger. Not a fan of that.

[fredgallSOTY]

Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

braindead take up top there

[PatrickSkateman]

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Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

[close]

braindead take up top there

Nah, all they had during the mid-90’s were a young Fred Gall, JK, and Lennie Kirk.

The rest of the team was on the way out at that point (Pitre, Conklin, Morgan, Turner, Drake).

Modern day Alien has Joey O’Brien, Yaje, Spears, and Sammy Montano.

[urbneathme]

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Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

[close]

braindead take up top there

[close]

Nah, all they had during the mid-90’s were a young Fred Gall, JK, and Lennie Kirk.

The rest of the team was on the way out at that point (Pitre, Conklin, Morgan, Turner, Drake).

Modern day Alien has Joey O’Brien, Yaje, Spears, and Sammy Montano.

who?

[veritas]

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Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

[close]

braindead take up top there

[close]

Nah, all they had during the mid-90’s were a young Fred Gall, JK, and Lennie Kirk.

The rest of the team was on the way out at that point (Pitre, Conklin, Morgan, Turner, Drake).

Modern day Alien has Joey O’Brien, Yaje, Spears, and Sammy Montano.

Blasphemy. Young Fred gall filmed the sub zero part at 15 and his part in Time Code 2 years later, with 3 NBDs on hubba

[PatrickSkateman]

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Modern-day Alien has a better team than mid-90’s Alien.

Alien was bubblegum up until the late 90’s.

Deluxe wasn’t good from 1997 until Krooked started in 2002.

[close]

braindead take up top there

[close]

Nah, all they had during the mid-90’s were a young Fred Gall, JK, and Lennie Kirk.

The rest of the team was on the way out at that point (Pitre, Conklin, Morgan, Turner, Drake).

Modern day Alien has Joey O’Brien, Yaje, Spears, and Sammy Montano.

[close]

Blasphemy. Young Fred gall filmed the sub zero part at 15 and his part in Time Code 2 years later, with 3 NBDs on hubba

And that’s why this is called the unpopular opinion thread. 

[EXTRA SPICY]

Bottle Bash and beer die are the best drinking games ever created.

[flippy lippy]

Black socks are always wack

If the skater is good enough and the rest of the part is crazy I think its a nice breath of fresh air to see someone take a few pushes and throw a flatground move

[Peepeeboy69]

Andy probably made helmets even more disliked than before.

Theres one very specific niche of grown men skaters who love andy anderson, skate some weird ass setup with like a lithe deck, and do nothing but stationary ollies while fully padded up

[ihatejulio]

There are not enough board companies. I'm not talking about some random designing 20 boards with Sonic the Hedgehog hitting a bong on buildcustomskateboards.com to sell out of their trunk at the skatepark to vaping teenagers.

I'm talking about actual board companies with a nice overall aesthetic, great video direction, a solid team, and a real stake in the market. Because if you really think about it, there really aren't many of those companies around. I like going to the shop and seeing a wide variety of different companies on the wall with all different shapes, woodshops, and places where they originated. That's why I don't like when people roll their eyes and say "oh here we go, yet another board company." If a new board company blows it though then they blow it and the market will respond accordingly. But to dismiss a new company right out the gate for no reason other than them being new is shortsighted imo.

I'd rather be oversaturated with new board companies than only having the option of buying from a few established big brands. It's like going to an ice cream store and only having 8 basic flavors on the menu. Like nah, give me a Reece's peanut butter cup pistachio oreo crunch sundae with gummy bears and go fuck yourself.       

[Brguy]

There are not enough board companies. I'm not talking about some random designing 20 boards with Sonic the Hedgehog hitting a bong on buildcustomskateboards.com to sell out of their trunk at the skatepark to vaping teenagers.

I'm talking about actual board companies with a nice overall aesthetic, great video direction, a solid team, and a real stake in the market. Because if you really think about it, there really aren't many of those companies around. I like going to the shop and seeing a wide variety of different companies on the wall with all different shapes, woodshops, and places where they originated. That's why I don't like when people roll their eyes and say "oh here we go, yet another board company." If a new board company blows it though then they blow it and the market will respond accordingly. But to dismiss a new company right out the gate for no reason other than them being new is shortsighted imo.

