Revised Essay 2
Skating Through my Eyes
Sal – Hey Andrew how are you today it is good to have this moment with you and really dissect this sport of skateboarding to understand how someone with such passion in this sport views it through their eyes. I guess my first question to you is why a skater sees his world so much differently than someone who doesn’t skateboard?
Andrew – Good first question, Sal. Well I’m not the only person who sees the world this way. It goes beyond that and extends out to any extreme sport. People do not fully understand the sport skateboarding. When they walk down a random set of stairs, they wouldn’t think twice of the sight of their body flying down those stairs. It is the same thing with handrails and ledges that people would see all over their local town. Us skaters, bikers and snowboarders all see architecture as our playground or stomping ground. I view everything in my environment and label it skate-able or non skate-able subconsciously. I know what I like to skate, so I find easy for me to identify these spots.
Sal – So how do you go about finding a spot or obstacle to skate and why do you enjoy that particular obstacle so much?
Andrew – It took me a little time to find out that I like to skate the streets and look for natural spots. Spots that were not man made like skateparks, where were supposed to skate. Also finding spots to skate that are not actually skate spots lets me be creative. I can see something like two cracks on the street, and then find a way to skate it. I like anything that is going to make me go big or bigger than my last stunt. I am a big gap fan too. I wish I could just build gaps of all sizes and take to the next level. Imagine standing on top of some hill with a concrete run way and out before you is 12 feet of grass, 5 feet high in the air. Not only that, but there is a fence in the middle only about one foot high. When you do a trick over a gap and land it, I find it the best feeling to go back to the top of that gap and say, “I can maneuver this piece of plywood with wheels in such a way that I go from this level of land to so many feet out and keep that board with me to ride away”. That is why I love gaps and skating the streets.
Sal – How is it for you to view other pro skaters and the difficult tricks pros land?
Andrew – With my skill level not being anywhere near a pros’ it makes me appreciate the sport even more. With every trick that I ever saw in a video, I would always think to myself how big these guys really go. I’ve seen a man kick flip, which is a basic trick in skateboarding on flat ground, over 20 stairs. To the average person that just sounds like a decent size number. If you get the chance take a look down a 20 set and tell me you are not scared to throw you body up in the air and hope to come down safely. It is so hard for me to show you the magnitude of this sport.
Sal – Well Andrew if someone wanted to know the magnitude of tricks that are performed by skaters how might he or she do that?
Andrew –I’ll keep this simple; go out around your town or where ever you live. Look around for a set of stairs that consist of at least 11 or 12 steps. Stand on top of it and if you got the balls, jump down with your feet and try to land. For you non outgoing people just use that imagination. Now once you’ve realized how much it hurts to jump down stairs, try it with a skateboard. In most cases, it is going to take multiple tries to land a trick. Skaters are falling numerous times doing these stunts. I think at this point you’ll realize how hard it is. I would even have trouble doing an ollie (the most basic trick in skateboarding) down a set like that. Pros on the other hand, would have 10-15 tricks easy down an 11 set of stairs.
Sal – Skateboarding sounds mostly physical but vision is also pretty big in skating because you have to see where you’re going but also the filming that’s involved in making videos.
Andrew – Indeed it is, absolutely. Photographers and filmers put as much work into their editing as the skaters do in skating. In skate videos there are multiple clips of skating that play with all random timings, but there is always music going along to the tricks. An editor of the film will put clips together in an order that fits to the beat of the song. So when a person lands a trick, the strong beat of song follows making it more eye appealing. It’s not just throwing in matching music too. When a trick is filmed there can sometimes be 5 people filming one person from 5 different angles (Skin p.87). Then they will pick which angle looks the best or gives the trick the best look. They also make different types of lenses that make obstacles look a lot larger than they are. A fish eye lens fits more of the view in the camera allowing you to get closer to the skater, and see the obstacle too. The fish eyes lens is a very popular tool in making skate videos. If you have a good imagination you can do some really cool things with skate video editing.
Sal – You definitely see the world around you differently than someone who does not skate or participate in extreme sports. What do you like the most about that?
Andrew – I like that I can recreate a skate spot in my mind from totally memory. I’ve recently left my hometown for school and haven’t skated in a while. Everyday I still recreate spots in my head and could draw them out, as if I was in the center of the spot looking at everything. At my middle school there is a set of stairs in the back center parking lot. It is a seven stairs with a gray, blue double railing down its’ left side. About half way down that rail in a blank deck sticker I put on it almost 4 years ago. If you stand at the bottom of the set and look at each stair you could see our old “skate team” logo tagged all over it. Depending on the tricked you tried over it, you could catch a glimpse of all that as you passed it in the air. That is just one obstacle in my town. If you wanted I could take you around the corner to this embankment and tell you where every crack is so you can avoid landing in one.
Sal – This is my last question for you Andrew, Mike Vallely is well respected skater with a whole totally independent style of skating. No one else really has adopted his way of skating. Why do you think he is so popular in the skateboarding scene?
Andrew – Mike is a really good guy and I think he doesn’t get enough credit for his skating. He has a style that’s like a modernized old school, and really doesn’t skate like anyone else. He does his own thing, killing flat ground tricks. He doesn’t go huge over gaps, but he does technical tricks that awe people. He can give people what they want to see through a whole other way, and by not doing the biggest tricks out there. Mike even said in an interview for Transworld Magazine, “I’m Definitely not trying to profess that people should do it the way I am doing it. Number one, if you skated like I do, you wouldn’t even get sponsored today” (p.117). Mike skates so uniquely that he can get away with his style, and not adapt to the modern style of huge tricks down gaps and rails. He can still do unbelievable trick before your eyes.
