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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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Freestyle/lunchtimes/spots
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On 4/29/2003
Geezer-X
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
Hey Ratty. I wish I was at Genentech. I'm in Gaithersburg MD, which along w/ Boston and SF is a Biotech hotbed. Plenty of big new parking lots, and the economic downturn is keeping them free of cars.
I'm gonna get one of those Fibreflex teamrider reissues and put mids on it and some oldskools, and I think that will be a good aproximation of what a freestyle board is to me. I sacked at it then, and I'll be happy if I reattain that level of suck before I'm (ouch) 44..
Any "mature" skaters in my area who want to hook up for parking garage/freestyle/carve/hill sessions, let me know...
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Freestyle
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On 4/29/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
Freestyle is alive and kicking. Modern street skating is freestyle with obstacles. Rodney Mullen's bastard children are everywhere. It is amazingly difficult...yet incredibly boring. It is static. There needs to be an injection of style and flow. In the Chaput/Howell/Page era of freestyle you had this, then somewhere along the line it became dancing robots.
Let the flames begin.
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freestyle
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On 4/29/2003 Sasha
wrote in from
(64.156.nnn.nnn)
John-
I am one of those women/girls who is into freestyle skating. About 4 years ago I met a guy we call "old school" Aaron. I watched him and watched him and tried desperately to copy his moves. I was hooked.
I study Rodney Mullen videos like schoolwork. I did a Got Milk? demo last year with "Dr. Skateboard" Bill Robertson who makes it his mission in life to bring the old school style to the new generation. Check out his site at drskateboard.com. (there might be a period after dr-can't remember).
Anyway, I also ride longboards and love it. I can actually boardslide rails better with longboards. There are few females around her who skate, so can't comment on whether they prefer long or short boards, but Isabelle Caudle always rides a Gravity deck at least 36". So there's one, plus me,plus Denise who runs Push skate magazine and frontsidebetty.com.
I found this winter when I went snowboarding, there were a TON of females up there. I don't know what appeals to them more about snow than skate, just thought it was interesting. I wonder if snowboards can qualify as longboards.........
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Terrain is the key.
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On 4/29/2003 Jophn Gilmour
wrote in from
(209.6.nnn.nnn)
What's it gonna take to change the direction of skateboarding?
Who knows? Perhaps we should take a look at what has changed skateboardings direction previously?????!!!!??
But I do feel that Longboarding is a key ingredient to current change- however how minor. Many kids I talk to got into longboarding for two reasons..... either..."It feels like surfing down the street" or "Its good for transportation".
Longboarders all get the feeling of crusing and carving. Those ones are more likely to enter slalom skateboarding.
--------------but-------------- ----
Flatland Freestyle skateboarding- all this talk of slalom- but little of freestyle?
Why would a Steep hill slalomer like myself bring up Flatland Freestyle? Because it is completely accessible to all skateboarders anytime even without a car or bike. In the 70's skateboarding seemed to be the most popular when flatland freestyle was the rage. Any kid could do it in his driveway or street. (sounds familiar to the poor mans pogo stick?)
I sort of expected flatland to make some sort of comeback after most of the skateparks closed in the early 80's but being stigmatized as "uncool" it did not come back.
Flatland freestyle seemed to be going in the direction of sports like Gymnastics (Russ Howell, Chris Chaput, Skitch Hitchcock), ballet (Dan Gesmer), - with a few jumping events like in ice skating. Then Pool riding supplanted it. And when the parks closed, some of the ollie and grind techniques were transfered to rails and stillretained a hardcore image left from poolriding.
There are some women skaters who longboard. Of the women skaters who longboard- how many of those would be into flatland freestyle now? I bet there would be few.
Flatland- not all skateboarders have hills. Not all skateboarders have parks near them (though more public "skateparks" are built everyday -many seem to me to be sorry attempts, but suitable for very young kids-. But nearly every potential skateboarder has flatland nearby. If we want new growth from skateboarding it might just come from a renaissance of flatland skating - and perhaps the cyber slalom might be an influence in the slalom division. Flatland downhill? Well....no, but perhaps we may see a few unusual "1/4 Miler racers" on electric boards- though I would expect the distances to be 1/20 of a mile.
