money is the dirtiest thing on earth

[ahlee]

so im driving around with some buddies, just smoked.. we watched get familiar before we went out and skated. even though mostly all the skating in it is amazing, these new videos just dont hit me like they use to. old 411's and old videos and shit. i think the problem with then and now, mostly all those videos were made on low budget and woulod actual depict the life of a skateboarder. chillin with your friends and doing stupid shit. and then you and your buddies would go do the exact same thing.  now you look at all these guys now... and its like.. these professional skateboarders, are fucking loaded. it wasnt like this back then. the ads nowadays are seriously some of the most ridiculous shit i've ever seen. crazy shit photoshoped in and out. there are skateboarders on fucking mtv cribs.. i remember they would do a day in the life in old 411's and it would start off 80% of the time with whoever it was eating a bowl of cereal in his little apartment, call up the homies, throw together a board. go out met up and skate. now its like... these lame fake ass fucking lifestyles of these dudes wearing their necklaces and driving their cars.

and i cant comprehend how skateboarding can get any gnarlier.. they have a fucking mega ramp now. how can it get any crazier? It almost feels like skateboarding is on the brink of being maxed out. whats there left to do? videos now are just like... over edited, lifestyle hammers galore, you look at these tricks and you can almost tell they had no fun doing that trick, you know they sat there and tried it for hours on end, trying to get that last banger trick. make sure all their stickers are showing so they can cop that check. and the outfit better be tight cause if its now...holy shit, the shots garbage. and these fucking voiceovers.. of these dudes telling me why THEY love skating and how its an amazing way to express yourself with no boundries and all that... when does that come to an end? I fucking got it the first time i heard it. every single person says the same shit its just worded differently.

I just really with it would die. i had hope for a little while. but now it looks like skateboarding will be an olympic sport. woohoo. and for anyone who's going to read this and say... "skateboarding nowadays is better than its ever been, more people skateboarding and sharing a common intrest will help it progress blah blah blah whatever" ..fuck that and fuck you. thats now what this shit is about .... at all.

[Tuna]

you look at these tricks and you can almost tell they had no fun doing that trick, you know they sat there and tried it for hours on end,

marc johnson, fully flared.

[MFS]

i agree with certain aspects of your post, i really hate the mainstream take on skateboarding. it seems like the little kids just keep getting lamer and seem to be emulating evry other dumb kid further perpetuating there all around gayness. although i believ there are still people who skate for a living and also have tons of fun doing it.

[HCSGLBC562]

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you look at these tricks and you can almost tell they had no fun doing that trick, you know they sat there and tried it for hours on end,

[close]

Trying a trick for hours on end is part of the fun 

[kraftwerk]

411 will never be what it once was, without another 'death' of the populary/media/big-money chip on skateboardingz shoulder.

[art hellman]

i remember they would do a day in the life in old 411's and it would start off 80% of the time with whoever it was eating a bowl of cereal in his little apartment, call up the homies, throw together a board. go out met up and skate. now its like... these lame fake ass fucking lifestyles of these dudes wearing their necklaces and driving their cars.

awww, but those were different times

one of my favorites was that Ed Templeton day in the life where his breakfast consisted of a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of water.....and Geoff is hanging out and looking through Ed's photo albums.

[cocolove]

'crud...'

[89-90pistons]

is that the one ed splits his shin open on the front blunt?

[ahlee]

i agree with certain aspects of your post, i really hate the mainstream take on skateboarding. it seems like the little kids just keep getting lamer and seem to be emulating evry other dumb kid further perpetuating there all around gayness. although i believ there are still people who skate for a living and also have tons of fun doing it.

Oh there always will be. And those people will still be around after skating dies, the others though... not so much.

