skateboarding - liberty or loyalty?

Saw a guy once. He'd made himself a simple ramp out of a plank of wood and some bricks. I was a small kid and he was in my primary school's playground on a weekend just skating. And that was all it took.


I'm still skateboading today. I enjoy acquiring new scars. I've got used to comments being shouted out from passing cars as I roll down the cycle path. I delight in being the living expression of the old school while the kids practice nailing the trick that has most recently captured their interest.


To an extent I wish this is what it has always been about but I've definitely walked/skated a journey that has come full circle. Whether it has run parallel to the simple context of life, maturity, values and priorities changing and shaping with the years or not I don't know but I do know the impressionable mind of a young person and the longevity of loyalty can be caught in a moment.

My first 'proper' set up included an Element team logo slick deck. To this day Element are the first port of call I make when seeking a new purchase. I wear their clothing. With pride I kit myself out from head to to toe, displaying the iconic logo with some notion that I'm also making my opinions and thoughts about the environment also known albeit by association.


But what am I associating myself with? With whose values am I aligning my own? It's not just a case of the team either, but specific individuals within that team...but there's too much in this for one post. And so it continues...