Mainstream Appropriation of Skateboard Culture Even the sound of a distant skateboard riding over the cracks in a sidewalk is enough

to excite me. When asked, man skateboarders will agree that skateboarding gives them !freedom" #personal surve .$ Skateboarding is freedom. %t&s a wa of clearing our mind when it&s full with too man worries. While some people meditate b closing their e es and crossing their legs, skateboarders are at peace when the are riding the bumps and cracks of the streets. Skateboarding encourages us to look differentl at our environment. 'eing a skateboarder is picking ourself up, no matter how hard ou fall, and tr ing again. 'ut also knowing when to (uit. Skateboarding keeps ones self grounded, except when ou )ump down a set of stairs and fl . 'ut most of all, to me, and millions of others, skateboarding is a wa of life. *rom its humble beginnings as an alternative to surfing, skateboarding has grown from a grass roots movement to having international participation and worldwide recognition. +here is a great debate in the skateboard communit about the effects that large businesses and audiences have on skateboarding. +he bring a business mentalit and extrinsic rewards to the skateboarding culture, which go against the free,spirited, intrinsic movement that it started as. While man large companies have made skateboarding hugel profitable, % believe that the appropriation of skateboard culture into the mainstream has negativel affected the culture as it once was.

Skateboarding is a relativel new sport that arose in the -./0&s as a grass root, counter,culture movement. 1riginall , up until recent ears, skateboarders were the outcasts2 the people who did not want to participate in organi3ed sports, grew their hair long and wild, and were viewed in mainstream societ as losers. +he weren&t losers, but people who were !motivated intrinsicall " rather than seeking the extrinsic motivation that was the norm in societ #4edderson and Seifert.$ +he people in the skateboard culture didn&t care for receiving ph sical ob)ects as rewards, but the simple act of skateboarding was enough for them to keep doing it. 56ame 7edacted8, a skateboarder who has held man positions within the industr , reflects the sentiments of man skaters when he sa s that !skateboarding is something to make our own and have fun with, it&s not to be taken too seriousl " #personal interview.$ Skaters view skateboarding as a creative outlet, and a wa of expression where nobod else can tell ou what ou are, and are not, supposed to do. Skateboarding at its core is an illicit activit . +here are man different st les of skating, but street skating is skateboarding in its rawest form. Skating in the streets means using our environment as creativel as possible, and man times that includes using other people&s propert . 9arge cities are where this activit occurs the most, and this represents the most abstract level of skateboarding, which doesn&t align with corporate culture. Metropolitan areas are built so

that man businesses are in close proximit to one another. +hese cit scapes are some of the best areas for skateboarding. +he marble pla3as, loading docks, and stair sets are all fair game in the e es of a skateboarder. +he wa a skater uses his environment is what sets the professionals and amateurs apart. +he credibilit of a skater, how !legit", or their !authenticit " as a skateboarder, is based upon their dedication and knowledge of skateboarding #'eal, 'eck , and Wheaton.$ 1ne&s image as a skateboarder comes from doing ones own thing and their love for skateboarding. +he most idoli3ed skateboarders are the ones that tr their hardest, and are not skateboarding solel as a )ob. While skateboarding will alwa s have the free,will aspect to it, larger companies are tr ing to legitimi3e the sport so that it is more appealing to the mainstream. Skateboard culture is changing. +here are now large skateboard competitions2 high pa ing salaries for top professionals and fanaticism as seen in football, basketball, or baseball. +his goes against what skateboarding culture originall stood for. Skateboarding started out as a response to !a dominant sport culture, as one in which competition, extrinsic rewards, elitism based on skill, and speciali3ation are central components" #'eal.$ Skateboarding was free of form, a mix between artistic expression and athleticism. 'ut the !competitive culture of dominant sports" is exactl what skateboarding is turning