I'd rather be oversaturated with new board companies than only having the option of buying from a few established big brands. It's like going to an ice cream store and only having 8 basic flavors on the menu. Like nah, give me a Reece's peanut butter cup pistachio oreo crunch sundae with gummy bears and go fuck yourself.     

Even if there are more board companies your dream might not happen cause brands have a very local market, imagine Baker and 5Boro for example, you'll probably find on in the east coast more than the west and vice-versa. There's also that thing some guy said in another thread about board brands being fucked by most of them being made by the same few woodshops, so they spend extra money that they could save making their own boards. I mean, how hard could it be? I live in Brazil and there's a couple of brands from my area that make their own boards, and when I said from my neighborhood that's really, it they're really not selling to the whole country or anything like that. They don't have fucking scientists designing stuff but the boards are still good, even with ivory wood instead of maple.

[Nosebleed-section]

I have had fun at some evergreen skateparks

[ihatejulio]

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There are not enough board companies. I'm not talking about some random designing 20 boards with Sonic the Hedgehog hitting a bong on buildcustomskateboards.com to sell out of their trunk at the skatepark to vaping teenagers.

I'm talking about actual board companies with a nice overall aesthetic, great video direction, a solid team, and a real stake in the market. Because if you really think about it, there really aren't many of those companies around. I like going to the shop and seeing a wide variety of different companies on the wall with all different shapes, woodshops, and places where they originated. That's why I don't like when people roll their eyes and say "oh here we go, yet another board company." If a new board company blows it though then they blow it and the market will respond accordingly. But to dismiss a new company right out the gate for no reason other than them being new is shortsighted imo.

I'd rather be oversaturated with new board companies than only having the option of buying from a few established big brands. It's like going to an ice cream store and only having 8 basic flavors on the menu. Like nah, give me a Reece's peanut butter cup pistachio oreo crunch sundae with gummy bears and go fuck yourself.     

[close]

Even if there are more board companies your dream might not happen cause brands have a very local market, imagine Baker and 5Boro for example, you'll probably find on in the east coast more than the west and vice-versa. There's also that thing some guy said in another thread about board brands being fucked by most of them being made by the same few woodshops, so they spend extra money that they could save making their own boards. I mean, how hard could it be? I live in Brazil and there's a couple of brands from my area that make their own boards, and when I said from my neighborhood that's really, it they're really not selling to the whole country or anything like that. They don't have fucking scientists designing stuff but the boards are still good, even with ivory wood instead of maple.

I touched on that a little but I like it when I see east coast boards on the west coast and vise versa. Obviously there are logistics and cash flow hurdles for the distribution of smaller brands to reach different coasts/countries but there is something so awesome about seeing a wide variety of boards on the wall from many different places. That's what I'm mostly aiming at conveying in my post.

They (board brands) can't all succeed, I get that. And overcrowded shelves can be a problem in shops. But I just like having a wide variety of options to pick from and I like seeing people succeed when they start out rather than be pessimistic that they will suck just because they are new and it's, "yet another board company."

[Donkey Lips]

most skaters would see their skating improve if they moved back down to 8.0 boards from 8.5

Maybe if they have little baby feet. For most of us, moving to 8.5 made catching flip tricks even easier and riding around just more stable in general.

[Frank]

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most skaters would see their skating improve if they moved back down to 8.0 boards from 8.5

[close]

Maybe if they have little baby feet. For most of us, moving to 8.5 made catching flip tricks even easier and riding around just more stable in general.

i thought about going down to 8 again, just to make everything a bit lighter. i'm tiny though so it would still be a big board for me. i definetly had more flips overall when i rode smaller boards back in the day, but skating a wider board just feels nicer when ollieing and stuff. i think i would profit more from a shorter board overall. been on 8.25-8.5 for ten years now.

[Paperclip20]

wide wheels catch on pebbles more than skinny wheels due to more surface area (rather than "riding over" pebbles)

bones are better than spitfire on rough surfaces

These are interesting takes because durometer is a huge part of a wheel being good or bad on a surface. And wide wheels aren't just about "riding over pebbles" but more uneven ground or cracked ground. It's like the difference between a wider or skinny car tire.

