Was it influential? Cmon dude, Phelps was part of a legacy. 100% skateboarding. The Mag wasn’t always at the top but it was always legit. SOTY, Bust or Bail, KOTR. What’s Joa done? YSL and Dumb Data’s Skate. Phelps was all over the world skating gnarly shit and touring with bands. GH is in Orange County and LA at perfect skateparks and ordering Uber eats to his apartment. Not to diminish his influence for this current era but it’s more internet clout imo. YT vids and streamer content, not really legendary stuff. Staring into a computer screen giving opinions by yourself is kind of corny but I guess that’s what people consume these days. Kind of an apples to oranges comparison but let’s not act like Jake was some random dude who didn’t contribute much and no one paid attention to.
I don't really see how Phelps and Thrasher are comparable to GH. To me, Joa's content exists more in the realm of big brother and Rocco era world camp. Obviously I'm not giving Joa the same credibility as Rocco or BB, but his perspective is more in line with that brand of humorously criticizing some of the egregious kookery in contemporary skateboarding. I think what he's doing is essential, and while I'm not a super fan or patreon subscriber, I like and agree with most of his content.
Also, it seems as though you intentionally used some of his weaker content (YSL and Dumb Data) to make your argument feel stronger. His hateline series, Mikey Alfred criticism, Heath vs Jason Ellis, P.Rod hate and other videos are high quality critiques and warranted criticisms for lots of the wack sh*t pros and people in the skate industry are participating in nowadays.
Just because he uses a webcam to make his content doesn't make it less legitimate to me. Times change. If this were the 90s and he worked at Big brother, his content would be the same. Its just a different means to an end.
Genuinely curious here, but how do you guys not like gifted hater? To me he seems like one of the only people in skate media serving a reality check. Sometimes I feel like I'm going insane with all the heinous sh*t that gains any sort of traction or recognition in skateboarding now (wack sponsors, tiktok and youtube clout farming, horrible graphics, NFTs, etc.) And I like that he points out when skaters are not being honest on their platforms when asked about how they feel about other skaters and brands (the nine club for example).
I don't view Joa as a typical 'youtube skater', he's funnier and more honest than any of those dweebs. It feels like some of the old heads just see him as a glasses wearing youtuber cornball cornball without ever watching his content. He speaks the truth man. Gino was sick in the 90s, but he does not deserve an Asics endorsement in 2025...
For the record, I am not a fan of weck, despite him making similar content. He seems more arrogant and bitter than Joa in his takes.
-Skater, 30's, USA