Ruining Spots 101

[Star Whores Episode I: The Fellatio Menace]

Also, when someone waxes the whole top of a ledge for lipslides to the point where you cant manny the shit anymore without a potentially deadly slipout

RIP 3up3down in NYC.

Also, had a great little spot in my town growing up. Was basically an abandoned car dealership that had a long outdoor 'showroom' which was about 50 yards of perfectly smooth cement under a large awning, so you could skate it in the rain. We skated the thing for months with no hassle. Until this one day where we were there with another crew and this crew had a dude that would throw a tantrum after every try. It boiled over to a point where he threw his board through the window of the building, which immediately got the cops called and the spot turned into a bust right after.

[funeral_tuxedo]

Complaining that every spot is an instant bust, but when they pull the van up and someone actually gets a trick quick, proceed to blast the car horn for 3 minutes straight while screaming, then shotgun beers, throwing the cans and rolling out. Then act surprised when security calls the cops the instant they pull up a few days later.

this

[rawbacon]

needles, feces, and other bodily fluids. also passer-bys that have their camera phone pointed at me makes me want to kill everybody. broken glass also sucks.

[DarkPools]

There are a lot of ways to ruin spots and many have already thrown them out already, but I'll add a couple:

Gum: when people leave their gum on a spot where it can get on everyone's gear.

Being too noisy beyond normal skateboarding sounds: loud music, mini party vibes, breaking shit, etc.

Overwaxing a spot: such bullshit. I know I don't skate super fast but I'll wax my set up on a street spot before the spot itself. Way to let people slip out to herniated disc in their spine.

Spilling beverages or food at the spot so it looks like Tony's first day at a busy Taco Bell. Fuck that! Eat before/after or do it wayyyy off to the side.

Blowing up the spot on social media unnecessarily with location tags.

Being rowdy/rude with local citizens of the area. This applies to spots in/near parks, on frequented public access ways, security even, etc.

Trash. Why can't people being a bag to put their trash in or use the trash can if one is nearby, for fuck's sake.


Spitting on the spot/runway/landing: unforgivable, especially if it gets on your shoes/board.  Spitting off to the side away from where people congregate/use the spot is totally acceptable. Just because of Covid (@ OP), people aren't allowed to spit because their body tells them it needs to get rid of this excess saliva/waste byproduct? That's a weird take, OP. Spitting is virtually harmless if you're not spitting on someone or into their general person-space.

[UselessAsshole]

My stupid brain torments me with anxiety when too many people are around. Also cars. Don't want my board slipping out and hitting a car or someone's ankle.

[Letsfilmavideo]

Putting stickers directly on the sign of the business in which we skate. Idiots

[chrisskates808]

Partly inspired by the Ruining Clips 101 thread, and partially inspired by people who ruin spots, what are the things that ruin a spot for you, and there can be quite a range to the word "ruin" so just give us some of your personal reactions from deep within.  This is a safe space. 

For me, I know you smoke, I know you have nasal congestion, I know you fidget in between runs, but spitting anywhere at the spot is reprehensible in my opinion, it makes me feel like you're working for the other side, and even if's off to the side or in some grass or something it's just not cool, and now with Covid and a bunch of other strains of who knows what out there I just can't imagine anyone needing to spit.  Nasty habit.  It's not cool.  Tony Hawk could tell you.  What else you got that's not cool at the spot?

Any spots that get destroyed or skate stopped is ruined.

[themeangreen]

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Allowing bmxers to use the spot.

[close]

Cmon bro! its 2021... Stop living in the past! Also BMXers we dont grind ankle size ledges hahahahaha

[close]

Yes but y'all fuck up the ones that are knee high or anything that has a rail w/o supports every 2 inches. Also airing out and tossing your bike can fuck up a properly made quarter at a DIY. Other than that, I got no qualms with bikers at street spots, bikers use the streets use totally different for the most part. At least the unique ones do. Bikers at the skatepark, totally different story. It's like adult scooter kids mixed with preteen roller bladers that can ruin you if you don't completely spot your landing.

