Idahomies: Skateboarding Subculture Analyzed Within the Community of Boise
After being born in Baltimore, Maryland, Ryley Macdonald’s family began moving state to state when he was still quite young. Eventually, he found himself living in a place where many recreational activities to engage in are right in his backyard. So naturally, he loves to be outdoors most of the day taking part in many extreme activities such as snowboarding, skateboarding, mountain biking, camping, and especially wakeboarding! This is not to say he cannot have fun indoors as he is an avid reader and a musician as well. He has a passion for vintage synthesizers and drum machines that keep him occupied for hours. He even records his music and shares it sometimes under the alias CutThroat Kid; a name which he got due to a large scar on his throat from a battle with cancer at age 17. Ryley struggled a lot in grades K-12 due to learning disabilities that he had to overcome. He in fact never planned on pursuing higher education. Only after going through some difficult times on his own did he decide he needed to be schooled if he wanted to achieve his goals in life. Now at age 21, He is an Honors student in his second year majoring in the science of philosophy at Boise state university as he has always strived for elevated thinking and understanding. He is planning to use the knowledge he gains from this major to pursue an advanced degree.
Idahomies: Skateboarding Subculture Analyzed Within the Community of Boise
Abstract
This article, written by researcher and skateboarder Ryley Macdonald, examines the subcultural values of skateboarding within the community of Boise, Idaho. After defining the overall characteristics of the popular pastime as a whole, he delves into the local scene in order to analyze the nature of skateboarding in the Treasure Valley.
Introduction
We all know that familiar sound; the clacking’ of urethane wheels on the cracks of the sidewalk. The rowdy groups of youth rolling around on street corners. Some of us know it all to well because it has been a large part of our life. In this essay, I will analyze the evolution of the skateboarding subculture locally and beyond. By doing so, I hope to show people that the popular pastime has an effect on the general public. My objective is to give the information needed to answer the question: Has the development of the subculture skateboarding affected our community positively?
If you don’t know much about Skateboarding, let me fill you in. Skateboarding, like any hobby, requires a large amount of time and effort to get good at. The dedication that some skaters have is unparalleled. Day in and day out, kids and even adults will put down everything they’ve got to get new tricks under their belts. It’s amazing how psyched people get over a little wooden plank with wheels on it.
My life has changed because of skateboarding. You see, I wasn’t one of those “Metro-Kids” that has a God-given nac for the board. No, skateboarding for me was always more of an escape. Up until high school, my father had me playing organized team sports. Football, wrestling, lacrosse; don’t get me wrong I enjoyed playing, I was just fed up with having to please the coaches, my teammates, and everyone else’s expectations. Skateboarding not only gave me the freedom to push myself and accel in something I enjoyed, but it also gave me the freedom to do it all at without any expectations from anybody but myself.
Don’t get me twisted though, my experience wasn’t all great. Back when I started, I wasn’t immediately accepted by the regulars at my local park. For instance, I would get badgered by a skater named Alex every time I showed up. He would try to coerce me into trying bigger tricks I was never ready for. Sometimes I would try them, and most of the time I would bail out or slam only to hear Alex laughing at me. I would feel badly at first, but in the end, it only drove me to try harder. I feel that because of these experiences I had with skateboarding, I was able to grow psychologically as a person. It taught me many great lessons of perseverance, dedication, and toughened me up for trials I didn’t even know were coming. I think taking up skateboarding can be the best and the worst decision somebody can make.
Lit Review
The subculture of skateboarding always seems to be changing like the seasons. Every year there are new trends or fads that catch on and they impact everyone that participates in the sport as a whole. Anything from the clothes that people wear to the things that people say, skateboarding seems to affect life. Even people who have never skated in their life can witness the pull that this culture has on the community if they know where to look. Anything from fashion magazines to television advertisements, the sport just seems to have a certain appeal to the eye.
Skateboarding today no longer has to be specifically for the outcasts, or kids who don’t fit in anywhere else, it doesn’t specifically have to be a boy’s pastime either. I personally know kids who play team sports that skateboard. Hell, skateboarding will be in the Olympics in 2020 when sports like wrestling have been removed, and that was the original Olympian athletic contest. Skateboarding has reached a broader audience because now, skateboarding is cool.