towards. %t is beginning to conform to the rigid structure of the organi3ed sports that ou would see on ES:6. +he reason for this is that large corporate businesses are entering into the skateboard industr and tr ing to turn a profit. %n toda &s world, businesses that see a niche to be filled will fill it. Skateboarding is no exception. Companies such as 6ike, Adidas, 7ed 'ull, and man more come in to the industr with greater resources than man skater owned businesses. +his allows them to promote their products to a greater number of people on a larger scale, thereb bringing more attention to their products. +hese companies take business awa from the skater,operated companies that once thrived within the communit . +his makes it harder on skater,owned,and operated businesses to sta afloat when ounger kids onl see flash advertisements for corporate brands. 6ow obviousl skateboard businesses are primaril run to make mone . +he difference between a skater run operation and a corporate compan are their motivations behind what the do. Skateboard companies are traditionall !inefficient" #4owell.$ +he take risks and release products because the love the creativit or originalit behind an idea, even though it ma not sell well. +he keep current within the communit , and have products that represent what is currentl happening within the culture. Conversel , corporate companies such as 6ike are motivated b mone and profit. +he will onl release

products after months of market research that guarantees the product will turn a profit. +he corporate companies are highl efficient in making mone , which is wh the are so dangerous to the skater run companies, and ultimatel the skateboard culture itself. Along with corporate thinking on the business side, large companies bring capitalist ideologies to skateboarding. Corporate companies view skateboarding as a popular sport, and !when popular cultural activities are structured b corporate bureaucratic social relations, the reproduce the dominant group&s position b promoting and legitimi3ing the values and norms that underlie capitalism" #'eal.$ %n a surve of the local population of skateboarders, % found that the skaters under eighteen ears of age were supportive of the recentl made competitive aspect of the culture, while older skaters disagreed with the movement in that direction #personal surve .$ So when these corporate companies, such as Mountain ;ew and 7ed 'ull, put on large televised skateboard competitions with huge pri3es and flash advertisements, the give outsiders and newcomers to the sport the idea that skateboarding is about competition and winning. +hese televised competitions frame skateboarders as !athletes" and put them on a pedestal, seemingl inaccessible to the regular skater. Conversel , one could argue that televising skaters, holding large competitions, and overall increased exposure is better for skateboarding as a whole. When people see skateboarding on

television, the want to give it a tr . %ncreased participation means more goods are being purchased, which increases the amount of mone coming into the skateboard industr . With a greater amount of mone to be had, competition increases as companies scramble to make products that more people will bu . +his leads to the production of higher (ualit skateboards and accessories, which help make skateboarding more en)o able from a rider&s standpoint. +hese goods are also made into st les that are more mainstream2 even non, skateboarders will bu products from skateboard companies. As a result of increased capital in the industr , companies are able to sponsor more skaters and put out an increased amount of media content for the communit to view. A large aspect of skateboarding is that the professional teams put together full,length videos featuring all of their riders as a showcase of their individual st les. 6ow that the have more mone , the videos are becoming larger and of better (ualit . +he cinematograph is at its best right now, and it onl continues to get better with the increased presence of skateboarding in social media. Since these large companies aren&t originall for skateboarders, the tr to legitimi3e themselves within the culture b building skate parks in the communit . +here are now more skate parks than ever before. +hese parks are great places for organi3ing communit events, and collaborating on new ideas. +here are rules and safet