[94]

I fully agree with "ah lee" .Im glad you took the time to write all that stuff out,I always feel the need to but didnt wanna keep moaning on.I do feel strongly about it though. I had a conversation with my friend and he said that exact fucking line the "skateboarding nowadays is better than its ever been, more people skateboarding and sharing a common intrest will help it progress blah blah blah whatever". I like a raw crew of homies just skating around filming at some ghetto spot no bullshit, your right about the 411 day in the lifes just look at that roomies with gino and shit.There aint no phoney shit there just true friends skating.

 I dont know what to say really.Ive posted loads on here other time about skateboarding getting lame after 2001 kinda time with jay z instead of wu tang and stupid kids,competitions,bling, blah blah. Big companys love it cause they get loads of money ive talked to element industry heads who are always waiting for the new tony hawks game to come out to boost sales but then theres also real dudes just starting companys for fun eg sanch,western edition,turf and just shit like that.I think you do just have to support real companies who dont have motorcross teams (eg zoo york ) and just skate how you like to and all that.People say it can never effect you just having fun on a skateboard and thats mostly true but getting lame comments on the streets or just seeing lame shit in newspapers and stuff it makes skateboarding feel like some 10 year old kid hobbie or something.As far sas skate videos go I cant watch new ones most of the time,i just watch eastern exposure,seasons,traffic or something like that.

[94]

Money is the worst thing ever too,it fucks everything up.Im talking about greed not just having enough money to live eg food,boards,living etc.everything thats fucked up in this world at the moment you can look down the line and youll see somewere its just some dude wanting more money to buy stupid cars and useless things.

[Steezburger413]

I think you read my mind Ali

[subroku]

im still in 93..fuck all the new shit.

[Prison Wallet]

im still in 93..fuck all the new shit.

Pressure flips, big pants, small wheels? Didn't someone start a thread about you last week; something like "that one dude at the skatepark." Yeah it's easy to get bummed on skating today but it's always had it's regular aspects.

[Sleazy]

there is so much variety these days, why not enjoy what you like and ignore\vibe the rest. i personally prefer the style of videos today to the old 411 hammer a thon's from earlier this decade but maybe your talking about further back. but video wise there's a lot of good stuff coming out. here's a couple parts that got me hyped recently plus there's static III, inhabitants and fully flaired all dropping nowish.
 






and let's not forget dennis, if nothing else we got dennis

[ahlee]

im still in 93..fuck all the new shit.

93 til infinity.

[Sleazy]

you know at first i thought this thread was a germ phobe thread. money is literally one of the dirties things out there and it's why germ phobes are idiots but anyway, back to bitching about the industry.

[Bipsmound]

I pretty much agree with ali's post.  But, I reckon there'll always be good skatin and good companies around as long as realists keep doing that stuff.  It does suck that you might not have as much in common with any other skater as in the past, but there'll always be dudes doing good shit. 

I kinda look at it as if there's two different spheres of skating going on...  Dew tour biz and real stuff.  You could almost look at smaller companies as a separate industry in itself, selling to a different set than the mongo hands.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I imagine smaller companies aren't necessarily a 90's relic, but a legitimate continuation of what was good about all those old out of business companies we know and love.  All the other stuff is just chaff that'll burn away sooner or later.

I dunno, may as well go for a soda.

[miff]

Money comes and goes. The goofs way too involved with it will eventually wise-up. Those who will matter tomorrow anyway.

I agree with what is said, but when I get all riled up about the same stuff... I realize that I'm just a guy watching and trying to listen to what I like. Avoiding what I don't like is usually the easy part. On the flipside of what Ah Lee is saying...I always come back to "regardless of how cool (insert dudes name) seems, or how amazing he is on his board, that's all they will be to me. A guy in a video. Fandom is a bad, bad thing. Anytime I see a guy wearing a BAM shirt (Or any brandification of any pro for that matter) it just reminds me of the grossness of other "sports" fans. Any dude wearing a football jersey, baseball, basketball what ever... Lamest shit ever. It implies "This is my favorite player". Seems really creepy when a grown man wears another grown mans number and likeness because he's his favorite.