History
Around the time motorcars started hitting the market, California local surfers realized they could explore far more of the coastline. This contributed to the surfing boom. Surfing was the dragon, and surfers were destined to chase that dragon whether they were at the beach or not. By the ‘50s, numerous Southern Californian surfers were tinkering with roller-skates and planks of wood as a means of chasing that surfing feeling (Flude 31). As the Californian culture spread prominently across America, it brought the surf culture along with it.
By the ‘70s, the new pastime of “sidewalk surfing” had graduated from its surfer origin and taken on a whole new audience, thus eventually dubbed “skateboarding.” While the popularity of skateboarding was ever-increasing, the future was uncertain. In the very first-ever publication of a magazine made specifically for skaters, John Severson says this in his editorial “Today’s skateboarders are founders in this sport—they’re pioneers—they are the first. There is no history in Skateboarding—it’s being made now—by you. The sport is being molded and we believe that doing the right thing now will lead to a bright future for the sport. Already, there are storm clouds on the horizon with opponents of the sport talking about ban and restriction” I believe that this is still a valid statement, and now even more than ever.
Controversies
Since the beginning of skateboarding, it has always seemed to have to be recognized by two parties; those who condone it, and those who condemn it. Many cities have banned skateboarding and incited large fines for anyone willing to test those boundaries. One great example is in the city of Philadelphia, the birthplace of street skateboarding. First, let’s get some background into just how the world became a skatepark. It can be thought of like this: as the years went by, the ability of skaters increased and soon there were more good skateboarders than there were backyard swimming pools to skate, and one day, vert’ (the act of skating half-pipes & swimming pools) just got boring for a lot of skaters. In search of something new and prior to the city’s desire to allocate designated skateboarding areas, skaters took to the streets searching for anything they could grind, slide, slappy, bomb, and jump off or over. Soon enough skaters were finding places or “spots” they would take a liking to, and frequent them to attempt new tricks and hang out with other skaters. These spots could be anything from a painted red curb to a set of six stairs with a handrail or even a plain old picnic table. Really good spots were the ones that had a good combination of these features close together. In Philly, this place was known as LOVE Park.
LOVE had it all: beautiful cement ledges, a cascade of curving granite steps, an elegant fountain in the center of it all, and the sculpture with those notorious red Didone letters spelling L-O-V-E. Seeing how this public park was equipped with many of the components necessary for a great skate spot, it became an attraction to the local boarders. Day after day, the youth would come to this place and skate from sunrise to sunset. Finally, skateboarders in Philly felt they had a place they could express themselves, a place where they didn’t have to conform to society’s standards.
In March 2000, City Councilman Michael Nutter proposed a bill banning skateboarding in the space, citing damage caused to concrete ledges and the danger posed by skateboarders to other park users (Németh 300). as the years went by the enforcement of this bill only increased resulting in skaters being prosecuted and ticketed with fines up to $300. On the 5th of October in 2003, over 400 Philadelphians descended on the City Hall to protest against the decision to prohibit skateboarding in and around LOVE Park, the so-called ‘mecca of street skateboarding’ (Németh 297). The LOVE Park ban on skateboarding is just one example of societal oppression on skateboarding in history. There in fact has been many attempts to ban skateboarding in public spaces. Many places such as the birthplace of skateboarding (at the time called sidewalk surfing) Huntington Beach and even places like Boise Idaho (where I currently reside) have attempted to rule skateboarding out of city limits in spite of its ‘at the time’ already quite small skateboarding community.
Stereotypes
It’s pretty easy to judge a book by its cover. We are all guilty of doing it, and most of the time we don’t even notice when we do. Every day, we get by on the knowledge we already have. We remember the food we do or do not like, we know what music we do or do not enjoy listening to, we know what we know about ourselves because we don’t have to relearn these things every day. This ability to remember facts about ourselves is a useful trait that we possess when it comes to cutting down the processing time it takes to make a decision about something.
