This is only the tip of a bigger thought that may evolve here further…
I’m thinking about the simultaneous advent of skateboarding and technology, particularly tools for documentation.
During the big booms of skateboarding in the 1980s and into the early 2000s, photo and video tech also advanced in some way. From shoulder-mounted VHS recorders (which I used as a kid) to smartphones and super hi-def cameras, clay wheels to polyurethane, one kid at school with a camcorder to multiple angles on smartphones, banana boards to flat, shaped decks to concave twin tails, the list goes on.
The athletic form and the technology that remembers and boasts its roots, moments, growth, and endless variations are intimately unified. They ride the same human urge that has been with us since the beginning. Both shred the wave of science, technology, industry, world culture and, one can hope, a sense of fun.
One without the other still exists, like a kid in Florida with a small patch of concrete driveway and the rest of skateboard culture miles and states away skateboarding solo from dawn to dusk.
Yet, what happens to skateboarding without documentation? Does it last forever in the driveways, basements, and local streets without cameras, without artifacts to share?
I may have more on this later. Like I said, this is a big thought. Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have some thoughts—I would love to hear what you think!
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Average Skater 