2025 unpopular opinion thread

[alien porkchop]

og classics look perfect

[DeanMaple]

Why r they called conicals tho?

[alien porkchop]

Why r they called conicals tho?

conical void was already trademarked

[Rick Trapasso]

Small classic wheels look stupid

.....Nah

[j....soy.....]

Just like penises….they all look dumb….

[Rick Trapasso]

Just like penises….they all look dumb….

There's no shot a conical penis looks cooler than a classic one

[Pbn_jake]

Classic fulls the goat

[JM]

What does it mean that the radial slims were cancelled?

[Shortys Hardware]

Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

[Rick Trapasso]

Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

The shoes are great and they sponsor some of the best dudes.

Branding and marketing is pretty sterile, but what do you expect from a company that made its money in "dad" shoes?

[pile]

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Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

[close]

The shoes are great and they sponsor some of the best dudes.

Branding and marketing is pretty sterile, but what do you expect from a company that made its money in "dad" shoes?

i agree that nb is not very exciting from a marketing standpoint. nothing about the brand has ever really grabbed my attention in that facet.

the videos are usually too sanitized (something that was made to be playable anywhere and not raise any eyebrows), very bland ads in mags and also, is nb numeric apparel really necessary? 

also, i'm just bitter that they discontinued the v1 440 hi.

[apbarbs]

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Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

[close]

The shoes are great and they sponsor some of the best dudes.

Branding and marketing is pretty sterile, but what do you expect from a company that made its money in "dad" shoes?

[close]

i agree that nb is not very exciting from a marketing standpoint. nothing about the brand has ever really grabbed my attention in that facet.

the videos are usually too sanitized (something that was made to be playable anywhere and not raise any eyebrows), very bland ads in mags and also, is nb numeric apparel really necessary? 

also, i'm just bitter that they discontinued the v1 440 hi.

i think the fact the NB has never put out a video that's excited me is a big part of why i haven't tried them yet

the new village pm clip got me so hyped that i may have to buy them even though there's nowhere to try them on here

[Jort250]

Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

This might be personal but i personally love NB cupsoles bc they’re reliable and there’s no crazy gimmicks or overly weird designs. In a way, the lameness kind of sells an image to me of them being quietly solid

[conan777]

Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

That's how I felt until a few years ago but I just don't find anything cool about any other shoe brands at all now. Tried to keep buying 'eS and the occasional pair of Emerica but the difference is night and day. I've only had the Tiagos but it's all I buy now

[MMongrel]

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Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

[close]

That's how I felt until a few years ago but I just don't find anything cool about any other shoe brands at all now.

Same here with NB# being at the top of that list. Strangely I've had and enjoyed some NB chiller shoes but all the skate shoes just look wrong. Even the understated models are too busy and the colorways are off.

[TheDraught]

Ginwoo's 4 "nine clubs" at SLS Las Vegas got me stoked. Especially the kf back tail kf out.

https://youtube.com/shorts/YjXcAp-04EI?si=SlOhmZuG-jdJ4fiw

[Slimeone]

Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

Image aside, New Balance shoes are way too overhyped. They're just not as great as everyone makes out. Especially the durability aspect. 1010s soles wear down very fast and become useless once you go through to the foam. Also all New Balance shoes fit weird, not just the skate shoes. This may explain why some people love them cos they probably have some janky busted up feet that don't fit into a normal shoe properly.

[JakeBeskatin]

NB makes great shoes, Adidas could learn a thing or two from them.

[StormonMormon]

Short short T's

[Democratic Republic Of Mongo]

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Nothing about the new balance skate program appeals to me, the ads, the branding, the make up of the team, all of it just seems off to me

[close]

Image aside, New Balance shoes are way too overhyped. They're just not as great as everyone makes out. Especially the durability aspect. 1010s soles wear down very fast and become useless once you go through to the foam. Also all New Balance shoes fit weird, not just the skate shoes. This may explain why some people love them cos they probably have some janky busted up feet that don't fit into a normal shoe properly.

I think most of them fit great and my feet have an OnlyFans.

The 480’s are the only exception.

[j....soy.....]

Skaters are pretty much shoe zombies….we don’t fucking know….we just wander around from trend to trend and whoever is currently dumping money into ‘lifestyle’ we should be so lucky that these major brands haven’t figured out how uncool skateboarding actually is…..

[EDMUND]

Skaters are pretty much shoe zombies….we don’t fucking know….we just wander around from trend to trend and whoever is currently dumping money into ‘lifestyle’ we should be so lucky that these major brands haven’t figured out how uncool skateboarding actually is…..

The most correct take ever. And I include myself in this.

