Skateboarding Is Not A Crime

'Skateboarding Is Not A Crime' is a studio project, but with enough help, we could start something strong. roberthalford.com/skateboardingisnotacrime.html

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Grindhaus // Lincoln born independent skate store Grindhaus is at the forefront of a campaign for a new skate park application in Lincoln. The face of the Lincoln skateboard community and owner of the store, Karl Barkworth, spoke with us about his awesome business, its pro skater team and the benefits of a skate park at hobbler's hole.

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Olympic skateboarding - could it work?

With skateboarding's governing body applying to the IOC to be officially recognised, could the sport be a success at the Olympic Games?

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Skateboarding is not a crime - AdamVsTheManRT

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Grindhaus Skate Store Lincoln, Celebrates Independence Day // Black Poncho.

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Concerns over plans for skatepark

This is what the BBC Look North team had to say about the potential skatepark at Hobblers Hole. It's certainly an interesting take on the issue. We here at skateboarding is not a crime are going to be sticking with this story for a while, so keep an eye out for any updates.   

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Word of wisdom from the king: Rodney Mullen interview with the Daily Brun.

One might call him the Thomas Edison of skateboarding. Having invented dozens of standardized tricks such as the ollie and kickflip, Rodney Mullen is one of the most decorated professional skateboarders in history.

                                                       Daily Bruin: What made you want to start skating?

Rodney Mullen: I grew up in Florida, and I never really felt like I fit in. It’s probably a common bond that a lot of skaters have and I certainly felt that. I really liked the individuality of it, where you don’t have to dress up all the same. You’re really on your own. You didn’t have a coach, no one’s going to tell you what to do and it never ends in terms of the possibility of what you can do. It presented problems from the folks because in the 1970s the culture saw (skateboarding) as a thing for bad apples. My father was really against it and thought it would lead nowhere. It was kind of a hard thing to overcome.

DB: When did you start skating, and what made you want to start in the first place?

RM: I started when I was 10. Jan. 1, New Year’s Day 1977. It was because my father had had a few drinks on New Year’s Eve. My dad was in the military, and so I thought that was the best opportunity, when he’d had a few drinks and was in a really jovial “˜I love my family’ mood. But he promised that the first time I got hurt I’d have to quit, and I said that’s fine and went with it. My dad’s a dentist, so the first thing I did was knock out my teeth.

DB: At what point did you realize you could make a career out of this and stop going to school?

RM: Almost too late, when I was trying to do both (school and pro skateboarding). I’d go out and do my thing and won all the local contests, and it grew and grew and grew, even when I was getting paid and traveling internationally. I was in my third and fourth year of college before it really started to weigh down on me of making a choice between one or the other. I probably didn’t have the courage or insight to believe that it would turn into what it did.

DB: Did running your company World Industries take away any of the fun of skateboarding for you?

RM: It certainly did. When you start to shift paths a little bit, you have to kick people off, you have to become a boss, and in their eyes that’s often sort of being a double agent. …You start to think in terms of not just the joy … but you focus on goals, which is always sort of a fire extinguisher when it comes to ideas. You know when you focus on goals so much it takes away from the things you need to create the thing ““ like enjoying it. It’s like a conceptual rigor mortis that sets in when you have the pressures of handing things in or turning things out. There are a lot of challenges in it, that’s for sure, and just the hours it took. That’s part of why I always like to skate at night. There’s something about being alone to me that’s so conducive of it all. Plus the practicalities of living in the city because that’s the time to hit things up since no one’s around.

DB: You’ve invented dozens of new tricks. How do you come up with them?

RM: You can start sounding really airy when you talk about that stuff. That’s what I’m talking about, it’s just something I try, and this is what it feels like. Definitely, I look at all the magazines and watch all the videos religiously and see what everyone’s doing, but I don’t skate with anyone, and I think one of the reasons for my success is a “know thyself” type of thing. I know my weaknesses and I know I’ve always had trouble fitting in or being measured against someone else. I think it’s pride in a subtle form, but if I skate at a skate park there’s always that (pressure to) “make a trick,” you know, do your little checklist. There’s an entire industry of television shows and periodicals (devoted to it). I try to keep it low-key and just tumble around fundamental movements. It’s remarkable how many tricks are simple variations, different iterations of what’s right in front of your nose already that it’s unrecognizable because it’s sort of algebraic shuffling. Does that make sense?

DB: Yeah, just a sort of building up on other things you’ve already invented.

RM: That’s right. It’s just a series of puzzle pieces and if you just turn them around in different environments, it becomes the nature of the trick, and there is such fertile ground for that. And that’s one of the reasons that I love it is because it’s easy to become cynical and say everything’s been done, but you can always come out on your own and come up with something different and there’s a real joy in that. …

I held a title for 11 years. I won 36 out of 37 contests. All I really did was be so fixated on it I wouldn’t even play anyone in checkers.