[gsosa]

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There are not enough board companies. I'm not talking about some random designing 20 boards with Sonic the Hedgehog hitting a bong on buildcustomskateboards.com to sell out of their trunk at the skatepark to vaping teenagers.

I'm talking about actual board companies with a nice overall aesthetic, great video direction, a solid team, and a real stake in the market. Because if you really think about it, there really aren't many of those companies around. I like going to the shop and seeing a wide variety of different companies on the wall with all different shapes, woodshops, and places where they originated. That's why I don't like when people roll their eyes and say "oh here we go, yet another board company." If a new board company blows it though then they blow it and the market will respond accordingly. But to dismiss a new company right out the gate for no reason other than them being new is shortsighted imo.

I'd rather be oversaturated with new board companies than only having the option of buying from a few established big brands. It's like going to an ice cream store and only having 8 basic flavors on the menu. Like nah, give me a Reece's peanut butter cup pistachio oreo crunch sundae with gummy bears and go fuck yourself.     

[close]

Even if there are more board companies your dream might not happen cause brands have a very local market, imagine Baker and 5Boro for example, you'll probably find on in the east coast more than the west and vice-versa. There's also that thing some guy said in another thread about board brands being fucked by most of them being made by the same few woodshops, so they spend extra money that they could save making their own boards. I mean, how hard could it be? I live in Brazil and there's a couple of brands from my area that make their own boards, and when I said from my neighborhood that's really, it they're really not selling to the whole country or anything like that. They don't have fucking scientists designing stuff but the boards are still good, even with ivory wood instead of maple.

[close]

I touched on that a little but I like it when I see east coast boards on the west coast and vise versa. Obviously there are logistics and cash flow hurdles for the distribution of smaller brands to reach different coasts/countries but there is something so awesome about seeing a wide variety of boards on the wall from many different places. That's what I'm mostly aiming at conveying in my post.

They (board brands) can't all succeed, I get that. And overcrowded shelves can be a problem in shops. But I just like having a wide variety of options to pick from and I like seeing people succeed when they start out rather than be pessimistic that they will suck just because they are new and it's, "yet another board company."

Definitely agree with you guys.

Skateboarding is in a dire need of more board brands that are actually well constructed. (nice overall aesthetic, great video direction, a solid team etc). Sure everyone and their mother is trying to launch their new brand but not many people are actually producing dope content, taking the time to actually do shit with their team and getting out there and promoting the brands.

Creating an insta page with 3 deck designs and a few clips with a cell-phone of their riders is nowhere near enough for a good brand to be successful.

Actual well produced vids is something (from my perspective) that is key to promote a brand, their image and to have people identify with them.  Look at Polar at first not many people (outside of Europe) really knew the skaters but it was thanks to their videos (as well as banging ass boards and graphics) that people really identified with the brand. Shit I still watch their first promo all the time, which is not something you can say about insta clips.

More Polar, Quasi, Palace less Raw Dog Raw, and Skate Mentals please.

[EXTRA SPICY]

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wide wheels catch on pebbles more than skinny wheels due to more surface area (rather than "riding over" pebbles)

bones are better than spitfire on rough surfaces

[close]

These are interesting takes because durometer is a huge part of a wheel being good or bad on a surface. And wide wheels aren't just about "riding over pebbles" but more uneven ground or cracked ground. It's like the difference between a wider or skinny car tire.

My shitty engineering brain might get hung up on the factor of pneumatics and shock absorption around that last sentence.

I also like wide wheels, so my biased ass should be recused.

[Brguy]

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most skaters would see their skating improve if they moved back down to 8.0 boards from 8.5

[close]

Maybe if they have little baby feet. For most of us, moving to 8.5 made catching flip tricks even easier and riding around just more stable in general.

[close]

i thought about going down to 8 again, just to make everything a bit lighter. i'm tiny though so it would still be a big board for me. i definetly had more flips overall when i rode smaller boards back in the day, but skating a wider board just feels nicer when ollieing and stuff. i think i would profit more from a shorter board overall. been on 8.25-8.5 for ten years now.

Wheelbase plays a big part here as well, even an 8.0 can be hard to flip if the wheelbase is too high. And everyone has plenty of room to kick forwards, but not so much sideways, I can't even do a proper kick higher than my waist these days.