Instagram and iPhones are the ruiners of spots. Used to have like a million map quest pages, a local, a sherpa and an SUV to
actually find it. Then fix it or figure it out. Now you know where it is, only need a kook to drop you a pin and totally blow up a spot forever and you've already watched 400 other local kooks online literally do the same trick as each other or tick tack out of their "special" way of skating it while the spot has been bondo'd so bad there's more bondo than spot. I like being surprised and that type of randomness is so sick to see in the wild instead of preconceived. Love Park by now would have a fucking atlas app for the cracks, when to skate, when's the best time for euro dudes with Hans and all that wax, and when someone with a supreme shirt comes by. Totally would be cool for the app to tell you if the cops got called like Citizen app.

When you show up randomly it's more interesting then shipping some Red Bull hucker to one spot for that one trick or when you're at your local spot and some euro dude is doing all the other sins listed above just to be at the spot for the Instagram, that's fucking lame. I don't live in LA but saw it enough of that bullshit in Philly years ago, people were very rude of the city, it was so gross. When I went to CPH for 2 weeks I didn't litter all over red park or spray paint on their DIY's(which are amazing by the way). But that's exactly what people do in Philly, euro's, La chad-bro-chill's and the like. Just cause the city is crusty doesn't mean you live here, go back to Ohio and do that on your 7-11.

[close]

"Euros" lol

What a gimp.

As if it's one big place where everyone is the same.

There's 44 countries in Europe and many many many different cultures.

Yes because I'm the UN? Fuck outta here! Don't get so butt hurt I didn't say a thing negative, unless your name is Hans and you like to wax the shit out of ledges. Euro's, just like you can spot us a mile away in your country we can pin point y'all as well. You look like lost puppies looking around at all the buildings, people, and that first smell of weed and where and when can get some once you get to the spot, the same as us. So eat a dick and come crash on my couch because you and your friends are more than welcome.

[rawbacon]

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Complaining that every spot is an instant bust, but when they pull the van up and someone actually gets a trick quick, proceed to blast the car horn for 3 minutes straight while screaming, then shotgun beers, throwing the cans and rolling out. Then act surprised when security calls the cops the instant they pull up a few days later.

[close]

this

hahaha that surprised pikachu meme is the first thing that came to mind. also "LET'S FUCKING GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" is the new "one eight hellride, fuck you. drink pabst"

[sus]

litter is the most obvious answer.

blasting a bluetooth speaker while there’s other crews has always bugged me.

You ever gone to a spot and someone's blasting playboi carti? its not sick.
I've had this happen at parks too and its just as wack.

[baaaaaaguette]

graffiti as you know it started in philadelphia and hella love park lurkers wrote. don’t make claims about a place you aren’t from mane

Idk man most graffitis in my city look some kids found a can of paint and scribbled random shit. Then again im an illustration major so maybe i take this shit way too seriously

[baaaaaaguette]

Anyway people who dont skate hanging at the spot is an instant bust for me. They usually are totally wasted as well and they bring their weirds asf gf in the mix too. The end result is litter, noise, horrible music on speakers, loud screaming+ fighting and suspicious dudes hovering around them to sell them drugs and steal back their shit later on (happens all the time)

[cky enthusiast]

Other than really blowing a street spot up, it's gotta be the stickering and bad grafitti for me. I get that kids are eager to go out and make a name for themselves but where I live, there have been some awful two letters and fills popping up at a local public skatepark. They get scrubbed immediately and the city has issued warnings... find a better spot and before you go buckwild, put some time in to practice. I don't want to discourage anyone, but if it looks bad... it looks bad.

