TALKING ED
Guest Editorial w/ Stacy Peralta
Every month I receive anywhere from 40 to 50 letters from skateboarders
all over the world. Some write to fill me in on the happenings in their cities,
some write to fill me in on a new skating spot, and some write to me with ques-
tions. One subject that has come up many times is: what do you tell your par-
ents, relatives, and neighbors, etc., when they can't understand why you
skateboard. The frequent question from them is: "You skateboard? Aren't you
a little old for that, isn't that for little kids?" It is understandable why they ask
questions like that; it's obviously because they know zero about the sport. But
it is not understandable why they don't give it a try. You see, a lot of people
will see skaters terrorizing a ramp, and they won't stretch their minds any
further than that. They only see what is apparent, and sometimes not even
that.
When a skateboarder is riding a ramp or freestyling, etc., he is using a great
part of his mind. The level of concentration that it takes for someone to ride a
ramp is immense. You can' just jump on and ride, you have to gear your mind
up. You have to form a bond between your mind and body to be able to per-
form moves such as aerials, double kick flips, etc., and to form this bond isn't
easy. It takes intense concentrated effort and work. Every skater knows how
hard it is to learn a radical move. It's not just the body doing all the work (which
many fail to realize), it's the mind zooming at high speed with the body follow-
ing its orders. You've got to be sharp and quick upstairs to be able to pull off
state of the art tricks. You can ask any athlete in the world and get the same
answer; if your concentration is off, you are off, no matter how good you are
physically. So skateboarding is definitely not just a physical pastime. It is a
sport that requires total intensity of the mind combined with split second coor-
dination of the body.
I am 25 years old now, and I still get questions like, "You skateboarded, do
you still? What people misunderstand is that through skateboarding I've
learned how to concentrate, how to achieve difficult challenges, how to com-
pete successfully, and most importantly, how to get successfully from one
stage to another. Everything I've learned in skateboarding can be applied to
newer things for the rest of my life. Many times, when I come up against crit-
ical situations in my life, I look back to when I was competing regularly to see
what strategy I used then to overcome that particular situation. When I think
back, I usually remember a similar time to the one I am presently having and
I use what worked then for the situation now at hand. It all comes back, you
just have to apply it to a different situation in your life.
Sometimes your mom and dad can overlook what you are really doing
when they see you skating. They don't realize how much effort you are putting
into it. You don't just become good at skateboarding, you work at it and it
takes a tremendous amount of energy to do it right. By skating hard and per-
sistent, you become good and you accomplish many things. Once you're
good at one thing, you can easily be good at another, you just apply the same
formula to get there.
The act of skateboarding alone is more than one can explain. It's an incom-
parable feeling to any other sport because of its multiple dimensions. As your
skating progresses, so does the ability of your mind to think and react quick.
Skateboarding is much more than it's credited with being.
Next time you're in a heated session with close friends, observe how fast
your mind starts to think when you really start pushing it, you'll blow your own
mind in amazement.
TRIckder
LIVE TO
SKATE, SKAT
TO LIVE,
By
KEITH
THIS ON HILLS
RAT
AMPS
STREET
MANUVers
FULL ON AND ALL OVER IT
I just want to say that the skate scene in
Orlando is picking up thanks to you guys.
We have some great halfpipes, pools and
a good street scene. I just talked to Henry
(Black Flag) on the phone and he's doing.
great (of course), but the hardcore scene
here is lame. New Wave is just starting to
happen with the trendy geeks. However,
we saw Bad Brains last night in Daytonal
and they cooked. The next morning we
caught some four foot perfection at N.S.B.
inlet. I'm moving to Reno in Jan., so I hope
to see some hardcore action there. Seven
Seconds and Jello rule all. New Wave
sucks! Stale! Full-on,
Matt Donnelly
Orlando, FL
BACK 'N ACTION 'N ARKANSAS
A skating bro of mine, Jeff Samuels,
showed me THRASHER mag. It's great,
blazes to the max. Before then I was
bummin' out, no mags, no competitions
(my main incentive), I was also suffering
from a bad spine. Your magazine brought
me back to life. I dragged out an old Hobie
24", now I'm back in training and on my
skate diet again. Saw Rodney on the
cover, fantastic. I got the privilege of
skating with him three years ago at
Sensation Basin; he blazed then, total
precision. He might remember that tall
Arkansan who freestyled with him? I've
always liked Powell equipment, so I
ordered a Mutt deck. set-up, airmail. I have
a secret freestyle spot down below my
house. It's a picnic shelter by the creek,
totally hidden and unused by anyone,
except me. I skate to Bob Marley, Cars,
Devo, Men at Work. Soon I'll be ready to
compete (in this area I'm ready now; for
down south I need to practice a bit more)..
By the way, for all you older skaters out
there, I'm twenty-two, so pull your head
out. Better get skating, and I don't mean
dwiddly roller skates either. Ever since I
could walk, I've been on wheels, skate-
boarding is by far the most radical. Please.
print any local contest information around
my state (Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri,
etc), and I'll see ya there. Have a Vaurnet
Day.
Scott Graham
V-BOYS
Van Buren, AR
DEAD WOOD CITY IS ALIVE TOO
Dudes, your mag is great but I think that
there's too much punk!
I'm not saying punk is bad or anything.
but you could put more skate stuff than
punk. Well, anyway, I'm up here in
Redwood City and there's Thrasher up
here too, but not that much. The only thing
that we got is a spillway and a local pool
but the bitch that lives there doesn't let us
skate. My friends and I are thinking of
building a halfpipe. Casey Korsak is one
rad skater who wants to help build it too.
We got a great place in this field by my
skate buddy John Krantz's house. Bob
Stangalhini, Brent Kidwell, and Pete
Lutree all skate too. So, you see, there is
skating in "Deadwood City." I have a
Hirsch, 169 Indys, Varifléx rails and skate
radly. Stop skate harassment. Later
skaters,
Matt Story
Redwood City, CA
THUNDER
trucks
ORDER DIRECT:
THUNDER Blaster
$15.00 ea.
9% axle width
6% hanger width
THUNDER Charger
8½" axle width $14.50 ea.
5% hanger width
Send check or money order to: P.O. Box 32 Vista Grande Station Daly City, CA 94016
Downhill..?
ROGER HICKEY DOWNHILL CONCAVE
DEALERS INQUIRIES WELCOME.
SANDBOARDS and SNOBOARDS AVAILABLE
SKATERS-Send stamped, self-addressed
envelope for free sticker & Info.
madrid
P.O. Box 2845 Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 (213) 921-0133