But what happens when you apply this act of generalization to others? This is where we start to dip into unintentional stereotyping. The definition of stereotype (from google): “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world; since they reduce the amount of processing (i.e. thinking) we have to do when we meet a new person. (McLeod,) For the most part, we make assumptions that can benefit a situation in which we may not know anything about the person we are about to converse with. In other words, we try to avoid awkward moments by making assumptions and going off what we know, or think we know. For instance, upon meeting a woman of darker skin complexion wearing a Hijab (headdress) you might assume that she’s practicing the Islamic religion and greet her with a hand on your chest and a nod, as opposed to going for a handshake and getting awkwardly turned down. This is also a great example of a positive stereotype because it was potentially helpful to the situation. Some stereotypes are of a positive nature and some of negative nature.
So how does this apply to a subculture like skateboarding? In the past, skateboarding participants were primarily youth and adolescents with nowhere to skate but city streets and public property. This would eventually lead to public dismay and contention between skateboarders and civilians or business owners. Confrontations would arise between the two parties, and the outcome would almost always end the same: skaters get kicked out of public spaces, their boards confiscated, their actions condemned, and they feel once again like they are not accepted in society.
It seems that their determination to skate has been their greatest flaw when trying to coincide with a society that only seems to be a litigant. With the delusional sense of maturity and independence that an activity such as skateboarding has often granted juveniles, there has on many occasions been instances of skaters undermining authority. These instances have only created grounds for stereotypes to be formed.
Skaters being disrespectful and anti-authority is just one point on a spectrum of stereotypes that society has created around the subculture. Other common stereotypes associated with skateboarding that we hear about: skaters are drug users, pot-heads, destructive, violent, uneducated, vandalistic, antisocial, and that skaters are all punks’ of course. A troubled skater named Javier wrote in a letter to the editor of Transworld Skateboarding Mag “We are all products of our own actions. What I am against is the stereotypes that they reinforce” (Romay).
Thesis
In spite of these things that make skateboarding a difficult sport to participate in, people still do it, and they love it all the same. Maybe overcoming the negative aspects is a part of the thrill, who knows? The fact is that, despite skateboarding’s bad reputation, there are obviously some things positive to be gained from it, otherwise people just wouldn’t participate. I will be taking these thoughts into account when conducting my research about the subculture. After which, I will analyze the pastime in order to shine a light on everything about skateboarding that is gratifying or grim, and find out why people choose to skateboard in spite of the unfavorable obligations that come with the board?
Evolution of the Skateboarding Community in Boise Idaho
In order to find out more, I knew that I would have to strap on my skate shoes, grab my board and get out in the streets. We have such a booming skate community these days that I didn’t even know where to start. It seems like there are so many more skaters today than there ever were before. At one point I felt like I knew almost everyone here that skateboarded personally, but currently, that would be an impressive social feat. We now have 11 skateparks in the valley: Rhodes, Fort Boise, McDevitt, Tully, Eagle, Kuna, Caldwell Plaza, Roosevelt, Stampede, Middleton and Tom Erlebach Skatepark. Keep in mind these are the names used for the skateparks and not always just the city they’re in.
My point is that the local skateboarding community is growing rapidly. Rhodes, Middleton and Tom Erelbach are entirely new “world-class” skateparks designed and built by the notorious skatepark designers Grindline. While these three remarkable skateparks were built in the last few years, Rhodes has actually been around since before I was born, but was recently demolished and rebuilt into Idaho’s greatest skatepark. Before the revamping, Rhodes was a real grungy spot located under the I84 connector overpass. Comprised of nothing more than a few metal ramps and rails bolted to the blacktop with a sketchy metal halfpipe to tie it all together. While it wasn’t much, old Rhodes was a staple in the local skateboarding scene in Boise.
To give a little history about Rhodes skatepark, it was built by a man who cherished the youth as well as recreational opportunities. Glenn Rhodes, he was a former Ada county highway commissioner at the time that he came up with the idea of a skatepark in Boise. He was inspired to pursue this new idea after hearing about local businessmen running off skaters from downtown areas. Glenn recruited his 16-year-old neighbor to take him around to the local skate spots and show him what skaters look for in suitable obstacles. Other skaters told him “there was no place to skate” (“Rhodes Skate Park”). In 1992 Glenn convinced the city and county to stipulate a location for kids to engage in recreational activities. He then spent the next two years volunteering to raise funds and donating his time to coordinating the construction of the park. Completed in 1994 and dedicated to Glenn Rhodes in 1995 for his devotion to the community and to the youth. Charlie Ware of the Associated General Contractors said, “It was his vision, his perseverance and hard work that made this park a reality” (“Rhodes Skate Park”).
