skateboarding - nature or nurture?

Of course with any scene there comes the heroes. Skating is just the same. Every generation has their's and within that there are numerous names dependent on your style, attitude and approach that will appeal. I always liked the guys that did things a bit different. Mike Vallely and Rodney Mullen might seem to represent two completely opposite ends of the scale with regards to approach. Just watch any footage and you'll see two very different ways of using the same tool. So what unites them in my mind?


Watching how these guys interacted with their audience/fans/spectators, call them what you will, these guys exhibited humility. There was none of the better-than-you showmanship just simple skill that did all the talking for them. There certainly wasn't any of the self-important nature that can very easily sneak in when anyone gets used to being the centre of attention. Two examples stand out clearly in my mind.


Mike V - having provided a full on demo, riding hard as always, wasn't done when time was called. In fact the sun went down and the pros went home. Mike V got some floodlights and carried on going well beyond what was required and expected of him.


Rodney Mullen - while the rest of the pros on one particular tour enjoyed all the luxuries of a  high class hotel, he went for a skate. He met up with some local kids and hung out with them, helping them try some of the stuff that he can do.


It's this that has made the biggest impact on me. I've never pushed my skating hard enough to be competitive at a local level never mind international but I have made sure that what I have received I give. The best thing about skating, the absolute best thing, is when you bring something different to a local park (sometimes 'old' is still waiting to be promoted to 'retro'). A kid watches on and, despite the grizzled appearance of that crazy old guy doing something he's never seen before, asks how it's done. You share what you know, more often than not they pick it up frustratingly quickly and they go home having learnt something new.

The gospel has been shared...