No other action sport has been so idolized by culture and fashion than skateboarding. It’s a sport that anyone of any shape, age, and ethnicity could be a part of. Its influence on fashion and culture is just now coming full circle with many influencers, brands and average consumers, embracing its importance. The age of the skate culture takeover was rooted decades ago when young kids pushed around a piece of wood just for the entertainment. Skaters like Bucky Lasek, Rodney Mullen, and Tony Hawk rewrote the script for the so-called athlete and pushed skating into mainstream culture with their uniqueness and flare. Culture today, owes so much to skateboarding. Skateboarding molded and transformed my life by teaching me to be my own person.
The acceptance and the camaraderie of skateboarding are what brought me to love it so much.
When I was 9, I moved from a tiny row home in Philadelphia into the calm middle-class neighborhoods 15 minutes outside of city limits. This transition was difficult; I struggled to find friends and didn’t have anything major to occupy my time outside of school. My family wasn’t the richest and we had just moved, so the financial strain was still burdening us for the time being. It was summer-time and kids down the block from me were still strangers. Schools didn’t start and I wouldn’t have met them until August. What I did have to play with was a beat-up skateboard my parents bought me for $10 that I used to use to push myself down the alley of our old house. I rode it up and down my new neighborhood in brutal midsummer heat day in and day out. This is how I met my first life-long friends which introduced me to new music, magazines, and skaters to idolize. I developed my own “skater style” wearing cargo pants and DC shoes with beanies in 90-degree weather. I still sucked at skating and wanted to fit in the best I could with my friends. That was something that never mattered in skating; you could be the worst skater and still be accepted by your friends no matter what. I eventually got a bike one year for my birthday and replaced my love of skating for biking.
Today, skate shops that were like secret clubs now open to the masses, catering to the young and stylish. Stores such as Supreme, Thrasher, and Palace are the epitome of streetwear all of which started off as small niche stores made by skaters for skaters. Skating has taken on a different life since its early days of action sports. Skaters now are millionaires and skate culture has now taken on the form of fashion's biggest influence. Kids line up for days, waiting for the next release of limited skate tees, boards, and collectibles. Although this huge expansion of skate culture has taken over media and society, the acceptance and camaraderie of skating still exist in communities globally. Somehow, it kept the intimacy of being a tight-knit community, while at the same time exploding into this microcosm of the youth.
Skateboarding gave so many people an outlet of expression. It has created such an amazing culture that embraces individuality and acceptance of any kind. What skateboarding has done is unlike any other activity in the world. It gave me a feeling of belonging and a sense of family outside of my family. This is the same feeling thousands of kids are getting from skateboarding all around the world.
Interesting topic. I wish I knew how to skateboard... It does seem like a cool "look" to be a skateboarder.
Great insight into the sub culture.
This is such a nice look at your love of skateboarding and how it's become so prevalent to fashion. I particularly like hearing your personal connection to it.