In the ] 70's Poolriding was easy to cover and shoot and concentrated the skating talent for photographers. Now so many people have access to inexpensive camera gear and video editing suites. There is no reason to need to concentrate the skaters near a few media photographers (no offense Glen D., Maria C., Kenny M., you guys are tops). Hopefully we'll see skatings direction change as online media diffuses acessibility so that skaters from anywhere can get more exposure for their talents.
-----the next wave---------
Part of the next wave will be terrain. The first terrain was the local street, the next was the neighbor's backyard pool, the next was "The SkateClub" ie local membership skatepark, the next was created by the skaters who could build their own terrain, followed by Urban skating of previously "Unskatable" terrain, at this point I think the cycle might begin again in the flat streets. It won't look exactly the same- but it will still be fun.
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kids, answers, questions etc...
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On 4/29/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
Well, it's all coming together very nicely. I am glad people are digging this forum. Should have contacted Adam long ago to do this...but, as I always say, everything in it's time
Couple of quick things to clear up
Paul St. Pierre was the captain, Jack!
you know where to send the tee...
As for kids, I have three. My two sons (ages 7 and 2) have gone mental for skating. In fact, ethan aka "sparky" wakes up and demands that I take him on the board. My daughter, is not that into it...That's cool. My approach has been to let my kids try a lot of different things.
If your kids don't get into skating, there is no need to push...they'll either get into it, or find something else. I think what's important though, is that whatever sport or activity they get into, you support it 100%.
Why do I say this? Well, I recall when I was 11 or 12. I was amped on skateboarding. I would ride my board for hours. My parents were somewhat supportive, but boards and related equipment were given on very special occasions (ie birthdays, holidays). I always said that if and when I had kids, I would not treat sporting equipment as toys. (ie to be given out on special occasions only).
This is not to say I didn't get the fibreflex with bennets and road rider 4's. I did get it..after 1 year of pestering!
A few other matters... the new mag has shipped and hopefully my mailing house hasn't screwed up...it should be at subscribers doors by next week.
Adam, thank you for your kind words....hard to believe that the skategeezer homepage started up in 1995! That's almost a decade ago!
keep the questions and comments coming...and remember, the mag is only HALF way there!
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bahne team capt
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On 4/28/2003
Steve Marinak
wrote in from
(67.34.nnn.nnn)
Jack...Dennis Shufeldt? I could go look, but that's not as fun. If it's not Dennis then Bob Mohr. Ok, I'm ruining it by guessing twice right?
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New Concrete Wave Issue
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On 4/28/2003
Brian Garner
wrote in from
(216.105.nnn.nnn)
Michael,
When is the next issue of Concrete Wave due out?
I think I have 4 issues now and I'm looking forward to the next one. Will you be sending subscription renewel requests out soon?
Thanks,
Brian
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41 year old punk skateboarder that wears baggy clothes
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On 4/28/2003
Arab
wrote in from
(24.24.nnn.nnn)
One of my Job Stewards has it in for me, the guy despizes me because I live my life like I'm still 15.
He gives me s#@! for skateboarding wearing shorts that cover my kneecaps.
While he has 25 year old cordaroy OP bunn huggers crawling up his ass, I heard him comment to another of the bun hugger brigade one day that his wife had problems finding shorts for him in this day of age that had a 5 inch or less inseam.
This is the guy that just got off temporary disability for Tennis Elbow, He also sprained his ankle one day while golfing, last year he got thrown out the back of his boat when his drunk friend gunned the boat as a joke, the ski rope got stuck around his leg and he got a rope burn that put him out of work for 3 weeks.
Another head honcho on the job keeps telling me I'm not 15 anymore, I said how much do you make? he lied and said he made 125 K last year,(he made 90k) I told him that there is 16 year old pro skateboarders making more then him, LOTS MORE! and that Tony Hawk who is in his mid 30's makes in exess of 10 million a year. When I told him that there is a handful of slalom racers that are over 50 and that the average age is about 40, he laughed and said you guys must realy look stupid, I brought in one of Mollicas slalom tapes, He pretended he wasnt interested, but I caught him checking out the tape later in the day. He has missed more work from Golfing injuries then I have in the last 2 yrs slalom racing. In fact the only days I have missed is the days I took off to race, not from injury.
