The skater punk ethos

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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I went to the skateboarding contest over at Ashvegas’ skate park Saturday to check out the scene. I’d never really been, and the event was billed as a big competition, so I thought I’d see what it was all about.

I went also because, for those of us of a certain age, the skateboard marks a particular milestone, a coming of age of sorts. Like getting your first bicycle, your first taste of independence. Only the skateboard’s a lot more dangerous.

And today, it comes colored with a little rebellion. But back when I got my first skateboard – a yellow, plastic board sized like a Japanese compact compared to today’s SUV-sized boards – it was a fad, pure and simple. Everybody had one. We didn’t really know what to do with them, except roll around a little. But it was cool.

Nowadays, kids skip, flip and fly through a million tricks. They’ve all got names I’ve never heard of. And if you skateboard today, you adopt a certain dress code and the hip-hop music that comes with it. It’s all packaged together.