I love skateboarding.
I've been doing it for over 23years now. My body might not let me skate everyday anymore but I always love having a roll around in the warmer months and skate some curbs with my friends or whatever. (Salba once said that if you've been skating for over 20years then you are a lifer no matter what....) I still read magazines, watch video's, and more recently find myself getting sucked into the Slap Mag forums. I also love riding track bikes.
I love riding track bikes.
I can ride my bike pretty much everyday. Alone or with friends. Take pictures. Film. Document our little scene. I feel like I'm 11 again. Getting excited about going out and learning new stuff. Spending hours in a dark wet carpark learning a trick. Drinking and falling off. Dropping down a hill is like being on a skateboard. Finding lines, finding spaces to move into, anticipating traffic and pedestrians moves even before they do themselves. Being totally in the moment, no daydreaming or sightseeing or deciding whether to have beans or spagetti hoops for tea. You and your bike.
People dismiss it as a fad. but thats what they said about skateboarding. It's young and new and there are plenty of people in it for the wrong reasons. These people will fall away just as the scene grows and matures and riding and equipment develops. I know I'll be riding as fast and as hard as possible for as long as my body allows.
Skaters: don't give a fuck what people think, just borrow a track bike and see how good it feels.
Cardiel isn't a hipster. Julien Stranger isn't a hipster. Natas Kaupas isn't a hipster.