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graffiti as you know it started in philadelphia and hella love park lurkers wrote. don’t make claims about a place you aren’t from mane

[close]

Are you from Philly? As someone who grew up in a small town and started writing a bit in college, I always envied people who got to see cool shit in actual cities.

oui, i grew up idolizing agua, nemel, nope etc. wrote off and on for 13 or so years (barring any future relapses).

i’m not condoning crud graff (as funny as i think it is) but i get a kick out of old dudes who skate playing park nanny to kids writing as if graffiti and skating don’t go together like PB and chocolate. esp if they’re from iowa or whatever and just moved to my town cause they really really like static 3

[Youoverthere]

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Allowing bmxers to use the spot.

[close]

Cmon bro! its 2021... Stop living in the past! Also BMXers we dont grind ankle size ledges hahahahaha

last year a group of pegheads completely destroyed 2 granite ledges that myself and the homies saved up to make.

[rawbacon]

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Allowing bmxers to use the spot.

[close]

Cmon bro! its 2021... Stop living in the past! Also BMXers we dont grind ankle size ledges hahahahaha

[close]

last year a group of pegheads completely destroyed 2 granite ledges that myself and the homies saved up to make.

damn....im sorry for your loss. bikers have always been cool with me in my area and kind of stay in their lane so ive never had that kind of problem but that is just plain shitty. whats also worse is that skaters usually get blamed for biker damage to property because skateboards inherently make more noise, ie clanking of boards when hitting the ground but in reality skateboards make very little damage to ledges(just make em round) or rails(taking off the paint). by the way, the term pegheads is new to me, i kind of lol'd not gonna lie

[Far from relevant]

Making a spot un skateable because your ego wont allow anyone else to do tricks on the obstacle youve skated is some pretty Jocky shit.

[GuessAgain?]

When I was about 13/14 we used to skate this primary school in our local town, this is in the uk so not quite as normalised as California I don't think. It was sick for our small hometown, banks, ledge, manny pad, perfect 5/6 stair with low rail. We used to access it climbing over a short fence that backed onto a public footpath - you couldn't see the spot from it. Anyway, one time a couple of older 'Bmxers'/plain old nittys we knew from the skatepark saw us climbing the fence once and came in with us... Long story short a few weeks later the school's sheds, play area and part of a classroom were burned down. Couple of the nitty's got sent down and it was all in the local paper. As far as blowing out a spot goes, burning it down is probably up there

[skunty]

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litter is the most obvious answer.

blasting a bluetooth speaker while there’s other crews has always bugged me.

[close]

You ever gone to a spot and someone's blasting playboi carti? its not sick.
I've had this happen at parks too and its just as wack.

I'm actually stoked when someone puts music on, but that's also cuz in our small scene there are a few people who have kinda carved out a spot as the designated music bringer and they all have good music taste

[Winford Thomas]

a few different occasions i've taken somebody to an old secret skatespot around my area and they immediately blow the spot out and get it shut down permanently. one time i took a dude to my rainy day garage. the next day i went by myself and he was already there with 3 other people who never been there before smoking blunts and blunt guts and trash all over at this indoor spot. spot became a cop bust that week, tickets and everything. another time i took a dude to a local bank with a hip that was really secluded. afterwards dude brought who knows how many people there while the place was open and the company skate-stopped the bank with a bar along the entire bottom within a couple of weeks. skated this place for decades no bust and one dude ruined it. and that dude was me. because i invited somebody i thought i could trust.

i don't bring people to my secret spots anymore. i still have a few gems close by i won't even post on instagram. because i need them.

[nickpaolucci]

is this some kind of one hitter? what is this shit???