On any given day I lead a crew from 2 to 80 guys, half are older then me, some are young enough to be my kids, None of them young or old can grasp the fact that I travel all over to race skateboards.
I dont need to act my age, I live it! How many 40-50 year olds would give there left nut to do what they did when they were 15 again.
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Various...
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On 4/28/2003
Tom M.
wrote in from
(12.222.nnn.nnn)
Nick:
Send me the answer -- I'll give you half the T. <g>
Co-workers:
Only (quiet) place to skate at work, is a fairly flat back drive area. The younger co-workers think I'm a tad nutty (guess they don't see a point in flatland pumping away my lunch time), ones close to my age (49) marvel at me as they attempt to walk off their lunches, and the older ones (probably) wish I'd disappear.
Skating with son - MB:
I think the 34-year difference would be a stretch for this to happen for me. I haven't been carded in a few years...
Skating with son - Harry:
My son had a strong interest in skateboarding for about 2 years. His interest slowly waned from street to parks/street, to street, to an occasional longboarding session, to nil. I don't push him. I make every effort to make it easy for him to pursue the art/sport. I've bought gring rails, built ramps, offered to drop him and a friend OFF at the park (rather than have me along), etc.
Kids have their own mind. IMHO, I'm having fun, and I'd really like him to enjoy skateboarding, but that might not be in his nature right now.
Give you kids some time. If they see you having a blast, maybe they'll take the dive.
Lots of time, it is peer pressure that controls them. Know any of his friends who skate? If so, maybe it is time for a sleepover/roadtrip with that friend. <g>
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Geezers
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On 4/28/2003
Chuck
wrote in from
(199.183.nnn.nnn)
Another tale from work...I was talking about skating at work a while back and the youngest kid in our department (didn't even know what a slide rule was until I made him learn it!) said "Aren't you a little old for that?" My reply..."No, but you are." I am the youngest guy - at 40 - amongst those I regularly ride with.
One day last winter at our ballet hill the po-lice showed up. Seems the security guards at the adjoining theater called 'em on us. The cop looked a little befuddled when he realized a bunch of grown men (older than him) were riding up and down the hill (yeah...ride back up the hill, don't walk...good training). Finally he said, "I got a call that some juveniles were skateboarding her..I don't see any juveniles" and he drove off.
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i will NEVER be one of THEM
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On 4/28/2003
richard marnhout
wrote in from
(198.81.nnn.nnn)
i am a SKATER FOR LIFE! i tried to be a straight suburban dad but i just cannot do it. i skate vert and walls and streets and i don't give a f#$% what people think. i am a father of three lovely kids and i will NOT teach them to skate unless they are willing to do it right, because what i do is beautiful and honorable and outlaw. and just as ol' bobby dylan said,"to live outside the law, you must be honest."
and i will NEVER AGAIN explain what i do for the benefit of the ignorant. if you don't know the feeling of hitting cope, oh well, i don't have time to explain it.
if there are any 40+ vert dogs in the bay area, look me up .
let's have a session at the new martinez park
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Subscriptions
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On 4/28/2003
Henry
wrote in from
(12.148.nnn.nnn)
Mike-
A few people may be contacting you with regards to the free 1 year subscriptions that you donated to my slalom clinic, just wanted to give you a heads up! Again, thanks for donating those! Keep up the good work, I love CW.
Henry
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New Old Skaters
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On 4/28/2003
Farid
wrote in from
(63.183.nnn.nnn)
Whether I'm at a park, a hill (w/ cones), or bombing around town, the youngin's always have a weird look on their face when a fat, grey haired dude w/ a board shows up.(Not completly grey @ 36, but my Dad was totally grey by 40. Full head of hair and full of s#*t at 260lbs though!) First, they can't belive I can skate. Second, I ask them if they remember 1975 (when I started skating)and of course they don't because most of them were born after 1988. I always tell them that I've been skating longer than they've been alive, it blows them away! I make sure I hassle them, in a good way, in the tradition that older guys pass down through the ages... they'll get their chance when they are older. But what trips them out the most is how fast I skate. I love going fast with big heavy carves and quick turns through the cones. They try to keep up and I blow them away. Sure, I can't do any rail slides etc, but they never thought about the lines I take. "Wow, that fat old guy can skate" is what I here them say to each other. They totally expected me to fall flat on my face. By the time I'm ready to take off, we've ended up hanging out like there is no age difference. We're just skaters. Skating rules!
