Skateboarding is not a sport? Maybe

Some thoughts on skateboarding at the Olympics

In these nefarious times, that chewed us up and spat us out on multiple occasions, one of the few things that haven’t changed a bit is humans barking at each other for futile reasons. Obviously, in the minefields that are social networks, that are inevitably such a bulky part of our day-to-day lives. Between an argument about football and a discussion on whether or not Maneskin is a rock band, or Turnstile is a hardcore band for that matter, for skateboard’s aficionados the debate is still up when it comes to skateboarding being included as an Olympic event. Even if I haven’t been skating in 10 years, I still follow its world with care and attention. Being that it was crucial for me (unfortunately, I’d say) to discover parallel universes that orbit around it (music, graphics, photography, and so on), and it shaped my life choices on more than one occasion, I still feel a magnetic attraction to the board.
And considering I always considered skate to be as one with hardcore punk, of course, a large chunk of my skaters, or ex skaters, friends still marry the idea that skateboarding shouldn’t be a part of the Olympics.

The reasoning behind this idea, for those that grew up on the board in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, maybe even the ‘00s, is very much clear. Still, I can’t see things so vividly. I too grew up with a very underground vision of skateboarding, seeing it as a niche activity, at the beginning even for losers, punks, b-boys, outcasts but most importantly proud to be all of the above.
And then we started to see skateboards in TV commercials, we caught the ones vilifying us wearing our same brand of shoes and copying our way of dressing, we notice more and more sponsors appear (which are still very much from big companies, like Vans, let’s all remember that when we’re feeling radical at all costs) that didn’t belong at all in our world. I remember being pretty perplexed when I first saw Fiat sponsoring skaters and surfers.

The involvement with the Olympics is, for many, the apex of a tasteless campaign to its sell-out, a total fuck up. Personally, I think skate always had a super commercial side. In Italy, where things arrive late, in smaller doses and siphoned (even more in the pre-internet days), it always looked like an attitudinally radical activity, all while in the States, with highs and lows depending on trends, the board always represented a big business. Since the days of Alva and Peralta challenging each other with distasteful glitter-filled overalls and capes in showcases that looked like they’d belong in a circus, rather than in a “street discipline”. So my doubt is: what’s the difference between the Olympics and some random X-Game or, even worse, a Street League, where fighting in overdone structures for the extremely tasteful cash price is not only obvious but openly stated by the participants. So… skate is mainstream? Should we give up? No, skate is ALSO mainstream, like it’s always been. It only leveled up, like it normally should, both in the underground and in the mainstream side of things. Nowadays everyone can make themselves known, and landing a sick trick will definitely put you online, whether you’re a pro or not. While back in the day to see a pro’s face you had to physically own either a magazine, a VHS, or a DVD, today is just a matter of opening Instagram to see things you would have paid gold to own on videotape.

This, in my opinion, greatly sped up the evolution of skate, alongside an ever-growing number of dedicated skateparks in the world. The bigger skaters in the world are effectively rockstars by now, just look at Nyjah Huston or Leticia Bufoni, two riders that I love seeing skate, but give off (to me at least) a really boring and pretentious vibe. Of course, with their huge mansions and bombastic cars, they’re far from what 15 or 20 years old me would have imagined, back when my idols were Mike Vallely and Jamie Thomas. And what really bothers me is this whole superstar act, rather than the fact that they made a lot of money. Tony Hawk made a lot of money as well, but you can still catch him on stage with the Adolescents singing “Amoeba”. Is there a difference? Not really, but he’s for sure easier to sympathize with.

Back to the Olympics, I wouldn’t have minded seeing them, but it’s impossible for me without Pay-per-view platforms, and even the highlights on Youtube took their time to appear, not even all of them. I only managed to peak into a boring-ass TV report on Rai television where Jury Chechi claimed he didn’t really get why skaters were at the Olympics, and that trappers with Thrasher shirts have overstayed their fucking welcome. Ok, I might have made that last bit up.

In the end, I didn’t really get who this event was supposed to be aimed at (skaters with a Sky subscription?), but at the same time, I fail to see how this could harm skateboarding in any way. As a result: what’s the point of this debate? Absolutely none. There’s a growing market, but it has been growing since the 70s. And this isn’t a place where posers can fake their way in, like the tattoo culture (I’ve said it). There’s no “3flip crookie shovit out” filter on Instagram, so even the Scrooge of the moment has earned its place, like it or not, through sweat and broken bones. And then, there’s who could give two shit less about the marker, rightfully so, and just wants to skate… because that’s the beauty of skating. You can be a radical skater without sponsors, without a park, without trendy clothes… just a board under your feet, and you’ll always be that whether it’s trendy or not. Like the slogan of the old XXX Skateboard Magazine (which only the elderly Italian like me will remember) used to say: “Push your skate and fuck the rest”, and if you make it to the Olympics then good for you. If you only make it to your small town’s central square well, good for you too. 

Article by Borga
Translated by Teo

PS: This was the old band of Mike Vallely, skater mentioned in this article

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