One of the reasons I took so much time off from skateboarding in the ‘90s was that you had to spend so much of your time running from cops and rent-a-cops. Now, this was nothing new, it was how I spent the ‘80s, but as much as it was a thrill, it was not the primary reason I was a skateboarder. (In fact, now I can recognize how much privilege we had as white boys that we never had to worry about getting shot in the back of the head while running away.) By the time I was in my twenties I merely wanted to skate, but “no skateboarding” signs were everywhere and there was nowhere to skate without getting chased away. It simply got old. One night I was skating with a friend and we had to run from five different cops and rent-a-cops during the evening, and he got caught. I didn’t, but I was tired of cop dodging when all I wanted to do was skate. Skateboarding anywhere in downtown Portland used to be a crime and the cops would take your board and fine you 100 bucks (Which was the amount of new skateboard!) Eventually Charlie Hales was on Portland City Council, and while I am no fan, his son was a skateboarder and Charlie was shocked to learn entering downtown on a skateboard was a crime. He got the law changed and the era of (non-DIY) skateparks began. Which goes to show how having access to power can change things. #skateboarding #pdxskateboarding #skateboardingisacrime (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSHrmY-l3Ka/?utm_medium=tumblr
