is style improving over time?

[Roy Machine]

no. look at all the safety hands, the over extended “dill arms”, the exaggerated rollaways all around. this super-zoom filming with never ending slow mo makes it even more noticeable when it’s zoomed out to above the waist. i’m not saying there wasn’t bad style before the 2010s but, it was at least honest. most of the people with bad style were wearing it on their sleeve with their clothing/sponsors and everything else. nowadays it feels like a person can look like shit on a skateboard & that be underplayed by their sponsors, clothes & who all is in their corner. i also hate fake style a lot more than natural ugly style & there is an abundance of it today that people feed into, which sucks.

Well this is a very negative look on the current skate world. Of course there is always a certain style that is going to be beat to death but you have plenty of diverse and unique approaches everywhere.
Look at jimmy wilkins or vincent huhta. Both skate in a way I've never seen before. The sour guys especially bring a very unique approach to skating and it looks really honest to me.

[cky enthusiast]

shin wasn’t pro until ~4-5 years ago so i’d say we just reached our apex

[pleasent street]

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I think we’re in an age where if you’re trying to have good style you will- most of the early skaters weren’t constantly looking at themselves on camera. People are much more aware of how they look now. And there are several things now that were OK back then - riding hideous setups like in the 80s (or really any time before about 2014) or pushing swongo in the 90s - that are no longer considered stylish in the mainstream sense. So the most stylish people now are the most stylish people ever.

BUT there are people who violate even the most basic rules of being stylish and they have careers and fans right now too and that’s OK. There’s space for everyone, except mongo and swongo pushers, that’s just unacceptable.

[close]

Strongly disagree with your point regarding early skaters being less aware of how they looked compared to modern skaters.  As there were fewer tricks/maneuvers available to perform everyone was doing the same shit, thusly a lot more thought and care was put into execution and aesthetics as to stand out form the rest of the crowd.  Secondly, although the media wasn't instantly available to view, still cameras and super 8 cameras were ubiquitous in the 60's/70's and being used heavily to document skateboarding from it's inception.  Pretty much any interview with OGs from the 60's/70's you hear/read will include a strong emphasis on how important style/looking good on your board was.

[close]

haha any skate boomer will have some story about how an older kid snapped their brand new variflex deck right in front of them on christmas day because they did a stinkbug air or didn't fully deck their rock n roll or some shit

[close]

Everything you work hard for in your life will be an ABD, sucks to be you. Typical “generation-X” opinion but I guess that you would just stupidly lump generation-X in with the boomers of course. Because, hey! Anything that came before you is obviously just a boomer, right?

relax boomer, it was just bants. i actually love skate boomers.

[SatanicPanic]

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I think we’re in an age where if you’re trying to have good style you will- most of the early skaters weren’t constantly looking at themselves on camera. People are much more aware of how they look now. And there are several things now that were OK back then - riding hideous setups like in the 80s (or really any time before about 2014) or pushing swongo in the 90s - that are no longer considered stylish in the mainstream sense. So the most stylish people now are the most stylish people ever.

BUT there are people who violate even the most basic rules of being stylish and they have careers and fans right now too and that’s OK. There’s space for everyone, except mongo and swongo pushers, that’s just unacceptable.

[close]

Strongly disagree with your point regarding early skaters being less aware of how they looked compared to modern skaters.  As there were fewer tricks/maneuvers available to perform everyone was doing the same shit, thusly a lot more thought and care was put into execution and aesthetics as to stand out form the rest of the crowd.  Secondly, although the media wasn't instantly available to view, still cameras and super 8 cameras were ubiquitous in the 60's/70's and being used heavily to document skateboarding from it's inception.  Pretty much any interview with OGs from the 60's/70's you hear/read will include a strong emphasis on how important style/looking good on your board was.

I didn’t think we were going back to Dogtown- thought we were talking 80s and beyond. Sure I agree that Alva and his buddies were as stylish as anyone today.

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I think we’re in an age where if you’re trying to have good style you will- most of the early skaters weren’t constantly looking at themselves on camera. People are much more aware of how they look now. And there are several things now that were OK back then - riding hideous setups like in the 80s (or really any time before about 2014) or pushing swongo in the 90s - that are no longer considered stylish in the mainstream sense. So the most stylish people now are the most stylish people ever.

BUT there are people who violate even the most basic rules of being stylish and they have careers and fans right now too and that’s OK. There’s space for everyone, except mongo and swongo pushers, that’s just unacceptable.

[close]

I’d rather watch someone naturally push switch mongo then watch someone try really hard to push regular switch to the point that it looks like they’re trying to focus the ground with their irregular foot to push with. I’ve seen way more terrible attempts at trying hard to push switch than someone doing what’s natural to them and pushing mongo switch

True, a bad switch push isn’t great either. I think to be truly a great style master you need a good switch push. Ymmv

[Ride it to dust]

I reckon the standard has stayed pretty much the same. Although back in the day there were some skaters that were known for certain tricks, whereas now there seems emphasis on needing good style across a more broader bag of tricks. I dunno, kids are just better through more exposure and good quality tutorials ( will admit some arent as good)

[Dark Knight]

Most people’s styles are contrived these days.  Sounds like a broad statement, I’m sure. Mfers styling out on a slappy on a curb.  Fuck outta here with that dumbing down of skating

[yghartsyrt]

what a stupid question, as if style is something that progresses over time.
Style is always a product of the time it happened. Sure – past stuff can get more stylish or less stylish depending on the current style. But, to me, style is quite a binary thing. Either something is stylish and something is not.

[Uncle Flea]

I'll tell you what isn't improving over time. My chances of walking into a blow job.

I gotta get my grill fix. When I had good teeth I didn't even got to try

I do have way more friends now. I'm going to befriend every single human I speak to for now on.

[Ride it to dust]

I'll tell you what isn't improving over time. My chances of walking into a blow job.

I gotta get my grill fix. When I had good teeth I didn't even got to try

I do have way more friends now. I'm going to befriend every single human I speak to for now on.

Do it man, the blowy will come soon, i have faith 👊🏻

[mightytrucks]

I feel like nowadays theres some duck footedness and crouching lower than would be aesthetically pleasing going on.  Im sure thats always been around but not many skaters today have that ridiculously good style. Why do u think people are drooling over antwuans kickflip over the pyramid that he did recently? Cuz twuans obviously not a new gen skater so why drool over a basic trick like a kickflip from a supposed has-been? Cuz his styles still better than most people today thats why.   
I agree that the early to mid 2000's was peak style for skateboarding. Remember that mike mo and shane oneill came onto the scene at that time. Many more to name from that era as well.

[MtnDoucheBag]

Wonder if board size (as well just improvements in products as well) would play a significant contribution to style, as people 90s/2000s generally skated skinnier decks.

I think newer gear makes people skate better. I get better clips with new boards or shoes.