Rhodes skatepark, once a place of exile; now a world-class playground for skaters. While every skatepark has a little bit of its own flavor, Rhodes has a little bit of everything. Anyone from beginners all the way up to seasoned professional skateboarders can find something to suit their needs. As I previously stated, the skateboarding community has grown rapidly in the last few years, and my hypothesis is that the boom started after Rhodes was rebuilt. Wondering if I was alone in thinking that, I called up an old buddy of mine that recently moved to Utah to work for Nitro Snowboards. Justin Washam is his name and he used to work at The Boardroom skate shop in Boise for many years. I figured his experience working in the shop that is closest to Rhodes might have led him to formulate his own opinion on the subject. However, I thought that asking him his opinion on Rhodes might be too direct, and possibly affect his response. Instead, I asked Justin what he thought was the biggest change in the skateboarding community during his time as a Boardroom employee. As I anticipated, this was his response:
“The biggest change was Rhodes getting remodeled because it more than doubled the size of the skate community. Kids that had never even thought about skating picked up skateboards, plus it brought everyone else together. Each park used to have its own little crew and Rhodes provided a centralized park for everyone to meet at, creating one big scene where everyone knows everyone” (Washam).
Rhodes has obviously made large splashes in the community. One main goal of the park was to give people a place to skate as to discourage them from skating in prohibited areas. Boise Parks and Recreation Director, Doug Holloway was pleased with the results and feels that the project was beneficial to the community. “Now they have a controlled environment” he states. He goes on to say that if the city didn’t put their efforts into giving the youth places to pursue their interests, there was no question the skaters were going to find their own way. “They’re going to be using benches. They’re going to be using planters.” Holloway states (Berg).
But is it enough? Even though the city of Boise has granted this great gift to the skate community, some skaters seem to enjoy the thrill that can be gained from skateboarding where they’re not supposed to. As recent as this February in 2019, there have been problems within the county with skaters doing damage to private property. The most recent instance being a group of five unknown skaters that did over $5,000 worth of damage at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine in Meridian, or ICOM for short. The skaters reportedly removed a large metal sign in order to gain access to the medical school courtyard. Police officials concluded that the trespassers were skating on custom granite and teakwood benches, as well as inside of a large drained decorative fountain. ICOM spokeswoman Stephanie Dillon stated “The benches were custom-made for us and shipped here from California, So it’s not like we can go down to Home Depot and replace them.” (Bertel). There are currently arrest warrants on felony vandalism charges for the five unknown suspects. In these juvenile skaters cases, it would be one thing if they rode bikes or skated to the med school because that could potentially signify that they didn’t have access to transportation to a skatepark, but the fact is that the skaters left the scene in a vehicle. Therefore, they definitely could have chosen to go to any skatepark instead.
I’ve skated at Rhodes countless times since the makeover and I can tell you first hand that it really is something to marvel at. I was there recently and I bumped into a friend of mine; Miles Andrew, he takes skateboarding more seriously than anyone I know. Still considering my theories about the park, I figured I would ask his opinion of the update. “Rhodes is a way better skatepark than it used to be, but the homeless people continue to be a problem!” he exclaimed over tunes another skater’s speaker was playing near us. This was something I hadn’t considered.
While the remodel construction of Rhodes was a great breakthrough for the community, it still had its drawbacks and challenges. One of which being that old Rhodes was an attraction for homeless people. It was a natural coincidence. Shelters such as Interfaith Sanctuary and Corpus Christi House are within a short walk of the park, and homeless people enjoyed the same shelter from sun, rain, and snow that skaters do (Berg). There was a considerable amount of controversy with the unhoused because, at the same time that the construction began, the City of Boise announced its plan to clear out the nearby “tent-city” on Cooper Court, just around the corner from Rhodes. This led to a protest with as many as 50 people at the site, comprised of both the homeless, and friends of which. Not much came of the assembly; soon law enforcement arrived and broke up the protest before clearing out the encampment. Some bitterness remains with the destitute community today seeing as recently the art installations on either side of the park have made it impossible for camps to be built as well as security patrols that ticket anyone who tries to stay overnight regardless.