[ok boomer]

Long story long: For a long period of time, me & my best friend were the only skaters you would see in my town. We figured out hours of business, spots that were instant busts, timeframes of getting kicked out, etc. Had this whole town masterminded. This was the mid to late 90's. Once 2000 rolled around there were a crew of 14-17 year olds that started skating. I took it upon myself to show them the spots, and the ins and outs of how to be able to skate them without ruining the spots. What spots to never even try (due to police phone calls, instant bust etc). So the first losses we achieved were: every elementary and middle school. "Don't skate during school or after school activities" was apparently too hard. Then we lost 2 churches. Those are obvious, if they are engaging in church activities - don't skate. Then the catholic school/church combo. That was one of my fave spots. I'd been working around the angry priest from about 1992 until 2005. That guy sucked, but one day we walked by and the ledges were all being torn out to make it flatlandville. He even gloated about it, to us. to which I said "Well, glad you are spending thousands to protect cement" (I got him! j/k they won, I lost the spot). My other big spot was "the white church", which is a "Christian Science" (what is that?) church. We called it that because its a big white church.. our spot names are dumb. The neighbors hated our sounds, and on the other side is a pre-school / church that also hated us (in their defense, we used to walk in and use their drinking fountain, so we are dumb). So RIP to that also

I still had 2 banks (financial banks), 2 churches, the high school (#1 spot), the post office, the "vents" (ledges by air vents at a lawyers office - they let us skate there even while open - hella cool), "C-side edge" (a curved ledge that you could also manual around), city hall ledges and the snake run ditch at the park. The 2 banks were next, due to complaining from the up-and-coming gentrification condos. 2 churches next: 1 was next to an up and coming business - dead in the water. Other church hated me for years and they skate stopped everything. "C-side edge" and the city hall ledges got taken down after the mayor, town officials and cops were shot by a guy. That became the city's sacred ground so I mean, I get it. Went to the snake run ditch and it had been filled in by giant stones. So all I had left were the high school (the principal for 20 years was cool with us skating there completely) and the post office.

Well, I moved away for 5 years then moved back. High school is now covered with "No skateboarding" signs and also has cameras everywhere. Took out ALL of the ledges. Nothing to skate. Went to the post office to get kicked out immediately. Apparently they work at night now even though they never did for 20 years. Whole town is covered with "no skateboarding" signs. I still hit spots but all hit-and-runs. Plus I feel like, when you're 44, people more or less laugh at you for skating as opposed to argue with some 17 year old. Basically killed a whole town. In a stupid way... I feel a false sense of importance as I see all of the signs and measures taken against us skating their cement. Dropped my son off at school last week and the "no skateboarding" sign is by the door... but you can still see all the black marks on the ledges out front. I had a moment of :

[passtheish]

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[close]

is this some kind of one hitter? what is this shit???

BMX Pegs

lol took me a min to figure it out too

[OMSK]

local school, that became a haven during covid, was zero bust has now become "how long can we skate until we get kicked out?" culprit: trash, pulling out/ripping down signs and poles, tagging on everything, over waxing stuff that isn't skate-able, posting up with beers, loud music, tearing up the plants.... not stoked, but hoping it mellows out, its a great summer spot.

[ok boomer]

When I was about 13/14 we used to skate this primary school in our local town, this is in the uk so not quite as normalised as California I don't think. It was sick for our small hometown, banks, ledge, manny pad, perfect 5/6 stair with low rail. We used to access it climbing over a short fence that backed onto a public footpath - you couldn't see the spot from it. Anyway, one time a couple of older 'Bmxers'/plain old nittys we knew from the skatepark saw us climbing the fence once and came in with us... Long story short a few weeks later the school's sheds, play area and part of a classroom were burned down. Couple of the nitty's got sent down and it was all in the local paper. As far as blowing out a spot goes, burning it down is probably up there

Enjoyed reading this. Shalom

[Phil Leotardo]

Hypebeasts who show up with a posse of other mouth breathing tagalongs who don't skate just to make some lame insta post of the head beast ollieing over a pop can then dipping. Leaving behind a pile of trash and any self respect they had along the way.
Same thing with a few parks I frequent. Except with the added bonus of some shitty music/smoking garbage fif around children who are there with parents. Shit has always weirded me out. I'm usually that dude who walks around the place near close and picks up other ppls trash when I'm taking a little breather. Always come with a few plastic grocery bags just because. Then I walk 20 feet to the nearest can to throw it out.

