Slap Pals is our skateboarding sub culture attitude to drugs/alcohol evolving ?

[Not_Bruce]

Slap Pals I live in an area with a legendary / beloved skate shop that does a lot for the skate scene in the community , everything from fundraisers for skaters who have had cancer or personal tragedies to hosting demos to regularly giving away free boards to less affluent skaters. Recently I found out that same shop has a support groups for skateboarders who have struggled with drug and alcohol addiction twice a week , and last week I attended the support group. I have been sober for almost 10 years now but sometimes life is hard and it can be helpful talking to folks struggling with the same issues you are. It was hard to put into words, being in a room with like 16 skaters struggling with the same issues without judgement and just listening to each other. Afterwards everyone heads to the park for a sesh and then grabs a burrito.

Being 35 years old, and growing up during the Baker 2g/ Baker 3 era the idea that a skate shop would host a support group and that a bunch of skateboards would be willing to be vulnerable enough to share their personal struggles would have seemed unimaginable in 2005 or even in 2010. I know this is a hard question to answer but in your local skate communities slap pals .......have you observed a change in how drugs and alcohol are embraced or not embraced ?

[apply today]

I would say yes.

[PatrickSkateman]

I would hope yes after the few high profile overdoses we’ve seen in recent years.

[ThomasShitt]

if you mean brands dont have to push drinking/drug use to sell product than sure

but in reality no, people will use and abuse regardless in all walks of life

[SatanicPanic]

Seems like it.

[Mr. Kamikazi]

I think people are a tad more able & (possibly) willing to discuss what is going on. I personally skate & hang out with my pals that are either completely sober (myself included) or some that dabble with marijuana & sometimes a beer here & there. The skate scene back home loves cocaine & the stakeholders that are the ones that could have an influence or maybe be some type of role model are the opposite as they either A. do not say a thing or B. they are doing it too.


Much like mental health, I think people are a tad more able to admit something is going on. However, it is still a growing need in the subculture known as skateboarding.

[wahwahwah]

In my circles alcohol/drugs are a major part of the culture. Rarely will I have a session without beer/weed. Also it´s almost guaranteed that I end up in a bar/club after a good session.

[JugeL]

Going to support group is the new hellride

[KGB]

No. Only for the contest jocks

[Tommy G]

Drugs and alcohol are pretty deeply rooted in my local scene. Unfortunately, it's ruined a lot of promising skaters' lives and even killed a couple. A lot of it is the original crew that ran it for many years, but now it's either a rebellious way of life or a way to numb the pain. Some of us have sobered up or reduced how much we use, while others have either been overcome or it's just part of their life. There really hasn't been any sort of outreach for us and I don't really know when/if there will be.

[PalaceButtPlug]

I'm hyped to see more weed in skate videos in the last 10 years, genuinely is a healthier outlet for a skater than alcohol.

[lord of weed]

i can never heart a bitch

but i can heart a gram

i feel like im him

i feel like im bam

[IUTSM]

Its different for the people who are 35+. At least for me and the dudes i skate with, we are glad to be alive let alone skating. Watching everyone die from some sort of drug related thing can leave you with CPTSD and end up killing you as well or with support and what not, help you want to stay positive, alive, and healthy. I don’t think the culture is changing, theres just more older dudes skating and counting their proverbial blessings.

[GrayCellGreen]

Its different for the people who are 35+. At least for me and the dudes i skate with, we are glad to be alive let alone skating. Watching everyone die from some sort of drug related thing can leave you with CPTSD and end up killing you as well or with support and what not, help you want to stay positive, alive, and healthy. I don’t think the culture is changing, theres just more older dudes skating and counting their proverbial blessings.

Well said

[S.]

Expand Quote

Its different for the people who are 35+. At least for me and the dudes i skate with, we are glad to be alive let alone skating. Watching everyone die from some sort of drug related thing can leave you with CPTSD and end up killing you as well or with support and what not, help you want to stay positive, alive, and healthy. I don’t think the culture is changing, theres just more older dudes skating and counting their proverbial blessings.

[close]

Well said

I agree 100 percent. If you are still skating at 38 plus years old you cannot still drink and do drugs as you did in your teens and twenties. I am 38 years now and most of the young people  I meet in skating today drink and do drugs as much as we did growing up. If anything kids take more hard drugs and skate less than we did growing up. This might just be my „big city in Germany bubble“, though.

[Halpert]

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though. 

[Allen.]

I would hope yes after the few high profile overdoses we’ve seen in recent years.

I’ll go ahead and echo this but I think that the real question is ‘Are we just getting older?’

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Its different for the people who are 35+. At least for me and the dudes i skate with, we are glad to be alive let alone skating. Watching everyone die from some sort of drug related thing can leave you with CPTSD and end up killing you as well or with support and what not, help you want to stay positive, alive, and healthy. I don’t think the culture is changing, theres just more older dudes skating and counting their proverbial blessings.