Videos are brought to us for "our entertainment"... We don't have to watch. But that's just the way skating is documented now-a-days, so any chance to see some new skating... we want to see it. I agree with the money and I agree with hate, but I also think that a lot of the hate is generated for the sake of hate. For example Pigwood's Slaughterhouse, I know, I know... but that video involves bits with the riders drinking and the riders skating... Not a lot of money involved... Not full of Girl inspired sketches... just drinking and skating. AND THE GROUP HERE HATES IT. I own this video along with plenty others that I haven't cared to watch in a while. When it does find it's way in the DVD player though, I am ALWAYS blown away by something in the video. Any video. There is always something that blows me away. But people look for perfection to call home, so Slaughterhouse is considered a piece of shit. It's not "That was a bad video, but that trick was worth a rewind"... It's "Pigwood sucks!".

Any activity is as lame as it's participants and it's fans. Skating doesn't need fans... Don't be a fan.

How many X games has there been? Since the dawn of the X-games we've seen skating marketed as "Individual", "Personal Style", "Unique"... From Pac Sun to Entemann's cakes... Now that those words are played and running thin, the mainstream needs to toss skating into the most uniform, opposite of "Individual", one way contest there is THE OLYMPICS...

If you like it or love it... the reason you do is because it's fun. Or that should be the reason anyway.

And by "fan" you know what I mean... dudes who cant show affiliation or interest in something without having there den decorated with anything with it's logo. Gross.

You ranted... I ranted.

[miff]

I kinda look at it as if there's two different spheres of skating going on...  Dew tour biz and real stuff.  You could almost look at smaller companies as a separate industry in itself, selling to a different set than the mongo hands.

Yes.

[miff]

I liked a lot of the things you said, but on this point...

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Fandom is a bad, bad thing. Anytime I see a guy wearing a BAM shirt (Or any brandification of any pro for that matter) it just reminds me of the grossness of other "sports" fans. Any dude wearing a football jersey, baseball, basketball what ever... Lamest shit ever. It implies "This is my favorite player". Seems really creepy when a grown man wears another grown mans number and likeness because he's his favorite.

[close]

...we disagree. Is Bam lame? Definitely. But being a fan of skating doesn't have to mean that you don't skate or don't 'get it'. It's easy to separate yourself from the jersey thing because only a few skaters have tried to market themselves that way. But what about your board? If you buy a pro model, isn't that basically like buying his jersey? OK, you like the shape, but if it wasn't their board, would you ride it? What if it was your least favorite skater, but it was the best wood available. Would the tradeoff be worth it to you? I can only speak for myself, but I know that as much as I try to say I don't care about anything like that beyond the pure act of skaing...I'm not above it. I don't want a Corey Duffel board, or Osiris shoes on my feet. I try to be practical as much as possible, but I buy shit that I think is cool and represents people that I look up to.

I think skating is definitely distinguished from a lot of other sports, but we're not immune. We're not all riding around on blanks, and buying our shoes based on blind tests of what skates the best. I don't just watch videos and think 'oh I can do that'. A lot of the skating that stokes me out the most is the stuff I probably have no hope of ever doing. It reminds me of what skating is capable of. If it's lame to be a 'fan' of someone like Guy Mariano, then I'm lame.

Right. I agree with what you mean, but I think it's myself being a little too specific with my choice of the word "fan". If you dig what Guy can do... and to add to all of that he seems like an OK guy... Sure. Don't get me wrong... I support that and exactly that. By support I guess all I can mean is, I like what the dude does and hope for the best for him and all like. I just meant when some one these days calls themselves a fan... It usually entails a weird (root word FANATIC) hoarding of anything with it's likeness. Like that's the way we are kind of taught to display our interests in a place like ours. Gross.