[oh]

-   Charlie Birch should’ve stayed on Yardsale: look, the shit he does with Palace is fucking sick, and he is a highlight of the vids to me, but Palace is becoming stale. I fw Palace, but half of the videos just feel boring now. I was watching Birch’s Palace footy and just thinking to myself how sick he’d look with Yardsale doing some old VHS camera stuff, only to switch it up with HD cameras. My point is that Yardsale isn’t for everybody, but they are at least taking a more interesting approach to editing than “We are British rave techno ciggies and accents”.
-   Big ass board trend is fine, but the market is gonna be saturated once brands latch onto Heroin/Anti-Hero’s shapes. Fuck it – start making 7.0 decks with actually ridable wheelbases now to stay ahead of the curb before people start mouth-watering over small deck nostalgia
-   90% of skate vids have the most obnoxious fucking titles and are just 2 random words put together. That’s fine, but it’s getting to a point where I could literally just type in two random words, and there will be a thumbnail of a skater’s face and a filmer’s username. Bring back gay ass corporate names like “Flip Skateboards Sorry” – so that I know what the fuck I am actually watching/what brand this is, rather than “NUT SHOT” – which is probably a great name, but who the fuck in the video/what company it be?

[outoftheloop]

Expand Quote

Skaters are pretty much shoe zombies….we don’t fucking know….we just wander around from trend to trend and whoever is currently dumping money into ‘lifestyle’ we should be so lucky that these major brands haven’t figured out how uncool skateboarding actually is…..

[close]

The most correct take ever. And I include myself in this.

Or theres the alternative, the skaters who find 'their shoe' and never waver. (normally the black and white variety for some reason. Cons all stars, vans old skools, Janoskis etc.)

[jums]

-   Charlie Birch should’ve stayed on Yardsale: look, the shit he does with Palace is fucking sick, and he is a highlight of the vids to me, but Palace is becoming stale. I fw Palace, but half of the videos just feel boring now. I was watching Birch’s Palace footy and just thinking to myself how sick he’d look with Yardsale doing some old VHS camera stuff, only to switch it up with HD cameras. My point is that Yardsale isn’t for everybody, but they are at least taking a more interesting approach to editing than “We are British rave techno ciggies and accents”.
-   Big ass board trend is fine, but the market is gonna be saturated once brands latch onto Heroin/Anti-Hero’s shapes. Fuck it – start making 7.0 decks with actually ridable wheelbases now to stay ahead of the curb before people start mouth-watering over small deck nostalgia
-   90% of skate vids have the most obnoxious fucking titles and are just 2 random words put together. That’s fine, but it’s getting to a point where I could literally just type in two random words, and there will be a thumbnail of a skater’s face and a filmer’s username. Bring back gay ass corporate names like “Flip Skateboards Sorry” – so that I know what the fuck I am actually watching/what brand this is, rather than “NUT SHOT” – which is probably a great name, but who the fuck in the video/what company it be?

I think a lot of people's skating would look better if they skated a deck more proportionate to their size... I learned how to skateboard on 7.75s and because those are smaller you had to really learn footwork and balance... a lot of younger and older skaters on these gigantic decks have a really sloppy unrefined style because there's more room for their feet to land on as opposed to a smaller more proportioned deck that forces you to land properly...

[SmashtheState]

Expand Quote

Skaters are pretty much shoe zombies….we don’t fucking know….we just wander around from trend to trend and whoever is currently dumping money into ‘lifestyle’ we should be so lucky that these major brands haven’t figured out how uncool skateboarding actually is…..

[close]

The most correct take ever. And I include myself in this.

I'll go even farther, pro skater's especially the older burned out dude's seem dumb as shit.  Mind you this isn't everyone I'm sure and heard a few older dudes that have moved on since their careers found worthwhile hobbies that are skate adjacent or science related.

It just seems the biggest dolts or bong resin fried skater's have the IQ of a coconut and it shows in interviews and podcasts.

eg.. Mike Plumb and I hate saying this E.E. listened to about 5 minutes of that living proof podcast and felt my brain dying. Maybe the softball questions seemed nothing profound but holy shit I'm sure I wasn't the only one bored as fucking shit listening to him talk.

[argggghhhhhhh]

Living proof produces mediocre interviews and the only reason they're popular is #1 connections to skaters people want to hear from and #2 an absence of decent skate journalism.

half of their interviews are about substance abuse which is a big issue in skating but it can make the interviews feel pretty monotone.

I'll see the skater being interviewed and be like hell yeah, then it's just two guys talking like therapists about random shit.

Why the fuck are we still talking about the movie KIDS in 2025. It's just mediocre. RIP harold hunter and respect to the skaters involved but it's just a bad, exploitative movie, and larry clark is a freak. We gotta let that kind of nostalgia go.

[jums]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Skaters are pretty much shoe zombies….we don’t fucking know….we just wander around from trend to trend and whoever is currently dumping money into ‘lifestyle’ we should be so lucky that these major brands haven’t figured out how uncool skateboarding actually is…..

[close]

The most correct take ever. And I include myself in this.

[close]

I'll go even farther, pro skater's especially the older burned out dude's seem dumb as shit.  Mind you this isn't everyone I'm sure and heard a few older dudes that have moved on since their careers found worthwhile hobbies that are skate adjacent or science related.

It just seems the biggest dolts or bong resin fried skater's have the IQ of a coconut and it shows in interviews and podcasts.

eg.. Mike Plumb and I hate saying this E.E. listened to about 5 minutes of that living proof podcast and felt my brain dying. Maybe the softball questions seemed nothing profound but holy shit I'm sure I wasn't the only one bored as fucking shit listening to him talk.