Service Learning
I wanted to do something locally to help out the community, but I also really wanted it to pertain to skateboarding so I could help out the subculture as well. I reached out to former skate shop owner and co-founder chairwoman of the BSA Lori Write to ask if the Boise Skateboarding Association was in need of any help. She said she would look into it and get back to me. Months went by until eventually I thought they may never get back to me. I didn’t blame them though, BSA being a non-profit organization required everyone involved to donate their time. They originally organized with the goal of “turning Rhodes into a world-class skatepark” (“About BSA”). It seems as though the efforts the BSA has been putting forward has slowed ever since the remodel of Rhodes was completed.
Project Declaration
Lori finally got back to me and explained that Boise would soon be hosting their annual music festival called Treefort. She proposed having a concert/skate demo at Rhodes.
Planning
All we needed was a few fillers and a headliner and we were golden. We liked the idea because it would show to the community that music and skateboarding can go hand in hand in putting on an entertaining spectacle. Lori and the other BSA board members worked out the details with the city and got the talent organized. The date was set for March 23rd, and advertisements were going out. This was going to be one of the most unique events to ever take place at Rhodes, and it wasn’t just for skaters. We called it Skatefort.
Execution
On the day of Skatefort, I helped set up our BSA booth and helped some of the roadies with the instruments and stuff. I unpacked the merchandise we would be giving out as prizes for the skate contest and set out free BSA stickers and Yerba-Mate drinks to hand out to people and skaters. Other local business owners gave us additional products to hand out as well. Even some of the band members from the acts we were playing provided us with more merch and stickers to hand out. I was filled in on all the BSA’s current objectives concerning parks and any other pertinent info.
This event would supposedly run from noon until 5pm, with five bands playing each hour: Jason D at 12:00, KING WHO at 12:40. We then would break for some skate activities for the public, accompanied by music from the DJ. Then at 2:30 Supercrush would play, followed by another DJ accompanied skate sesh with give-a-ways, and then the Reptilians would play at 3:40 which would then be followed by a skate demo in the flow bowl put on by our highly skilled locals. One of which being a good friend of mine named Bowen, who skated alongside with local legend Dalton Beeson. And then finally, we would end the show with the headliner, Nappy Roots at 4:40.
During the event, I spent most of my time in the booth handing out stickers, taking donations, and informing people about BSA’s plans to get two more Skateparks built in the valley. I also spent time getting people to pledge money in exchange for a custom inscribed brick that would be put into the skatepark. Lori introduced me the head chairman of Boise’s Skateboard Association Josh Davis, who played a big part in making this all happen.
Personal Experience
Let me just start by saying that I learned a lot from volunteering with BSA. For one, I’ve never run a booth at an event before. It was an entirely new experience for me, and let me tell you it was not what I expected. Aside from taking donations and giving out stickers, It happened to be the case that I got a lot more than I signed up for, otherwise known as the b.s. portion of my responsibilities. This included telling a plethora of thirsty attendees and skaters that we didn’t have any more drinks to hand out, keeping track of purses and backpacks, sending two different cases of broken ankles on their way to the hospital, and getting put on blast by an angry self-proclaimed New Yorker for not having a recycling bin present. Not to mention the storm that rolled up in the last 30 mins of the event. All in all, I can say I learned a bit about just what it takes to put on an event in our community, and also what putting these events on can do. Broadening skateboarding’s audience was an additional benefit to the goals of the event.
The Benefit to the Community
The turnout for the event was way bigger than anything we expected. I have seen Rhodes packed chock full of skaters on numerous occasions, but never have I seen so many non-skaters at the park. Families, loners, punk rockers, preppies, athletes, trenders, immigrants, business- owners, men/women/others, kids, adults and oldheads, you name it! We turned Rhodes into a sub-cultural melting pot. Most people were there for the bands obviously, but it was neat to hear so many Oohs and Ahhs coming from the crowd as they watched our local skaters catch mad’ airtime in the pool directly behind the bands. It was almost like a concert with fireworks, except instead of pyrotechnics, we just had a few skaters with some explosive talent. I think we did a good job of getting the public more interested in skateboarding and informing people about how they can support the BSA’s intentions.
SL Summary
The event was a success for BSA and Boise in general. We made things happen with the resources we had and a few helping hands. Our objective was to put on an event to show the community that while our subculture is built upon many factors, the keystone is enjoyment. Our biggest goal was to show the public that at the end of the day, we’re just here to have a good time. I think we did just that.
