I chose the topic of deviance in skateboarding because skateboarding
takes up quite a bit of my free time, it is my master status, what i
see myself as, even though i also do many other outdoor activities.
Skateboarding is also a very popular thing to do in Boulder Colorado,
there's a skatepark not three blocks from my dorm room and many more
scattered in the surrrounding towns. Skateboarding's fun! and its always
interesting to investigate something given a deviant label that you
participate in.
For this report, i chose to get almost all my information from interviews.
i interviewed over the past week, skaterboarders ranging in ages from
12 to 31, the director of teen services of the local YMCA who is also
in charge of Scott Carpenter Skatepark in Boulder Colorado, an employee
at a nationally and internationally distrubuted skateboard magazine,
Thrasher, the co-owner of a skateboard company, Consolidated Skateboards
and a sergent of the University of Colorado Campus police. I will also
suplement my paper with my own knowledge, as i hjave been skating since
my brother decided i needed a to learn how to skateboard at the age
six, lending me an old skateboard deck and elbow pads to be used as
knee pads and releasing me out to the wild streets outside my house.
I did all the interviews overtly. The skaters i interviewed knew i
was a skater fromthe type of clothes iI had on, and the fact i got to
the places of interview on a skateboard. Many had seen me before skateboarding
either on campus, in the skatepark or on the streets, although I decided
not to interview close friends or family. Any interviews done over the
phone were done first by telling the person who i was, why i was doing
the paper, who i was affiliated with ( usually saying it was for a school
project, then telling them i am also a part of skatepark.org the Skate
Park Association of the United States of America, and The United Skateboard
Association in varying degrees.
A Bief History of Skateboarding
Skateboarding can be traced to homemade scooters from as far back as
the early 1900s; rollerskate wheels attached to two by fours, and a
milk crate used for a handle and stability. These boards were modifyied
over the years as different technology was introduced. In the 1950's,
new trucks (or the axles) aided in turning and manuverablity. as surfing
became more popular, especially in California, surfers made skating
more popular and skated whenever the surf was low. Skating's popularity
increased over time and the first professional board was sold in 1963,
and a team was formed to sponsor the product. The first skateboard competition
was also held in 1963. Skateboarding took off and reached a pinnacle
in 1964 with about 50 million boards sold within 3 years. Surprisingly,
the popularity of skating died off in 1965, due mostly to inferior product
being made. Skateboards were not safe and were manufactured poorly in
the early 1960s. Many people hurt themselves due to the cheap, clay
wheels skateboards came with. There are also a few fatalites reported.
the public began to percieve skating as being reckless and dangerous.
It wasn't until about 1973, when Cadillac Wheels introduced the urethane
wheel from rollerskating rinks, that skateboarding once again became
popular. The new wheels solved many problems with claywheels, offering
enough traction that skateboards could be ridden with a good amount
of safety. The industry began to finally innovate and soon parts where
being sold to be specifically used for skateboarding, instead of being
slapdashed together from your sister's rollerskates and wood found in
the garage. Skateparks, or places designed just to skateboard in started
to pop up everywhere, featuring huge, pool like obstacles to skate on.
The insurance for skateparks became too expensive for many of the owners
due to liability problems and many were closed down. Skateboarders began
to go into the backyards in drained in-ground pools of peoples houses.
Usually trips like these are planned out well ahead of time, some people
have even been said to take helicopters on search and destroy missions
over california towns with a map to spot for empty pools to skate during
the winter droughts. In 1978, alan gelfand invented the "ollie"
a trick that allowed skateboarders to jump off the ground without using
their hands to keep the board on their feet. people began to take the
skills they learned in the skateparks to the city and town streets.
Private ramps were also built made of wood, that mimicked the shape
of the skatepark pools.
Skateboard-featured publications started springing up in the early
1980's, as did skateboard videos from the Bones Brigade, an immensely
popular skateboard team of the 1980's. All this media helped push skateboarding
into being more popular than ever. Tony Hawk became one of the most
famous skaters and began to promote te sport like never before. Skate
contests and commision from board sales became so lucrative, that top
skaters were making $10,000 a month in the mid 1980s.