[close]

Well said

[close]

I agree 100 percent. If you are still skating at 38 plus years old you cannot still drink and do drugs as you did in your teens and twenties. I am 38 years now and most of the young people  I meet in skating today drink and do drugs as much as we did growing up. If anything kids take more hard drugs and skate less than we did growing up. This might just be my „big city in Germany bubble“, though.

The drugs are harder and sketchier than when we were growing up. Used to be in, in the states anyways, weed\alcohol> pharmaceuticals/coke> heroin/crack/meth. Ya kinda knew what you were getting for a product (but didnt know what you were getting yourself into) and people didnt generally start with the hardest stuff. The youth now, with all the research chemicals and analogues, they’re starting with incredibly hard drugs that have exceptionally difficult withdrawals (that they don’t realize are withdrawals when first starting). I partied  hard for a good portion of my life, daily, and none of it was anything compared to 4 months of research chemical benzodiazepines and the subsequent withdrawal and detox. 110% lost control of my life and would have probably lost my life and ended up on the street or jail i didnt have support and love. Thats the shit the youth are getting started on. And, excluding the pill mill era of opiods in the early 00s, the drugs are more available and cheaper than ever. Shits fucked up.

Im happy for the places where young people are supported and making healthier choices, but in the poor places, low income places where i came from, its as fucked up as ever in the skate world

[OneMore]

When will there be a completely straightedge brand?

[TheDingus]

The entire jaccuzi thing is based around booze and to me looks dated and lame. Sorry Louie you rule but your brand identity is awful

[SatanicPanic]

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

[Suangi]

I think there is a societal shift over all away from alcohol at least.

Would make sense if skating followed suit.

I and a few of my skate crew no longer drink at all and that is not through being alcoholics but just being old and not wanting to load the body with shit. I also have work colleagues and non-skate friends that have stopped drinking and it was something you would not really hear much about 10 years ago

[SatanicPanic]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[close]

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

Those are mostly things outside of parents’ control (no one wants to be poor). I think our understanding of what good parenting is has improved.

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[close]

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

[close]

Those are mostly things outside of parents’ control (no one wants to be poor). I think our understanding of what good parenting is has improved.

Having worked with kids and families across all social and economic spectrums over the past 20 years, as an educator, care provider, and counselor i disagree:

[SatanicPanic]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[close]

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

[close]

Those are mostly things outside of parents’ control (no one wants to be poor). I think our understanding of what good parenting is has improved.

[close]

Having worked with kids and families across all social and economic spectrums over the past 20 years, as an educator, care provider, and counselor i disagree:

Ok. Did you work with people back when boomers and silents were raising kids?

[IUTSM]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[close]

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

[close]

Those are mostly things outside of parents’ control (no one wants to be poor). I think our understanding of what good parenting is has improved.

[close]

Having worked with kids and families across all social and economic spectrums over the past 20 years, as an educator, care provider, and counselor i disagree:

[close]

Ok. Did you work with people back when boomers and silents were raising kids?

Enlighten me

[SatanicPanic]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Yes. Tons of people around here are sober, active in AA, all that stuff. Not just the elderly set either, kids in their early twenties are tee totaling. I have no data to back this up, but the younger generation seems to be really moving away from the a lot of the norms of my own youth, they seem less interested in intoxication in general and more interested in figuring out how to live a life that doesn't require escaping from. I'm probably wrong though.

[close]

We’re not perfect but the current crop of parents are so much better than ours. And I can only imagine being raised by their deranged parents. All around less childhood trauma now than there was.

[close]

Across the board in the US, ACEs scores (adverse childhood experiences), trauma, homelessness, food insecurity, and general poverty are higher than at any time in contemporary history.

While perhaps the parents who are doing better than the generations past, its not the standard.

[close]

Those are mostly things outside of parents’ control (no one wants to be poor). I think our understanding of what good parenting is has improved.

[close]

Having worked with kids and families across all social and economic spectrums over the past 20 years, as an educator, care provider, and counselor i disagree:

[close]

Ok. Did you work with people back when boomers and silents were raising kids?

[close]

Enlighten me

You haven’t seen a change in parenting attitudes in your lifetime? How about the decline in spanking?

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/spanking-of-children-drops-to-35-of-parents-in-2017-according-to-long-term-study/#:~:text=The%20proportion%20of%20parents%20who,2%20to%2012%20years%20old.

Or attitudes about authoritarian parenting in general. How about how parents treat their gay or trans kids? Whether or not schools take bullying seriously? Nothing?

[IUTSM]

There is a lot more to creating good people/citizens/community members than keeping your hands off your kids. But, thats got nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

[SatanicPanic]

There is a lot more to creating good people/citizens/community members than keeping your hands off your kids. But, thats got nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

I simply said parenting styles are better and that might result in less alcohol abuse by today’s young people. If you want to make the case that parents used to be better go ahead but I don’t think too many people would agree with that.