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'75 Bahne Team Captain
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On 4/28/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
I know it, but I'm disqualified...
Jack, check your Bahne mail. Do you want me to ruin all your contests?
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Bahne Team Captain 1975
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On 4/28/2003
Jack
wrote in from
(207.114.nnn.nnn)
Still no winner...
Who was the Bahne Skateboards team captain in 1975?
First correct answer scores a Bahne tee.
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skate dad?
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On 4/28/2003 Harry Bax
wrote in from
(64.10.nnn.nnn)
Hey Michael I was in the same situation as you skating w/ my son, he's 7 , I'm 39. Some kid asked if my son was my brother. I don't get it,I look my age man. I do have a quetion for you though. My son isn't really interested in skating and neither are my 2 younger ones. I can under stand the little ones maybe aren't ready. But my 7 yr old isn't at all into it. My wife ,who's in early childhood ed., says my approach is okay. So I know I'm not pushing to hard and I'm not a complete spaz (my skating okay).You'd think most kids would love to live in a skater house. Do you know other guys in my situation? If he doesn't want to skate , that cool ,really, we have plenty of other things to do.
Also, I heard you on the CBC the other day. Thanks for helping to save that show. Non-skaters just don't get and as hard as they try, they never will.
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Kudos to Michael Brooke
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On 4/28/2003
Adam
wrote in from
(66.121.nnn.nnn)
Michael, you are indeed doing a great thing here.. keep up the stoke!
Some Ncdsa.com members might not know that Michael was also a pioneer in old school skateboarding web sites. In fact, his Skategeezer Homepage and its feedback pages were a major influence on me when I decided to create Ncdsa.com in 1996. Take a read through the Skategeezer feedback.. you're sure to find some names you'll recognize!
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New Forum
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On 4/28/2003 JohnDLurker
wrote in from
(216.244.nnn.nnn)
Great forum MB and Adam!!
NCDSA is actually fun to read again!
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New Old Skaters
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On 4/28/2003
Stubbs
wrote in from
(66.137.nnn.nnn)
Stepped on a board in 1975 and have always had one since.
I like to equate my skateboarding to my peers or family to someone who goes water skiiing or snow skiing or boarding. My wife gives me funny looks when I am walking out the door late at night to go downtown to bomb the parking garage where I park. Or when I take off a day of work or go skating on a saturday, neglecting my husbandly/fatherly duties til the next day. Why is it when someone says "I like to wakeboard" they don't get some goofy look? (I know the reason, you don't have to tell me. This is just my way of saying I AM LEGIT!)Skateboarding is just another activity out there for us to choose or not choose. If I lived in the mountains would I be getting goofy looks for taking off work and going boarding? If I lived on a body of water or frequented one would I get those same looks if my activity were sailboarding? You know the answers. Those are all acceptable ways of thinking for most of the SHEEPLE out there. I am not looking for any special recognition for skateboarding. I just want those that are not in the know to understand that skateboarding is a great alternative, not a plague or disability I have been stricken with. It is my way. Our way. I really love it when I am standing in an elevator and the conversation turns to "WHAT IS THAT BLOOD STAIN ON YOUR SLACKS?" "Well, I skateboard. I drain pools and ....blah, blah, blah...
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Alien indeed....
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On 4/28/2003
Ga. Tom
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
I'm really enjoying reading these comments. This is an excellent forum Mr. Brooke. It really fills a void on this site.
Hope ya'll don't mind my sharing. I AM a skateboarder. Yes, there have been times since I first rode a skateboard in 1975, that I forgot. But skateboarding never forgets and I'm thankful for that. Like surfing or playing music, it's a soul thing.
I too have had the "I don't have a deathwish" conversation with peers about skateboarding. One co-worker even made the comment that "I love myself too much to do that"....sad really.....my reply? "My love for myself and my love of life is exactly WHY I ride skateboards". Alien indeed....
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New Old Skaters
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On 4/28/2003 Larry
wrote in from
(161.149.nnn.nnn)
--->my question is "why can't skateboarding be a life long activity?"