A lot of skateboarders live up to the dumb stoner dropout stereotype add arrested development and voila you have a grown man who articulates like a 20 year old. Like these no cap on god bro kids are gonna sound 25 years from now.

Living proof produces mediocre interviews and the only reason they're popular is #1 connections to skaters people want to hear from and #2 an absence of decent skate journalism.

half of their interviews are about substance abuse which is a big issue in skating but it can make the interviews feel pretty monotone.

I'll see the skater being interviewed and be like hell yeah, then it's just two guys talking like therapists about random shit.

Why the fuck are we still talking about the movie KIDS in 2025. It's just mediocre. RIP harold hunter and respect to the skaters involved but it's just a bad, exploitative movie, and larry clark is a freak. We gotta let that kind of nostalgia go.

Larry Clark likes to film and photograph shirtless boys. Dude is a weirdo. I'm with Ryan Hickey, fuck that dude.

https://chromeballincident.blogspot.com/search/label/ryan%20hickey?m=0

Nah, I was honestly more sketched out by Larry Clark. That dude was a straight pedophile or something. I don’t know what was going on with that guy.

You weren’t down with Larry?

All I know is that I wasn’t going over to his apartment like some other people were. Nah, that guy was weird. Some of the stuff he’d say? Weird.

Like what?

Just stuff that made you think he was a pedophile. I’m not trying to diss Larry at all. I’m just saying that when I was a younger, I wasn’t about to go over to that dude’s apartment.  No, not doing it. If you were drinking and pass out… nope.

[ferguu]

Expand Quote

-   Charlie Birch should’ve stayed on Yardsale: look, the shit he does with Palace is fucking sick, and he is a highlight of the vids to me, but Palace is becoming stale. I fw Palace, but half of the videos just feel boring now. I was watching Birch’s Palace footy and just thinking to myself how sick he’d look with Yardsale doing some old VHS camera stuff, only to switch it up with HD cameras. My point is that Yardsale isn’t for everybody, but they are at least taking a more interesting approach to editing than “We are British rave techno ciggies and accents”.
-   Big ass board trend is fine, but the market is gonna be saturated once brands latch onto Heroin/Anti-Hero’s shapes. Fuck it – start making 7.0 decks with actually ridable wheelbases now to stay ahead of the curb before people start mouth-watering over small deck nostalgia
-   90% of skate vids have the most obnoxious fucking titles and are just 2 random words put together. That’s fine, but it’s getting to a point where I could literally just type in two random words, and there will be a thumbnail of a skater’s face and a filmer’s username. Bring back gay ass corporate names like “Flip Skateboards Sorry” – so that I know what the fuck I am actually watching/what brand this is, rather than “NUT SHOT” – which is probably a great name, but who the fuck in the video/what company it be?

[close]

I think a lot of people's skating would look better if they skated a deck more proportionate to their size... I learned how to skateboard on 7.75s and because those are smaller you had to really learn footwork and balance... a lot of younger and older skaters on these gigantic decks have a really sloppy unrefined style because there's more room for their feet to land on as opposed to a smaller more proportioned deck that forces you to land properly...

Bruh every1 skates 8.5 these days u basically just called out the whole industry hahahaha.

[SatanicPanic]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

-   Charlie Birch should’ve stayed on Yardsale: look, the shit he does with Palace is fucking sick, and he is a highlight of the vids to me, but Palace is becoming stale. I fw Palace, but half of the videos just feel boring now. I was watching Birch’s Palace footy and just thinking to myself how sick he’d look with Yardsale doing some old VHS camera stuff, only to switch it up with HD cameras. My point is that Yardsale isn’t for everybody, but they are at least taking a more interesting approach to editing than “We are British rave techno ciggies and accents”.
-   Big ass board trend is fine, but the market is gonna be saturated once brands latch onto Heroin/Anti-Hero’s shapes. Fuck it – start making 7.0 decks with actually ridable wheelbases now to stay ahead of the curb before people start mouth-watering over small deck nostalgia
-   90% of skate vids have the most obnoxious fucking titles and are just 2 random words put together. That’s fine, but it’s getting to a point where I could literally just type in two random words, and there will be a thumbnail of a skater’s face and a filmer’s username. Bring back gay ass corporate names like “Flip Skateboards Sorry” – so that I know what the fuck I am actually watching/what brand this is, rather than “NUT SHOT” – which is probably a great name, but who the fuck in the video/what company it be?

[close]

I think a lot of people's skating would look better if they skated a deck more proportionate to their size... I learned how to skateboard on 7.75s and because those are smaller you had to really learn footwork and balance... a lot of younger and older skaters on these gigantic decks have a really sloppy unrefined style because there's more room for their feet to land on as opposed to a smaller more proportioned deck that forces you to land properly...

[close]

Bruh every1 skates 8.5 these days u basically just called out the whole industry hahahaha.

I think those 1999-2005 or so videos are all pretty unwatchable for me because everyone is riding around on baby boards with giant shoes. There are some exceptions but I really hate the look of that era.