30 THR
5. You are rolling.
Products are your
life. You get 'em,
ride 'em and
dump 'em. You
are so far into it
that you may
have lost the in
tial feeling that
skating gave you.
6. The company guys are
there for you, and you
are there for them.
You call and bobble on
about new tricks you
learned and who on
the team sucks. When
you hang up, someone
else will call and talk
shit about you. They
are looking for some-
thing marketable so
they can whore you
off to the world.
7. Looks are everything, and
without the right threads,
you are just like everyone
else. Thus, you trade, steal
or buy the freshest duds
on the street so you don't
have to skate because you
already look like a skater.
MK
11. Anitude is next.
To most skaters,
attitude means
respect. Come
off hard and
you look cool.
The thing is,
kids are like
elephants,
they remember
everything. So if
a kid thinks you
suck, you suck.
12. With all the money in the world, you start
spending it on things that make you look
cool: tattoos, cars, guns, tunes, motorcycles,
anything that someone once told you was
"fresh." You waste the money as fast as you
make it, but ask any pro skater about paying
taxes. They will either cry, sigh or fly, think-
ing about the money that they lost or owe.
8. Coverage
is also
mandatory.
If nobody
knows
who you
are, why
would they
buy your
board?
of these
years, you
are ready
to jump
into the
pre ranks.
When you
top of the
world, the
only way
to go is
down.
TEboardin
TE
DUS
9. The end
starts when
things hap
pen beyond
your con-
trol. Con-
tests don't
countin
board sales
but they do
tell how you
tick under
pressure.
Everything
is at stake
and all
eyes
are on you.
Money.
teams and
tricks mean
nothing
when you
bail your
final run.
1095
13. After a few
years on the
scene, you real-
ize it ain't all it's
cracked up to
be. You will do
anything to
make money. If
it means selling
records, or even
(eegads) a job,
you realize that
the old adage,
"Whatever it
takes," is
about life.
14. After years of being
whored by someone else,
you decide it's time to
start your own thing.
So you come up with a
funny name, get some
protégés, and you are
off. The only thing that
is hard to get used to
is writing checks as
opposed to cashing them.
15. If you are lucky enough to get out with only a battered
body, you may become a "legend." You show up at all
the trade shows and babble incessantly about the old
days and, "Let me tell you a little story about me and the
time that ..." After awhile, people see you coming and
avoid you like the plague.
16. The stardom is over and you're a nobody with a
beat-up old deck, a warm brew and the clothes on
your back. You lived, loved and learned the hard
way. But if you are lucky, you still have enough
brain cells and memories to take with you to a
painful, decrepit death.
10. No matter how good you are, nobody will judge you the way
you judge yourself. A lot of pros will stay away from the con-
test scene thinking that they are to good for it. "How could all
those slash dogs even understand my double nollie heelflip
varial?" Hey folks, staying on wins contests.