Attitude.
When I skate to work, I get some odd looks. The kids don't know what to make of me as I roll past, and the adults think I'm a kid.
Who cares? I'm the one you see rolling around Santa Monica with a bag of plumbing parts in one hand and two sticks of pipe in the other.
Errands by skateboard. I feel like a small fleet fish in a pond full of pleisiosaurs: I just move right through. Push and roll, push and roll, aesthetics and exercise in one. Delightful.
But communication is a problem. Skaters don't talk, most of the time. A few did to me, coming up to me as I worked on a sand sculpture and carrying their longboards. I asked them about the boards and they said they were great for cruising. Sounded good to me, but I forgot to ask where to look at one.
Some months later I was riding my bicycle--primary mode of transportation--and saw a skateboard shop. I had some free time. I expected the place to throw me out; what skate shop would be interested in an old guy looking at boards?
Turns out the proprietor, Ray Flores, is my age. He was glad to show me the various boards, and I bought one.
The bicycle has no been displaced to long-distance service. For any short trips, or anything involving bus travel, I use the skateboard.
Why? I like it. I like the feeling, the quiet, the smooth curves, the improbability of a 50-year-old running around on a skateboard. It fits the way I like to do things. I like rolling through the night after a rainstorm with the sky reflected from the wet street. I fly between the clouds, feet two inches off the ground.
So, how do we get more people out of cars and onto skateboards? Friendlier skaters would help. More friendly skate shops would help. Unfortunately, however, friendliness is something that gets no rewards. You never see friendly people on TV. Attitude sells, but I think that hurts the long-term prospects.
Talk to people. The last time I skated, I was on my way to a friend's house. Rolling along the street, this guy saw me coming and walked out into the street to watch as I passed. He didn't say anything but eventually did as I waited for traffic to clear.
"What is that?"
"Rolls Rolls. From Germany."
"Can I try it?"
"Sure. Just watch your toes; you'll grind them on the turns."
He took off and loved it.
Share the delight.
--Larry
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Co-workers Reactions
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On 4/28/2003
Ratty
wrote in from
(192.12.nnn.nnn)
I used to get really odd looks at the office BEFORE they knew I rode a skateboard, when I'd come in all bashed up on Mondays. In my second week in my current job I took a major faceplant- had to go to a meeting and present work the next day with a black eye, stitches in my chin and my wrist in a brace. They didn't know I skated then. They thought I was jsut some bugs#@! barroom brawler, like Edward Norton in Fight Club. People did not meet my eyes in the halls.
Now that they know I skate they might think I'm a little nuts, but I fit into a stereotype... they can now comfortably pidgeonhole me into the 'adult urban skater' role. Whatever. They ask stupid questions and make stupid comments but its cool, longboards are conversation pieces whaddayagonnado?
Yo Geezer-X, are you at Genentech? Or nearby? I ride that 'birthpace of bio-tech' area of So SF almost every day at lunch.
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kid brother
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On 4/28/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
I was at the skatepark last summer...
I was skating with my son, Jonathan. He was 6.
A kid goes up to him and asks if I was his brother....
I am 32 years older than my son....
Anyone else got other stories like that?
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skate=place wish
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On 4/28/2003
Brady
wrote in from
(66.21.nnn.nnn)
I have a nuddy heading down to Costa Rica next week to surf and he is going to scout a hill I know. It was repaved a few months back but it rains there a lot and sometimes roads get washed away. Anyhoos, how`s about a slalom race in the jungle where the west meets the east?
We don`t need no stinkin` insurance there... heh heh !!
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Dog town south San Diego
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On 4/28/2003
David Paul
wrote in from
(66.52.nnn.nnn)
Do you know which KONA BOY had his own Dog Town model?And who realy did the first hand plant?Do you know who had the first wide sk8board?which one of the KONA BOYS invented air on vert? Also who works for Tony Alva today?,Lastly who told Z Boys About ESCONDIDO reservoir,Soul bowl,Kona Bowl?If you don't know and would like to E mail me!Dog Town & KONA BOYS rule together!DT*DS=OLDSCHOOL RESPECT TA is the best sk8boarder in the world today!DP
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