Other Relevant Findings
Our city has worked to create a more safe space for the youth in addition to the changes in the local scene. When I was a beginner my mother was always hesitant to let me take part in skateboarding because she didn’t necessarily want me “hanging out with that crowd.” This is partly due to the stereotypes, but I mostly blame it on our experiences with the local scene at the time. She once drove me to Rhodes when I was in eighth grade and when we arrived, there were about 50 scary-looking adults in the park, most of which wore masks and bandanas all while reciting some kind of chant while marching in a circle and wielding kitchen knives and torches. Some of them even had rabid looking Pitbulls on chain leashes fighting with each other. Needless to say my mom didn’t let me skate that day.
Boise’s administration has done a lot to make our parks safe for kids and teens to use. Various methods have gone into motion; for instance, Rhodes now has a full-time security worker on site and other parks have better community presence. More parents now than ever feel safe letting their children go to Rhodes and other parks. I can bear witness to this, there are more children playing at the skateparks now than ever before. I do however feel that some parents need to be aware that a skatepark is not a playground. Bringing your three-year-old daughter to ride her Dora scooter around in a park full of grown men zipping around at high speeds and body slamming the concrete at random is always a recipe for disaster. It would probably be a better idea to just start them out in the driveway instead.
Skateboarding may have a lot to offer, but it still has its inconveniences. One big drawback for me is the injuries. Let’s face it, skateboarding is risky. Obviously, for the youth it’s not as big of an issue. Back when I was in high school, I could bounce back from the majority of slams and twisted ankles and just keep skating, whereas nowadays, I’m done for the day after one big fall. This may have something to do with the permanent damage I’ve done to my back over the years, but that’s the real cost of participating in dangerous activities such as skateboarding. I gave my buddy Miles (who gave us his input earlier) a call because I know he has had to deal with some injuries throughout his time as a skater, including the chronic pain it has caused to one of his ankles. I asked what drives him to keep skating in spite of the damage it does to your body and he hit me with an analogy, “skateboarding is like heroin, it feels really good while you’re doing it, but it’s hella’ bad for your body.” Leave it to Miles to give you a perfect explanation like this one.
This indemnity is not limited to skateboarding alone. The risk is universal between action sports. If anything, skateboarding is considerably safer than other action sports. Especially if it’s compared to something like base jumping. It is absolutely insane what some people will put on the line just to get their blood pumping. Skateboarding has a lot in common with other action sports hobbies when it comes to that tradeoff of pleasure for pain. That’s all it really is fundamentally whether you’re skateboarding, surfing, mountain biking, or even climbing Mount Everest. You only get out what you are willing to put into it.
Skateboarding has its other charms too. It has had huge effects on pop culture, fashion, and overall attitude. The fact is that skating builds character in an immense amount of ways and it assists people in finding out who they really are. If someone’s a quitter, they’ll know it; they won’t get very far in skateboarding in that case and that quality will carry over into other areas of their life. If one would just stick with it and persevere, they might learn a thing or two about dedication. I know that I wouldn’t be the student I am today had skateboarding not taught me these valuable lessons.
After my experience with the BSA, I know that our skateboard community is in good hands. They care not only about our skaters, but also the community. They do what they can to make sure that there is a good understanding between the two. The Boise Skateboard Associations (BSA) vision is to foster growth, creativity, learning, responsibility, and community through skating by working with Boise City Parks and Recreation to develop new skate spots and improve existing skateparks (“About BSA”). It is safe to say they have steered our local skate scene in the right direction.
The last thing I did for my project was taking a survey within the local skate community. I wanted to know what our skaters thought about the thing in which they have become so obsessed with. I posted up flyers at Rhodes with a Snapchat QR code that would take skaters straight to the survey. Not wanting it to be too much of a burden, I decided to ask only a single question: “why do you skateboard?” I will list some of my favorite responses below.
“I skateboard because it’s a hobby of mine and it separates itself from the normal school and work day and creates a balance between what’s needed to succeed in life (school and work) and let’s you relax and forget about all of it.”
“Because by attempting more challenging tricks, it gives a sense of an adrenaline rush. It’s something that allows a sense of freedom because of the lack of restriction it presents.”
