It's not a criticism, it's an observation.
The marketing of skateboarders
Mike Cox

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, some kids took a plank and some wheels, and built the first skateboard. Riding was limited to California until The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean spread skateboarding to the rest of the country.

When I was 14, most of us found wheels from a discarded pair of skates, or our sister's, and screwed them to scrap wood from our dad's shop. A few bought a skateboard from Woolworth's.

Those with homemade boards laughed at the store-bought version and the guys who rode them. We felt building your own board was one of the requirements of being a real skateboarder.

After the sport's first fatality in 1965, riding full speed down a freshly paved hill wasn't as much fun. Besides, some of us had our driver's license by then. Riding down that same hill, even in an old Corvair, was more fun; especially if there were girls in the car.

A surge of popularity in the 70s fizzled when insurance rates on skateboard parks climbed, and many were closed. Then in the early 90s, the rebel teenager flying around scaring old ladies returned to city sidewalks and empty swimming pools.

The trend has grown tremendously, in part because of ESPN and the X Games. But the primary reason skating is so popular today is because of the marketing savvy of those who run the sport.

On a recent visit Up North, I browsed through a few of my grandson's skateboarding magazines. The folks behind them have succeeded in making everything they sell trendy and convincing kids they are sticking it to The Man by being skaters.

The magazines are much like women's periodicals, very little content, a lot of advertising, and an editorial stance that tells you to buy the products mentioned in the mag to be cool.

There is a certain controlled defiance in the pages, and this feeds the sport. The message is one of injustice. All those bad adults, property owners, and policemen are just harassing innocent skaters who only want to skate where they aren't allowed.

Editorials, as well as letters from readers, tell of intolerant communities and nowhere to ride. They also complain about non-skaters wearing skater clothing. How a sport can be so edgy on the surface, yet so tied to the marketing associated with it, baffles me.

Skaters are supposed to be persecuted free wheelin' loners. Instead they are more a slave to fashion than the teenage girls who buy anything worn by Britney, Jessica, or Madonna. Each high priced component of a skateboard must be the right brand. Everything from shoes to hooded sweatshirt is designated by label.

The masses rebel by dutifully following the lead of Skateboarder magazine and its stars. Riders show their individuality by wearing the same brands of clothes and using only certain kinds of boards and hardware.

Being an oppressed renegade has become complicated and expensive, like a lot of things these days. Given a choice, I would rather ride a board from Woolworth's.