The style of skateboarding changed in the early 1990's (new school)
, large companies began to break down as more and more individuals began
to start their own companies. The style was not to skate ramps and skateparks,
but skateboarding now took place almost exclusively on the street. The
recession of the early 1990's almost wiped out skateboarding yet again,
leaving only the most hard core skaters still participating in the sport.
The industry turned somewhat negative, new styles of clothes were introduced,
large paints and shirts and small boards and wheels replaced the bright
clothes and eclectic board designs of the 1980s. the infamous Big Brother
magazine started up, now owned by Larry Flint (Penthouse) , and has
been accused of being a kids version of a porno magazine, having a kid
on a skateboard with the title "kids issue" only to have articles
encouraging sex, lesbianism and even beastiallity. While the magazine
may have articles on those subjects, it is still a skateboard magazine,
and many stores will not sell it to anyone under 18. Big Brother has
recently simmered down on its use of sexuality to sell the magazine
and has now focused more on skating.
Presently, skateboarding has again become more popular than ever, its
showcased on ESPN in their yearly "X Games" and is used in
advertisements in magazines and television. Skateparks are know being
built, both privately and publically, all over country and the world.
" Despite safety concerns or economic recessions, the sport endures
simply because it is so much fun to do. " *1
Deviance
It seemed to be surprsingly hard to make skateboarding appear deviant.
On interviewing a campus police officer, i found out that there is no
law against skateboarding on campus or anywhere. Skaters are usually
ticketed for "tresspassing, and unlawful conflict" This would
mean skateboarding falls somewhere between a folkway and a law, the
skateboarding itself is not against the law, but damge to property is.
Usually, the skateboarder is given a warning when found skating at a
place where signs are posted prohibiting skating. after the second warning,
a $50 ticket is handed out, but "next time, skaters usually take
off" and a ticket is never given out.
This is not too different in other cities. The employeer for Thrasher
magazine, which is based in San Fransico, usually has skirmishes with
police end peacefully. "When a cop comes up to you, you just walk
away". he sees more trouble in smalll towns, where police have
been known to harrass you more.
All the skaters i interviewed from Boulder had never had anymore trouble
then being yelled to leave by store owners, people walking on the streets,
poice officers, and in some cases bums on the street.
The police officer did note that skateboarders were damaging property
at the university, estimated at $50,000, from chipped benches and ledges
to leaving wax on things around campus which then gets dirty and is
almost impossible to get off. A recent police report in the local newspaper,
The Daily Camera, sited an employee at a popular skateboard shop in
Boulder being fined for skating. I couldn't report anything much worse.
Finding Primary Deviance (denying the identity of being deviant) Secondary
Deviance (acceptance of a deviant act after it has been done) and Terteary
Deviance (embrace of the deviance and try to change people's minds about
the deviance) were shallow to find, as it seems mostly people's idea
of dskateboarding being deviant is rooted in the fact that thry don't
know much about the activity.
"Over 30, people get scared when they're old" noted the employee
at Thrasher, "Guilted in association" Skateboarding has been
given a negative stigma because of its past, liabilty problems, injuries
and the fact that it is mainly a activity embraced by teenage males.
When i asked any of the skaters if they thought skaters/skateboarding
is deviant, it was always answered with a resounding "NO!"
and followed almost everytime after that with, if you don't skateboard
you don't know the physical requirments needed to skateboard. "It
takes as much if not more skill than any other sport" an 18 year
old skater told me at the skatepark. A 31 year old skater, who brought
his wife and small child to the skatepark uses skating now as a way
to stay in shape. Alot of the skaters at the skatepark also had other
things they like to do. Boulder is known for its outdoor activities,
and besides skateboarding, the skaters also snowboard, rockclimb, hike,
etc. It seems that most of the skaters are in the Primary Deviant Stage.
They don't see what they are doing as being deviant at all, its perfectly
normal to them.