“Because I like to go fast and get buck with the homies”
“Dedication. Something you throw passion into with every push. The gratification you get from landing a trick after failing try after try after try”
“Cause I love it and it’s an outlet for stress, anger, depression, you name it. It’s hands down the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Outlet to ground myself and get away from society’s bullshit.”
“I skateboard because it’s a rush and at the same time you can accomplish something new
every day. There’s nothing like hanging out with your friends and skateboarding in the middle of the summer. It’s almost like meditation.”
“For fun!”
Conclusion
Our subculture kind of speaks for itself at this point. Skateboarding has made an imprint in our community. It has given our youth one more way to feel accepted by a group of people. It has taught us valuable lessons that hard work and dedication brings great reward. It has gotten our kids to put their cell phones down and turn the TVs off; it has taught them to go outside and make progress.
Overall I would say that the community needs to forget the stereotypes they once held to. Skaters aren’t all that people speculate them to be, and there will always be a small percentage of people in any (sub)culture the will reinforce the stereotypes. The key is to not let them ruin your opinion of everyone else that participates. Events like Skatefort have done a good job of combating the negative outlook skaters receive, and I feel we need to organize more events like it in our community.
As you see by the survey I took, there is no one reason anybody skateboards. People have their own personalized benefits to be gained. For some, it is an escape from the stress and tribulations they have to deal with each and every day. For others, it is the basis of their social lives and how one can find a sense of accomplishment and self-expression. But for all and above all, it’s just fun, and having fun is important sometimes.
Skateboarding has been a huge blessing in my life. Some of my best friends I met because of skateboarding, and I am grateful for that. Some of the most important life lessons I learned from skateboarding, and I am grateful for that. Some of my hardest trials, I couldn’t have dealt with if not for skateboarding, and I am so grateful for that. I know now that I am not alone in feeling this way.
There are some people out there that have spent their whole lives skating and trying to go pro. They put everything they had into it just to get broke off by injury or age. They reach that realization that it is never going to happen and eventually get left with a bad taste in their mouth and some even quit skating. I’ve seen this happen. I’ve had people tell me they wasted their whole lives skateboarding, but I have never heard anyone say it was all for nothing.
Pain for personal gain; that’s what I said earlier, and that is how I will always define skateboarding. If you were paying much attention and not just daydreaming about what it would be like to be Tony Hawk, you would have gotten a good sense of the pros and cons that skateboarding has on individuals, and on the community. We are reaching a conclusion here and the indisputable fact is that skateboarding is a marvelous thing. It’s been around for a while, and it’s not going anywhere for a long time.
Saying that I enjoyed the Service Learning project would be an understatement. I was able to meet so many great skaters and artists. Learning about what I can do to make a difference within the community was a huge plus as well. I also learned just what it takes to be an advocate for something. It really is amazing just what you can make happen if you stay dedicated to a goal and do whatever it takes to make it happen.
If my life can be changed by skateboarding, then anyone’s life can change from it too. Creating a community where the youth can grow freely and not be put down by society’s standards is the key. However, the commonality of skateboarding is that its always going to be a “tough-love” environment. Remember Alex? The skater at my local park I was talking about in the introduction, that would always laugh at me and tell me I wasn’t good enough. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right. There is always room for progression. Looking back on it, I think he was just trying to help me understand that I needed to push myself to be successful; or maybe he really was just an ass. Either way, I wouldn’t be the skater or person that I am today if not for that tough love. Nothing could beat the feeling of showing up to my local park and putting down a trick Alex once made fun of me for not being able to do, it really did make it that much better.
These days, I’m a much better skater, and he’s a lot cooler with me, it’s interesting. The fact that skaters can hate each other and still maintain a mutual understanding shows that we have the capacity to empathize. The subculture of skateboarding is basically just one big dysfunctional family.
I hope this paper can change people’s opinions about skaters and the subculture for the better. I certainly learned a lot; just when I thought I knew everything there was to know about skateboarding. The skate community here in Boise is filled with great people. Our skaters are so ambitious, artistic, and creative. Glenn Rhodes saw it, Lori Write and the BSA sees it, and I see it now too. Certainly, we should be advocating anything that generates this much positivity within the community.
Service Learning Poster
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