Skateboarding

Okay. Skateboarding is a crazy cool form of art. A way to express yourself. I love it. I don't know what I'd do without it. And since we're not completely sure who created it. Thank you so freakin' much for all that you've done. You've changed the lives of millions.

And I would also like to thank (very quickly) those I look up to in the skateboarding world.Thank you to: Andrew Reynolds, Antwaun Dixon, Corey Duffel, Eric Koston...okay lets face it--there are too many to even think about naming.

This is for all the kids who are sick of people harassing them because they're all having fun. Who cares if we're having fun. Its not like you're gonna get paid to kick a few kids out of one little spot. But if you do kick someone out. Don't be a jerk about it.

And people who think its cool to be complete jerks to skaters and "have fun" doing it, get a freakin' life. Just today it was my first day to skate in a long time. I was havin' so much fun just riding. I was landing some pretty cool new gaps we'd found. And we were just walking to another spot, and these rednecks drive right by us and throw a bottle full of water (it was open) right at us. It nearly hit one of my friends and we were all wet after that. They managed to drive by and flip us off.

I had one instance, when I was about 12, where a car full of no-life's drove by me as I was skating. They yelled at me and flipped me off. I gave them a sarcastic thumbs up. I guess they new I was heading to my local skate-park because these people managed to find me. Some wangster got out, walked over into this dark area just as I was turning to walk away, and said "get your a** over here".He said "were you throwin' something up at me?" I replied "Yeah...I was giving you the thumbs up, you know, because you have fun makin' fun of some kid." He said "You wanna go?" and once again I replied to another dumb question "Dude, I'm like 12." He was dumbfounded. "Oh...um...eh...I thought you were older. Well. Don't throw anything up at me like that...because where I'm from you'll get your a** kicked or killed." Wow...this guy freaked me out. I thought I was going to die that night.

I would also like to share my feelings about skateboarding. Do you remember the first time you stepped on a board, and how good and natural it felt? Great feeling isn't it? The first time you step onto a skateboard, you are also stepping into a culture, a new life. A rough crowd? Eh definitely. But there are good kids within this too. Skateboarding is one of the most diverse "sports" in our world. Have you ever seen so many different people in anything before. Skateboarding has a culture that dates back to so many different people. Gonz, Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, Christian Hosoi...and they're all still ripping. These people played a great part in our world. And once again. Skateboarding is one of the most cultural, diverse worlds full of so many things and people. Skateboarding brings people together, who would probably not even want to share oxygen with each other normally.

I would love to play a roll in the lives of other skaters. It'd be so amazing to know that I've psyched a kid up to do somethin' he's never tried, like a stairset or handrail. Or make some father change their mind about skateboarding because I've put a somewhat positive spin on it and influenced one of their kids to skateboard...maybe not even skateboard...but to just do whatever he loves. But I wouldn't mind another skater (haha). Skateboarding isn't just skateboarding. It's fun. It's diverse. It's new friendships. It's art. It's expression. It's cultural. It's amazing. It's love.