I can’t engage in that, it was so hard for me to be measured by a number. That’s sort of the era of Tony Hawk, too he’s really good with that and we both were sharing these complaints about contest (culture).

DB: How do you feel about the active persecution of skateboarders

RM: It feels like persecution sometimes for sure. In almost all ways, it’s discouraging the very things of the transcendental movement with Thoreau and Emerson with their individualism that’s what skateboarding is. It’s not people marching in uniform. It’s creative, and it’s tough. The degree of individualism and poeticism involved in skateboarding should be rewarded when in fact it’s the flip side. I wish we could change that. I think there are a lot of good people out there. Tony Hawk has a foundation that puts us on a better face for a lot of people, but it’s such a shame. I just don’t get it.

DB: What would skateboarding be like if it were legal?

RM: In some ways we’re getting more and more amazing people. Ryan Sheckler is a good example of a really gifted kid who is treated with some really great places to skate around the world. So many eyes are watching and the rewards are so high, there’s so much support for the younger guys.

A lot of the older guys bemoan this modern era with the MTV stars.

What’s going on with our culture? We’re losing it. And the flip side of it is all these guys talk so hard about spirit and everything else and half the time they’ve got to (support) a family and they have to throw it all away.

They’ve made it their whole lives and can’t afford to go on.

DB: What do you think about the bad reputation skateboarders get, and what do you think when you see adolescent skateboarders who act really obnoxious in crowded public places?

RM: Oh my God, it drives me crazy. Especially whenever I’m out and about, tour-wise, where people expect to see you, there will be a lot of skaters waiting for you. When you’re around some of them, they take that time to show off, like “Wow! We’re crazy!” They think that skateboarding should be about being punks and being crazy and all that does is turn away from it. It’s this hyped persona, that’s not really the heart of it anymore.

DB: How fun is skateboarding after all these years, on a scale of 1-10?

RM: It moves up and down, but it’s right back up at nine and three-quarters.

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Ways not to get arrested skateboarding: Review some of the most patronising advice on the internet.

Nobody wants to get arrested, you get the whole self-righteous speech thing from the officer and everyone is looking at you like you’re a malefactor. Worse than that any nosey pedestrian that cares to look at your feet catches a glimpse of that irksome form of transport you have, and suddenly you’re perpetuating the stereotype.

A skater getting arrested is exactly what we don’t want to happen, it negatively affects public opinion and harms the sport. On the flip side however, it’s difficult to remedy, how can we both campaign for skateboarding to be treated as a respected sport and still pander to the Callahan cops that are just angry because they didn’t get the last jam filled.

The truth is that there is no simple answer but realistically non-violent protest is the best one we have. This is why this week I went trawling through the internet to find some sound advice on the best ways not to get arrested for skateboarding. Unfortunately it’s some of the most patronising stuff I have ever had to read so take what you want from it.

As skateboarders we form the future perception of skateboarding every time we lace up our shoes and hit the park or street. Skateboarders get lumped in together and judged as a group, if skateboarder A-546 spray paints a duck with a machine gun onto a city bench, EVERY skateboarder just spray painted that city bench, it sucks but for the time being its true. Be cool and let skateboarding fade away from the bad perception it's received over the years. 

Don't argue with authority, it will get you nowhere quickly.

This is unfortunately true no matter how much I wish it wasn't, most police officers are pretty cool and will have a pleasant word with you devoid of expletives, some however will not. These guys you do not want to argue with, because in a battle of the egos the guy with the handcuffs will win.

Ask permission

This has worked for me at churches and schools. People are surprised you asked and will usually say ok, this is good as well because it’s exactly what they don’t expect skaters to do.

Know your Rights/ Know your local law and ordinances

In some situations, thankfully, doing this can actually help bypass rule number one. If you know you are acting within your rights and there are no bi-laws relating to where you are then tell the police officer. Maybe throw a “please” in there though, even if you have a resentful tone.

Respect pedestrians

Pedestrians are the people in your area that are going to potentially sign that petition stopping that skate park from being built, so don’t give them a reason to hate you. Adversely though if a pedestrian is being a dick, don’t lose respect for yourself, tell them you’ve got a right to be there.

Be as quiet as possible

This just goes for everyone when it gets past a certain time, but hitting the ground after smashing a stair set is pretty loud.

Look for no skateboarding signs

See what I mean by patronising? But in all truth if you see a no skateboarding sign and you don’t understand why it’s there contact your local council, try to get it ripped off.

Walk your boards across intersections and in busy traffic

Not doing this may cause a driver to have to break and swerve then he’s going to give you that look that says “what the fuck” and you have to do that thing where you shrug and silently say “sorry”, it’s a nightmare. Well either that or he just runs you down, either way it sucks.