[lampshade]

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[close]

is this some kind of one hitter? what is this shit???

[close]

BMX Pegs

I thought was some next generation fleash light. 

lol took me a min to figure it out too

[ok boomer]

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Allowing bmxers to use the spot.

[close]

Cmon bro! its 2021... Stop living in the past! Also BMXers we dont grind ankle size ledges hahahahaha

[close]

Yes but y'all fuck up the ones that are knee high or anything that has a rail w/o supports every 2 inches. Also airing out and tossing your bike can fuck up a properly made quarter at a DIY. Other than that, I got no qualms with bikers at street spots, bikers use the streets use totally different for the most part. At least the unique ones do. Bikers at the skatepark, totally different story. It's like adult scooter kids mixed with preteen roller bladers that can ruin you if you don't completely spot your landing.

Instagram and iPhones are the ruiners of spots. Used to have like a million map quest pages, a local, a sherpa and an SUV to
actually find it. Then fix it or figure it out. Now you know where it is, only need a kook to drop you a pin and totally blow up a spot forever and you've already watched 400 other local kooks online literally do the same trick as each other or tick tack out of their "special" way of skating it while the spot has been bondo'd so bad there's more bondo than spot. I like being surprised and that type of randomness is so sick to see in the wild instead of preconceived. Love Park by now would have a fucking atlas app for the cracks, when to skate, when's the best time for euro dudes with Hans and all that wax, and when someone with a supreme shirt comes by. Totally would be cool for the app to tell you if the cops got called like Citizen app.

When you show up randomly it's more interesting then shipping some Red Bull hucker to one spot for that one trick or when you're at your local spot and some euro dude is doing all the other sins listed above just to be at the spot for the Instagram, that's fucking lame. I don't live in LA but saw it enough of that bullshit in Philly years ago, people were very rude of the city, it was so gross. When I went to CPH for 2 weeks I didn't litter all over red park or spray paint on their DIY's(which are amazing by the way). But that's exactly what people do in Philly, euro's, La chad-bro-chill's and the like. Just cause the city is crusty doesn't mean you live here, go back to Ohio and do that on your 7-11.

don't ever talk bad about 7-11! What has 7-11 done besides bring peace and joy throughout the galaxy.

#BIGGULPGANG !

[Happy, sorry]

People putting angle iron on perfectly good ledges.

[Urtripping]

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Other than really blowing a street spot up, it's gotta be the stickering and bad grafitti for me. I get that kids are eager to go out and make a name for themselves but where I live, there have been some awful two letters and fills popping up at a local public skatepark. They get scrubbed immediately and the city has issued warnings... find a better spot and before you go buckwild, put some time in to practice. I don't want to discourage anyone, but if it looks bad... it looks bad.

Expand Quote

graffiti as you know it started in philadelphia and hella love park lurkers wrote. don’t make claims about a place you aren’t from mane

[close]

Are you from Philly? As someone who grew up in a small town and started writing a bit in college, I always envied people who got to see cool shit in actual cities.

[close]

oui, i grew up idolizing agua, nemel, nope etc. wrote off and on for 13 or so years (barring any future relapses).

i’m not condoning crud graff (as funny as i think it is) but i get a kick out of old dudes who skate playing park nanny to kids writing as if graffiti and skating don’t go together like PB and chocolate. [img]esp if they’re from iowa or whatever and just moved to my town cause they really really like static 3[/b]

Lol that's good, I know exactly the type since that's more or less me (from rural Michigan, Static III lover). The fact that they're writing doesn't bug me at all, just a mild bummer when the park is closed to sandblast some eyesore off the quarterpipe. Real spots are a different story I guess, I still put my own bullshit handstyle on/near street spots I skate

[Potsalad]

Kids with headphones