Sal – Great input on all my questions to today Andrew, I don’t think I have ever stepped on a skateboard in my life, and I’m going to be asking myself a lot of questions. There is a nice set of stairs outside this building and every time I walk them I’m going to think of tricks to do down it, but not really. I guess a skater really does see the world differently when you like to skate the streets.
Skating Through my Eyes
Sal – Hey Andrew how are you today, its good to have this moment with you and really dissect this sport of skateboarding to understand how someone with such passion in this sport views it through their eyes. I guess my first question to you is why a skater sees his world so much differently than someone who doesn’t skateboard?
Andrew – Good first question Sal. Well I don’t see the world around me alone in this way. It goes beyond that and spiders out to any extreme sport. People do not fully understand what goes in to skateboarding. When they walk down a random set of stairs, they wouldn’t think twice of the sight of there body flying down those stairs at all. Same thing with handrails and ledges you would see all over your local town. Us skaters, bikers and snowboarders all see architecture as our, I guess you could call it a course or stomping ground. I view everything in my environment and label it skate able or non skate able sub consciously. I know what things I like to skate and not so I can just pick up on spots as if its for me or not.
Sal – So how do you go about finding a spot or obstacle to skate and why do you enjoy that particular obstacle so much?
Andrew – Once I found out that I like to be out in the streets looking for natural obstacles and not Man made skate parks, but don’t get me wrong I still love them but not as much as the street. I just like anything that going to make me go big or bigger than my last greatest stunt. I am big gap fan, I wish I could just build gaps of all sizes and take to the next level. Imagine you standing on top of some hill with a concrete run up and out before you is 12 feet of grass, 5 feet high in the air. To add on put a fence in the middle that only about 1 foot high. When you do a trick over a gap and land it, I find it the best feeling to go back to the top of that gap and say, “I can manvour this piece of plywood with wheels in such a way that I go from this level of land to so many feet out and keep that board with me to ride away. That’s why I love gaps.
Sal – How is it for you to view other pro skaters and the difficult tricks Pros land?
Andrew – With my skill level not being anywhere near a pros’ it makes me appreciate the sport even more. With every trick that I ever saw in a video, I would always think to myself how big these guys really go. I’ve seen a man kick flip which is a basic trick in skateboarding on flat ground, but this man kick flips over 20 stairs. To the average person that just sounds like a decent size number, but if you get the chance take a look down a 20 set and tell me you’re not scared to throw you body up in the air and hope to come down safely. Its just so hard for me to show you the magnitude of this sport.
Sal – Well Andrew if someone wanted to know the magnitude of tricks that are performed by skaters how might he or she do that?
Andrew –I’ll keep this simple, go out around your town or where ever you live. Look around for a set of stairs that consist of at least 11 or 12 steps. Stand on top it and if you got the balls, jump down with your feet and try to land it. For you not outgoing people just use that imagination. Now once you’ve realized how much it hurts to jump down stairs try it with a skateboard. I think at that point you’ll realize how hard it is. I would even have trouble doing and ollie (the most basic trick in skateboarding) down a set like that and pros on the other hand, would have 10-15 tricks easy down it.
Sal – Skateboarding sounds mostly physical but vision is also pretty big in skating because you have to see where you’re going but also the filming that’s involved.
Andrew – Indeed it is, absolutely. Photographers and filmers put as much work into their editing as the skaters do in skating. In skate videos there are multiple clips of skating that flash with all random timings, but there is always music going along to the tricks. An editor of the film will put clips together in an order that fits to the beat of the song. So when a person lands a trick the strong beat of song follows making it more eye appealing. It’s not just throwing in matching music too. When a trick is filmed there can be sometimes be 5 people filming one person from 5 different angles (Skin p.87). Then they will pick which angle looks the best or gives the trick the best look. They also make different types of lenses that make gaps look a lot larger than they are. A fish eye lens fits more the view in an area allowing you to get closer to the skater and see the obstacle too. If you have a good imagination you can do some really cool things with skate video editing.
Sal – You definitely see the world around you differently than the average person, what do you like the most about that?
Andrew – I like that I can re create a skate spot in my mind from totally memory. I’ve recently left my hometown for school and haven’t skated in a while but everyday I recreate spots in my head and could draw them out, as if I was in the center of the spot looking at everything. At my middle school there is a set of stairs in back center parking lot. It is a seven set with a gray blue double railing down its left side. About half way down that rail in a blank deck sticker I put on it almost 4 years ago. If you stand at the bottom of the set and and look at each stair you the our old “Skate team” logo tagged all over it. Depending on the tricked you tried over it you could catch a glimpse at all that ass you passed in the air. That is just one obstacle in my town, if you wanted I could take you around the corner to this embankment and tell you where every crack is so you can avoid landing in one.
Sal – This is my last question for you Andrew, Mike Vallely is well respected skater with a whole totally independent style of skating no one else really has adopted, why do you think he is so popular in this scene?
Andrew – Mike is a really good guy and I think he doesn’t get enough credit for his skating. He has a style is like a modernized old school and really doesn’t skate like anyone else. He does his own thing, killing flat ground tricks. He doesn’t go huge like over gaps but he does such technical tricks that it awes people. He can give people what they want to see through a whole other way, and by not doing the Biggest tricks out there. Mike even said in a interview for Transworld Magazine, “I’m Definitely not trying to profess that people should do it the way I am doing it. Number one, if you skated like I do, you wouldn’t even get sponsored today” (p.117). Mike skates so uniquely that he can get away with his style, and not adapt to the modern style of huge tricks down gaps and rails. He can still do unbelievable trick before your eyes.
Sal – Great input on all my questions to today Andrew, I don’t think I have ever stepped on a skateboard in my life and going to be asking myself a lot of questions. There is a nice set of stairs outside this building and every time I walk them I going to think of do tricks down it, but not really. I guess a skater really does see the world differently when you like to skate street.