I think skating actually is a little different in that way. I don't think I've bought a board for a name since highschool. No wait... The last I think may have been a Rowley Mini about 4-5 years ago. I could be guilty more recently... but it was probably out of coincidence. I don't walk into a shop and ask for the latest Koston board is all I mean... and I don't think anyone who's really skated for a while does either. If they do... then they're lucky that the team they dig provides product they dig. Point taken though. I don't want to imply that I'm the opposite of what you were getting at. I'm not teflon either... There's lameness over here too. Sure I've been the guy who's bought something for a logo, I own a couple chocolate logo shirts and such. So there are those who buy for the riders name, but I do think that has to be the younger types.

I've been lame before, just trying not to be lame now. My interpretation of what a fan is, is gross.

[Choad Muskrat]

People say it can never effect you just having fun on a skateboard and thats mostly true but getting lame comments on the streets or just seeing lame shit in newspapers and stuff it makes skateboarding feel like some 10 year old kid hobbie or something.

yea this is whats bothering me nowadays, adults and little kids thinking they are 'hip to the scene' because they watched the xgames, dew tour or scarred on TV. Like someone else said, i kind of put up a wall in my head and xgames etc. is on one side, and raw street skating on the other. Too bad the wall seems to be slowly crumbling, especially all the shit I've been hearing about the once core companys selling out. But it goes back to the same old thing, get money.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

and i cant comprehend how skateboarding can get any gnarlier.. they have a fucking mega ramp now. how can it get any crazier?

It'll get gnarlier once they think of a superlative that is better than "mega" to describe a ramp.

Shit used to be cool for a lot of reasons and lame for a lot of reasons. I agree with you on the problems that exist. But there are some positives of today as well. Try not to get too bummed out. Its still a piece of wood on 4 wheels!

[H8R vol.2]

i wouldn't say money is the dirtiest thing but rather peoples greed.  some people have done great things with money(i.e. paul newman) to help others, its just disgusting when you see people living in excess and showing off everything they got, every chance they get.  people hate self props more than anything in skating, yet just about every pro out there is guilty of it.  they might not cheer for themselves after every trick, but acting a fool on TV or showing up to some club wearing a $3K worth of bling and a $100K car screams, "hey everyone, look at me i'm the shit!"...the epitome of selfprops.

as far as skate brands and my purchasing habits, honestly i just get whatever cheap.  i really have no loyality to any specific brand or any specific rider.  of course i have my favorites like anyone else, but i'm certainly not going out of my way to pick up a deck just because someones name is on it.  while i want to support certain companies/riders, i don't get paid for, i don't plan on getting paid for it, i just skate because i enjoy it and thats where it all begins and ends for me.     
 

 

[MexicanSpaniard]

off topic: did Nate get a board yet?

[boyan]

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[close]

off topic: did Nate get a board yet?

no still an amateur for bueno
a shame, really, I hope he'll get a board in the near future, he deserves it

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

acting a fool on TV or showing up to some club wearing a $3K worth of bling and a $100K car screams, "hey everyone, look at me i'm the shit!"...the epitome of selfprops.

Skateboarding is often ahead on trends, hopefully the fact that we seem to be getting more into modesty over arrogance will spread to the general population, and the Hollywood party scene will stop being national news.

[Sleazy]

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[close]

off topic: did Nate get a board yet?

[close]

no still an amateur for bueno
a shame, really, I hope he'll get a board in the near future, he deserves it

after static III, seems like it would be time to give him one. looking forward to it. like bueno's and seems like nate's would be at least an 8 considering he skates 8.5ish boards.

[Zurg]

Everyone being able to do everything is whats ruining alot of videos for me. So I try to only watch the skaters that i actually care about and local videos. I cant really enjoy most pros/ams skating until i see atleast 2 parts

[grimcity]

It'll get gnarlier once they think of a superlative that is better than "mega" to describe a ramp.

So far, I think the skate community at large has kept "hella" our dirty, sad little secret.

I hope no Red Bull interns are reading this.