I did find Secondary Deviance in some of the people i interviewed.
The employer at Thrasher Magazine tells me that along with music, skateboarding
is his life, he's also happy that something he loves to do so much can
support him. (his parents are also happy about that) Birdo (yes thats
his name) at Consolidated Skateboards tells me "Skateboarding is
twenty four, seven" What has been labeled deviant has become their
master status what people see them as.
It seems that skateboarders are happy enough being skateboarders and
don't see a need to change people minds and opinions to change how people
see them. Every skater i interviewed told me they started skating because
plainly "it was fun" Recently, skateboarding has become increasingly
popular, competitions are broadcasted on cable channels and there was
even a special during the 1996 Summer Olympics. Skateboards can be purchasd
at any mall and the skater style of clothes has been interweived into
pop culture. Where once you were able to pick off a skater just by seeing
if he has skateboard shoes, now it seems everyone wears shoes made for
skating. "I hope it wil die off," says the employee from Thrasher.
That would be one way of having skateboarding keep true to itself and
stay a bit deviant in the eyes of society.
Still, there are groups out there that try to legitimize the sport
of skatebarding and give it positive coverage. One of the most famous
skaters to do this is Tony Hawk. Tony Hawk has been a professional skateboarder
since the early 1980's and has since just recently retired from the
competition circut, where he had dominated almost 15 straight years.
Tony hawk has always been a positive influence, always happy to appear
in interviews, being a part of the "milk mustache" ad compaign,
and now even has his own video game on the Sony Playstation. "Tony
Hawk has done alot" says the thirty one year old father skater
who has been skating almost the same time frame as Tony Hawk, being
so close in age as him.
There are many organizations now that help get skateboarders a place
to skate without skating ilegally. Skatepark.org, (headed by Mark Stosberg
and your humble narrator) is a grassroots organization based on the
internet that provides a portal to a wealth of information on every
step of getting a public skatepark into a town. Genback Studios has
published a book called "The Complete Step by Step Guide to Concrete
Skatepark Construction" where he cronicles how skaters and town's
people worked together in building a skatepark and then shows you how
to do the same thing for your community. The Skatepark Association of
the United States of America provides support for cities and individuals
trying to get a skatepark, and also has an insurance plan specifially
for skateparks. Consolidated Skateboards is also publisher of the manual,
The Plan, which is yet another step by step guide in getting a skatepark.
All these organizations seem to try to legitimize skateboarding by
providing an alternative to skating on private property or where people
do not want them skating. Other organizations hold contests that promote
skating as a safe, fun activity, The United Skateboard Association holds
an amatuer skateboard circut. The mission of the USA: "it was time
to give back to skateboarding, those things that made us love life around
skateboarding." These are great examples of Tertiary deviance,
these organizations love to skateboard and are happy to be skateboarders,
they fight to have skateboarding legitimized and for the general public
to except it.
Stigma Management
Most of the skateboarders i talked to showed some sort of stigma management,
(dealing with your deviance), although not much time was needed to accomplish
this. Most skaters used a passing technique, almost without knowing
it. Since the style of clothes skaters are usually associated with have
become popular culture (baggy jeans, Vans or Airwalk shoes), its hard
to really pick out a skateboarder from just another person in a crowded
area, like a mall or street. If the person is not physically riding
a board or holding it, you can only guess. At present, there is no real
unified "style" associated with skateboarding, and people
who actively skateboard usually dress in whatever they feel comfortable.
Leaving a skateboard at home is enough to pass you as not being a skater.
The town of Boulder itself has a fairly young and open minded population,
and outdoor sports are a popular thing to do for your free time. Someone
walking down the street dressed in a road bike garb is not going to
turn heads. Boulder is also a college town, and colleges students are
known to take advantage of the sudden freedom of expression with being
away from home. The amount of skaters in Boulder is so great that you
may look deviant if you don't have a skateboard, even if you don't ride
it often, skateboards have become an accessory, much like a ring, to
people.