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More information about the Lincoln skate park project.

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England | VICE United Kingdom

We went to the UK to meet with a healthy cross-section of English skateboarding.

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New Lincoln skate park application submitted - The Lincolnite

Skating dispute: A planning application for a skate park off Long Leys Road in Lincoln have been submitted to City of Lincoln Council.

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Freeling

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Skate Crime

The oligopoly of the car and the bike seem to be two pillars of stone, between which no entity can exist. In no situation is this more apparent than in Maui where skateboarding is outlawed anywhere other than designated skate parks. The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and is the 17th largest island in the United States. It is also home to a plethora of dedicated boarders due to its strong connotations with surf culture.

An opposition against the ban has started to gain some attention on the online petition platform change.org, which currently has 257 signatures. Unfortunately for the avid boarders of Maui, this is still 243 signatures shy of the target.  Blake Gardiner from Kihei on the island of Maui, and creator of the petition said that “This is important because skateboarding is a growing sport in Maui, as well as a mode of transportation for many! It is unjust for bicycle riders to be allowed to ride their bikes wherever they want whereas skateboards are limited to use in skate parks.

The law as it stands at this moment states that “No person upon roller skates, skateboards, scooters or riding in or by means of any coaster, wagon, toy vehicle or similar device being propelled solely by momentum or by thrusting of the rider's foot against the ground or pavement shall go upon any roadway, street or alley”. The purpose of this law is to stop what Maui citizens view as anti-social or simply obnoxious behaviour, however any anti-social behaviour that could be conducted on a skateboard could surely be replicated on a bicycle and yet there is no mention of said form of transportation.   

Many others have expressed their support for the abolishment of the ban, citing a number of reasons. The most common complaint however, is that the ban simply exacerbates the already established prejudice against skateboarders. Mr Gardiner said that “Police also have the right to rip you off of your skateboard which causes physical and psychological harm, regardless of the skaters’ age.” One Maui skateboarder Sean Ferguson, also from Kihei has already complained of exactly this saying that “Some a****** cop pushed me off my board to get me to stop. Then treated my property with complete disrespect.”

Another criticism of the law is that, if skateboarding is confined to designated areas, the sport of long boarding, the tradition connected most with surfing, will have nowhere to go, as long boards are not designed for skate parks. Among the affected parties are not only the skaters who have told police in the past that this is not what their boards are for, but also local businesses such as Maui longboards and Aloha Boards.

Gardiner concluded that “Skateboarding is a major influence and an amazing way to keep future generations off drugs and away from crime!” he urged that we Stop persecution against skaters and “give us the same rights as bikers”. Gardiner’s petition needs all the help that can be given, and for no small reason.  Helping this cause seems nothing short of taking a step to free the world from what is just another ugly prejudice, see below for details.

http://www.change.org/petitions/legalization-of-skateboards-on-maui-county-streets-and-sidewalks-stop-persecution-against-skaters-and-give-us-the-same-rights-as-bikers

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The Seminal Post

"These sports are just—you go do it, and you're doing it on your own, you don't have to answer to anyone." - Tony Hawk

The dichotomy between the Laws that regulate skateboarding and the perception of those who practice the sport is palpable. The result of this is that skaters are the ones to suffer, whether it be at the hands of a cop on a sugar rush that is prepared to crack some skulls, or in the face of every angry citizen that perceive all skaters as miscreants. Simply put, this is an injustice.  

You may have a skate board cast away in some un-discernible part of your house; its trucks loosened and its grip tape solemnly peeling with neglect, or you may spend your nights looking for that perfect stair set while ducking from the blue lights, regardless, this matters to us, and we think it should matter to you.

This project was set up not because we ourselves suffer as a result of prejudice, but because it is not hard to see that it happens to many young and passionate boarders. The constant ethos at the core of this blog is that prejudice is an ugly colour, regardless of the shade.

The generally negative attitude many have towards skaters is believed to be a remnant of a time gone by when skaters were seen as the kids that would empty out your pool and spray paint “fuck” on the side of your house. However, now the sport is a very real one that requires the same attention as any traditionally engrained physical endeavour, yet the news is still littered with stories that show this is not the accepted truth.

This is the news that we will endeavour to bring to you; you may find the images of officer Joey Williams from Hot Springs, Arkansas chocking a young skater in our upcoming video shocking enough to join the cause and if not, remember that for every video, there are a thousand un-reported incidences.

The authoritarian mentality says that there are laws and that they must rigorously be enforced by whatever strong arm methods are required. The seriousness of the “offence” and the response to it need not be balanced.  We are here to counter that argument and to say that for progression to happen the values of the past have to be challenged. 

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Magazine // Campaign Advert // No.2

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Interview // Talking to you // 2014

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Magazine // Poster Artwork // No.1

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Trailer // Opening Campaign Video // 2014