What Does Exploitation in Skateboarding Look Like?Įxploitation in skateboarding is nowhere near new. Although, as skateboarding culture flourished on its own terms, exploitation started to slowly creep its way in. Everything from the clothes skaters wore to the ramps they skated were DIY, designed, distributed, and controlled by skateboarders themselves. There were no regulations or higher institutions providing grants for the sport to grow. The survival of skateboarding through the early 2000s was dependent on the fact that local skate shops provided resources and were directly responsible for increasing participation rates. Many local shops still go out of their way to pass down gear and donate recycled setups to kids who can’t afford them. In my hometown, our local shop was responsible for organizing Go Skate Day events every year, which often consisted of renting a bus to take kids to the closest real skatepark over 45 minutes away. They made connections with the larger skate brands and had sway in helping skaters in their community get sponsorships. The more these local shops were supported, the more they could build and donate ramps to the local spot. The relationship between local shops and skaters was more familial than consumer-based. Skaters could hang out, watch skate videos, learn, and be mentored by older skaters. It wasn’t just a business, but an extension of the skatepark. These shops often became a safe space for skaters who came from dysfunctional families. Skate shops would pop up, owned by groups of local skaters for the simple purpose of getting gear to their community. As a result, much of skateboarding culture and the strong ties among the skateboarding community in the following years were born out of these obstructive experiences.ĭespite complete rejection, skateboarding survived and started making a comeback in the early 2000s. Their reputation preceded them no matter where they found a place to skate. They were labeled as rebellious, disrespectful, and of course, criminals. This hostility led to an entire generation of skaters defined by personality traits that were pre-determined by the conditions of their treatment. I personally grew up in a town where city officials would rather let an abandoned tennis court decay in isolation than allow a few kids to keep the ramps they made in a safe, shared space.įor a long time, the treatment of skaters in small towns and communities was less than supportive. While other sports grew from supportive communities and family encouragement, skateboarding grew from being chased, tackled, and tripped by adults and authority figures. Practice is on your own terms, every skater competes against themselves, and for much of our history (and still revered today), if you wanted to skate an obstacle, you had to find or build it yourself. Unlike other sports where teams are organized, practices are scheduled, and funding is allocated, skateboarding is complete and total anarchy. The only thing that truly defined who could be a skateboarder was the fact that none of us fit in anywhere else. Since the beginning, skateboarding was seen as counterculture. What is Skate Culture and Why Does it Matter?įor those who are new to the scene, it’s crucial to understand the roots of skateboarding and why these old heads take ‘skate culture’ so seriously. In this article, we’re going to dive into what sets skateboarding apart from other mainstream sports, what is exploitation in skateboarding, and what we can do to continue preserving the delicate and organic system that defines the resilience of skate culture. It is important for skaters of all skill levels to understand our short history and the role we each play in keeping the roots of skateboarding alive. This is especially vital for women, non-binary, and queer skaters who are finding space in the community for the first time. However, as the skateboarding community is more organized than ever, it’s worth adding to the discussion what exactly we can do to keep the image of skate culture in the hands of the skaters. Whether the benefits of having skateboarding in the Olympics outweigh the cost of control over the direction of skate culture is a discussion that’s far from over. This is exactly what we’ve begun to see more of in recent years, most notably in the realm of women’s skateboarding. On the other hand, most feared what would inevitably become the exploitation of skaters for mainstream consumption. Some were looking forward to the increased participation and reduced condemnation from police and business owners. The impact of what this means for skateboarding has been debated by die-hard skaters since the first consideration of this decision in 2015.
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