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Kolohe Andino - No longer on O'Neill
- Thread starter ReForest
- Start date
It's the nature of the beast.
1) In order to be a successful pro skateboarder you have to have a good work ethic. Guys like Eric Koston, Josh Kalis, and Jamie Thomas all had/have good work ethics, this is why the remained successful for so long. It can be difficult to have a good work ethic and be a surfer.
2) Skateboarding is a sink or swim business. There is no brobrah culture.
3) The streets are always there. The life of a surfer depends on waves. You don't need to make life sacrifices to keep skateboarding and you can still fulfill your human potential. Surfing on the other hand is more akin to being a drug addict, and life sacrifices are usually made to keep surfing.
It's just performative- the richest guys on Earth can also strike these performative poses.
If you are selling shitt you are down with capitalism.
This is one of my old skate buddies - recently had an accent while skating and passed away. Such a good dude and man did he fricken rip - taught me how to lock-in a good smith grinds.
Not to disagree with anything Casa said- but is there really no bro-brah culture in skateboarding?
I thought the whole thing was rife with collabs and all that modern, urban shitt- basically everyone pissing in each other's pockets.
I thought the whole thing was rife with collabs and all that modern, urban shitt- basically everyone pissing in each other's pockets.
Skateboarding has it all. Bigger, broader talent pool from all over the world. Everything from bro-brahs to effeminate art-school types to inner city kids. Part of its appeal I think.
Is it still huge?
Kinda felt to me like it had lost it's cool and become mainstream/milqetoast with all the 13 old girls in the Olympics.
Kinda felt to me like it had lost it's cool and become mainstream/milqetoast with all the 13 old girls in the Olympics.
No clue on the participation numbers. On the brand side, the giant shoe corporations have more or less pushed out all of the core shoe companies. And on the flip side, there are more small companies making decks than ever before.
Not really a bro-brah scene.
Surfing involves a struggle over limited resources and that shapes the culture and promotes bro-brahism.
The skate industry itself is just different. It is/was fairly common to have non-skaters owning companies, skateshops, and skateparks.
With few exceptions, if a rider is not doing their job they're getting dumped quick. And there's much less hesitancy for companies to poach team riders.
There are trends but in general the culture is more welcoming to individualism because style and creativity matter heavily and people come from a variety of backgrounds.
And while the industry is centered in Southern California many skate pros come from elsewhere. There isn't the whole we-know-each-other-from-NSSA thing. People often move in and out of the skate scene fast, whereas surfers tend to hang around for decades.
Also there is skateboarding everywhere, unlike surfing which is centered at different points in coastal areas.
So it makes it difficult for bro-brah culture to form.
It's on the downslide.
Seems to have dissipated here.
There are skateparks everywhere but kids drift in and out- it doesn't really seem like a "cool" thing that you can build an identity around anymore.
Surf kids skate a bit, other kids skate.
It just doesn't seem like a "thing" anymore to be a skater.
There are skateparks everywhere but kids drift in and out- it doesn't really seem like a "cool" thing that you can build an identity around anymore.
Surf kids skate a bit, other kids skate.
It just doesn't seem like a "thing" anymore to be a skater.
What brand of significance is owned by a non-skater? Skateboarding has a shitload of gatekeepers. Diverse, yes. But very closed off to outsiders at its core.
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strike missions are when you’re sitting outside at noobs surfing with your friends and you see 10 guys with wetsuits like the one above walking your way along the tide line.
I have 2 Florence products and both seem to have great quality. Expensive sure but what isn’t these days. Would buy from them again.
Former-I seem to be above the age demographic at 30. I think Dane is great tho. Respect for doing it all himself to keep it going. Actually “core”
KA saying surf culture is dead while being an industry kid and taking deals from target Nike etc is wild. How is no one calling him on that hypocrisy? He’s 30 going on 19 with this rage against the establishment post. Calling yourself core while making shitty T shirts and hats doesn’t make you core.
I always got spoiled kid vibes from KA but then really enjoyed his SITD. Thought maybe I was wrong…back to not being a fan of him
Sorry grumpy dad post my kids been waking up at 5am for weeks now
Former-I seem to be above the age demographic at 30. I think Dane is great tho. Respect for doing it all himself to keep it going. Actually “core”
KA saying surf culture is dead while being an industry kid and taking deals from target Nike etc is wild. How is no one calling him on that hypocrisy? He’s 30 going on 19 with this rage against the establishment post. Calling yourself core while making shitty T shirts and hats doesn’t make you core.
I always got spoiled kid vibes from KA but then really enjoyed his SITD. Thought maybe I was wrong…back to not being a fan of him
Sorry grumpy dad post my kids been waking up at 5am for weeks now
Every major skate shoe brand? Or am I misunderstanding the premise? Still took Nike two tries to finally get their foot in the door though, so your point about being closed off to outsiders at its core is still fairly accurate.
Jamie Thomas has it figured out for sure! That guy seems like he knows what he's doing when it comes to starting a brand, marketing a brand, and riding for it. And he still rips for being in his 50's!
Plenty of woodshops are not skater owned. Perhaps even the majority. Same with wheels, hardware, and some grip.
And in addition to shoe companies, over the years plenty of companies and skate shops were/are bankrolled by nonskaters. I can't remember a lot of specifics nowdays but Girl comes to mind...Big investment group being the owner and Rick Howard's wife being the brains.