There are a few skateboarders i've seen at the Boulder Skatepark and
other skateparks that come after 5 in the evening to skate, usually
undressing out of their work clothes, somewhat living a double life;
working in the day, and skating at night.
Accounts
When getting stopped for skating, especialy on campus its common for
a skater to say he was "just passing by" , "going somewhere
else" Its common for you to have a cover story, i know i've used
one of these beofre. Although there is no law against skating, the university
has its own rule for acrobatic skateboarding, the officer explaining
this as being "wheels off the ground" constituting acrobatic
skating and thus ticketable. People around skaters don't always report
the incedence, and will most likely just see it as a nuisance or go
some other way, not loking at the skater, and almost making believe
the skater isn't there. This is an example of contrfiet secrecy, the
people around the skater doesn't acknowledge teh deviant act, and does
nothing to stop it, like calling the police.
If a skateboarder is caught for skating, there are many ways they can
account for the act. The Police Officer told me skaters say, "this
is a way for me to have a stress relief, i could be out drinking"
That way, they are accepting the responsibility, but not seeing it as
wrong, citing something worse: underage binge drinking. Skaters are
known to tell sad tales. The police officer told me he hears skaters
all the time complain that " flat out that theres not enough places
to practice on" and that the university is the only place to skate.
Damage to university property by skateboarders can be scapegoated.
skaters can say they weren't responsible for the damage done on the
benches and ledges caused by other skaters (which could quite possibly
be true) just because they are skating in the same area as the damaged
property.
Skaters can cite that no one is getting hurt when they are skating,
that the damage done to property is superficial and that the amount
of damage they cause is of no scale compared to other damage done by
other students (The Halloween Riots of 1999 stick out in my mind, where
a mob of college students cause many hundreds of thousands of dollars
in property damage in one night, compared to a total of $50,000 over
many years) The university also makes enough money as to make this little
problem not that important.
Conclusion
Main reason for skateboardings stigma of being deviant is because of
the subculture itself isn't to bifg on sharing itself, possibly because
there's nothing secret to skateboarding, its fun to do, if ou want to
do it too, theres nothing in skateboarding culture that says you can't.
People who do not understand skateboarding will be scared. Skateboarding
has its own vocabulary, tricks are named in either very imaginary names,
like "the ollie, sex change, mcTwist, smith grind" or very
technical, like a "360 flip, "180 kickflip" or "nollie
180 healflip to fakie nosegrind, shuvit out" Skaters are either
individuals, skating alone or peers, skating with a group that share
participation withotu really a leader. all the skaters i interviewed
told me they either skate alone, or with friends. there are no skateboard
clubs or related organizations in Boulder Colorado. Its seems that skateboarders
are seen deviant becasause the sport itself is not similar to basketball
or baseball, its very individual at its core, there are no teams, so
you don't have a coach or any official regualting it. This keeps skating
free and fun, and maybe, just a bit deviant too.
Bibliography
The History of Skateboarding in less than 1700 words
Excerpt From "The Concrete Wave" Published By Warwick Books
http://www.interlog.com/%7Embrooke/history.htm
The Complete Step by Step Guide to Concrete Skatepark Construction
Tony Gembeck
Bembeck Studio
PO BOX 13149
Minneapolis, MN
55414
The United Skateboard Association; Mission
February, 2000,
http://unitedskate.com/mission.html
The Skatepark Association of the United States of America
http://spausa.org
Skatepark.org
http://skatepark.org
Larry Flynt and Hustler launch kids version of porn magazine
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a36f5642f0c63.htm
Thanks goes out to the Skaters of Boulder,
Dale, Jesse and Mike,
The University of Colorado Campus Police,
Mike, Supervisor of the YMCA Skatepark and teen programs of Boulder,
Colorado,
Birdo at Consolidated,
PO BOX 1279
Santa Cruz, California,
95061http://consolidatedskateboard.com
831 457 8206
And Ryan at Thrasher
High Speed Productions,
1303 Underwood Ave,
San Fransico, CA
94124
1. - this was taken directly from the ending of The History of Skateboarding
in less than 1700 words
