PINEAPPLE
"Freestyle is happening again...breaking out because people are burned out on
the park scene. Most people just skate the streets now, it's more fun and who wants
to hang around some funky little park.
FREESTYLE BY DEFINITION
A lot of media mongrels are hip to
freestyle as an emerging trend. Con-
glomerates like Coca-Cola and Kodak
place freestyle in their new TV ads. NBC
still reruns Coleman and Peralta's
streetstyle intro to the Mr. Merlin vid fest.
Sages of the skate industry wonder just
how big it's going to be? Somewhere in the
remote background you can hear their
conversation. "Shit, manufacturers Brand
X, Brand Y, and Brand Z already have full
freestyle programs. We'd better jump on
the bandwagon soon. Who can we get? Do
we have any obsolete buy-ups we can cut
down for decks? How about bogus
wheels?"
Get the picture?...Mr. Big isn't into
freestyle yet because he fails to grasp the
very nature of the activity. He's worried
about "last time," not this time. Mr. Big is
too smart to put himself on the line
because, after all, THIS IS A BUSINESS.
What Mr. Big doesn't realize is that
skateboarding in general and freestyle in
particular will thrive with or without him.
Freestyle is just emerging from a five-year
total media blackout and it's far stronger
than ever. In fact, it can be argued that it
thrives because it's foremost proponents
have pursued their maniacal quest with fun
as their only motivation. The few manufac-
turers who have supported freestyle in the
last few years deserve credit for their
foresightedness. Fortunately for the
sport/art as a whole, many other new
innovative products are being developed
by freestyle-aware individuals. The bottom
line is if the Mr. Bigs don't get their acts in
line they may soon find themselves billed
as "Señor Smalls."
So, what is freestyle anyway? Is it the
ultimate form of urban anarchy and
suburban subterfuge, or is it an organized
form of competition which is judged in a
similar manner to ice skating? It is both and
it is neither. What matters initially is that it
is fun and infinitely adaptable. Freestyle is,
well...yours free and it can be done
anytime, anyplace, etc. Some authorized
agents now differentiate between freestyle
and streetstyle. Streetstyle, they offer, is
the ultimate form, the ideal solution. It's the
synthesis of high performance freestyle
maneuvers and vertical assault patterns
GROUPE
which are imposed on any conceivable
skating surface. Streetstyle is whatever
you want it to be. You can shred in a
four-foot-square area or you can decimate
an entire block. Freestyle on the other
hand can also be loosely defined as any
activity that takes place outside of
"intended" areas. Sound open-ended?
It is since freestyle and streetstyle have
no formal patterns or strict dictates to
adhere to. The skater determines his/her
definition as they roll. It all evolves as
personal performance in public places.
"A lot of the new kids don't have any
style, they all skate like computerized
robots.
LIBRES D'ARTISTA
Somewhere just past Son of Sam, the
phone rang. Olson was in the kitchen
raiding and I was in the front nodding.
Rough nights yield even rougher days.
Seems like it must be two years back or so
in the "Action Now for a few dollars more"
phase. Phoneman stated his case: (1) he
was from OUTSIDE Magazine, (2) he was
looking for Bulky, (3) he wanted to shoot
the man in a skatepark, and (4) he had
money. Number 4 got Olson's attention
and in a short time Steve, his brother, and
two she guests soaked this media boy for
a five hundred buck dinner. Coincidentally,
Olson refused to be photographed in a
skatepark for the reason that he only
skates the streets. Bulky even offered to
compromise and meet in a sewer, but the
Outsider passed for fear of damaging his
two hundred dollar Swiss hiking boots. Life
isn't magazine covers, media relations,
Pepsi demos or fame strictly for fortune.
Olson still skates the streets.
It's 1964. Bruce Logan, the atypical
prototype for the freestyle cause is
performing another demo in another
supermarket parking lot. Being a member
of the fabled Makaha Skate time, Brucie is
already assured a place in the Hall of
Skatefame. Logan doesn't care. It's 1974,
and Logan's still skating. In another two
years he'll be the biggest manufacturer in
skateboarding and win the world freestyle
title on TV in the L.A. Sports Arena. But
Bruce doesn't care. It's 1984, fame and
fortune have faded temporarily, it's the art
that matters and Logan skates as good as
he ever has on a pump slab in a North
County fast gas station. Maybe Brucle will
step forward and re-claim his title, the big
bucks and heavy exposure. Maybe not;
you see, Logan doesn't really think much
about all of that. All he really cares about is
skating.
Mr. Pine de Lindo Vista 13 is cruising low
and slow, a black and white pulls him over,
subjects him to the typical harassment and
writes him up. For good measure, the cop
leans on Pine's hydraulic switch and blows
out his left system, disabling the car. Is it
beyond the law enforcement official's
intellectual capabilities when a hardcore
Vato reaches into the trunk, snaps a skate
and proceeds to further violate the public
health and welfare on the sidewalk?
"Scrapes, hops, side to sides, those are
the new tricks. You know anybody who
wants to buy my ride for $2,500, I'm
taking a loss."
PHOTOS C.R. STECYK III
style (stil) 1. The way in which something is
said or done. 2. The combination of distinc-
tive features of literary or artistic expression
characterizing a particular person, school, etc.
3. Sort: kind; type: a style of furniture &
Individuality expressed in one's actions and
tastes. 5. An elegant mode of existence: live in
style &The fashion of the moment. 7. A
customary manner of presenting printed ma-
teril, including usage, punctuation, spelling.
typography, and arrangement. 8. The slender
stalk of a flower pistil styled, styling. 1. To
call or name; designate. 2. To design: style
hair Lands, writing instrument, style.]
-styler
styl-ish (stilish) ad. In step with current fash
ion: modish; smart: elegant. -stylish-ly adv
-stylish-ness
styl-ist (stilist) One who cultivates an artful
style, esp. a writer.
sty-is-tic (sti-lis'tik) a. Of or relating to
style, esp. literary style. -sty-list-cal-ly adv
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