regulations to keep skaters safe, and the government safe from lawsuits. Skateboarding is now the most accessible it has ever been, but that does not necessaril mean the culture is at its best. +he problem here is that skateboarding is not what corporate interests are tr ing to make it, legitimi3ed and conformed within mainstream societ . *rom a skateboarder&s perspective, it makes no sense to legitimi3e the act of skateboarding as it is alread legitimi3ed within itself. As was stated earlier, skateboarding is !freedom" #personal surve .$ Skateboarders don&t re(uire strict rules or guidelines set b outside parties, those come from within one&s self. And while the salaries from corporate sponsorships allow man professionals to earn a generous living, man are critical of the sponsors because the are !)ust tr ing to get a piece of it." Skateboarders would rather support companies that have shown a !long term commitment to the sport," rather than some compan tr ing to profit off of them #'eal and Wheaton.$ Skateboarding is not about winning and being the best. <ou receive support of our peers for doing what ou do and being ourself, not for being better than others at something. :eople outside of the culture have asked me who the better skater is within m group of friends, and % never know how to answer. We all have our different st les and are good at different things. At 7oosevelt Skate :ark in San =ose, California, ou will not find an semblance of competition. %t is a

supportive environment that fosters personal growth, and acting in one&s own best interest #personal observation.$ Skateboarding resists structure b having !open participation rather than elite competition," which is wh it is an attractive alternative to man mainstream sports #'eal.$ +his is also the reason wh people become so infatuated with

their skateboards. +he intrinsic motivation to keep riding comes within the first few minutes of stepping on a skateboard. +he exhilaration one feels is immediate. %t comes from the movement of the ground around ou, the wind blowing across our face, and the smile that stretches from ear to ear. +he motivation to keep moving forward, to get up when ou&re down, comes from one&s own desire to feel the freedom stepping on a skateboard gives them. :ersonall , skateboarding is an escape from realit that allows me to forget about m worries and fixate m attention on m environment. As a skateboarder, % do not let m ever changing and unpredictable environment fa3e me. % react and !flow," which can be described as !peak performance, elation and transcendence" #4edderson and Seifert.$ +he obstacles that stand in m wa are simpl ob)ects upon which % can hone m skills. As the act of skating is an individual&s reaction to their environment, skateboarders as an entit will persist in the face of large companies negativel influencing the skateboard culture. +he corporate presence will not be leaving skateboard industr an time

soon, but true skateboarding will continue to thrive amongst the changing culture. +hings will change for skateboarders, music will evolve, and fashion trends will continue to make their wa into the mainstream. 'ut no matter how far things stra from what the once were, skateboarding will alwa s continue to be about the personal )ourne that brings us skateboarders together as a communit .

Works Cited 'eal, 'eck , and Wheaton, 'elinda. >?@eeping %t 7ealA Subcultural Media and the ;iscourses of Authenticit in Alternative Sport.>

International Review for the Sociology of Sport. BC. #D00B$E -FF, -G/. Web. - 1ct. D0-B. 'eal, 'eck . >Articles ;is(ualif ing the 1fficialE An Exploration of Social 7esistance +hrough the Subculture of Skateboarding.> Sociology of Sport Journal. -D.B #-..F$E DFD,D/G. Web. C. 4edderson, and Seifert, +. >%ntrinsic Motivation And *low %n SkateboardingE An Ethnographic Stud .> =ournal 1f 4appiness Studies --.B #D0-0$E DGG,D.D. Academic Search :remier. Web. 1ct. D0-B. 56ame 7edacted8. :ersonal %nterview. DC 1ctober D0-B. 4owell, 1. n.d. n. page. HhttpEIIskateboarding.transworld.netI-0000-DDB0InewsIskatebo

arding,though,corporate,america,we,are,inefficient,and,proudIJ. 9urper, . 6.p., n. d. F 6ov D0-B. HhttpEIIwww.)enkemmag.comIhomeID0-DI--ID/Ihow, corporations,are,changing,skateboarding,and,wh ,it,mattersIJ. 7ogers, 7ichard A. >*rom Cultural Exchange +o +ransculturationE A 7eview And 7econceptuali3ation 1f Cultural Appropriation.> Communication Theory (105032 3! -/.K #D00/$E KGK,F0B. Communication " #a$$ #e%ia Complete. Web. F 6ov. D0-B. Simons, Will. :ersonal 1bservation. DK 1ctober D0-B. Simons, Will. :ersonal Surve . D0 1ctober D0-B