Public perceptions of Skateboarding by way of it's public Role Models...

My Thoughts on professional skateboarders and there jobs as role models. I have had the chance to observe top amateurs and professional both in person and via TV and Video. Of the handful that I have had the chance to interact with in person a couple were viewed from afar in a planned demo situation, which you can't get a good feel for what they may be like. The others I have observed at skate parks. Most of the time they blend in and you may not even notice them. You might find out afterwards and be stoked that you were skating with a pro and how cool or not they were. On the other hand you may know or find out that the guy who was being the cocky loud mouth, with anger management problems, that after failing to land a trick threw a hammer across the park and almost took your head off, was also a pro. Then there are the guys who love skateboarding and are out there promoting the sport and playing the up the functional role that skateboarding can play.

Unfortunately, as with most media coverage, the more shocking and outrageous pro-skaters come to the public’s attention and for better or worse sway the perceptions of skateboarding and skateboarders. I want to touch on a few skaters and how they have shown themselves in the public eye. Two pro-skaters that have been in the public eye for few years now are Tony Hawk and Bam Margera. Another not so public is Mike Vallely, if I had to say I had a role model for my approach to skateboarding if would be Mike.

Mike Vallely's thoughts on professionalism in skateboarding.

Tony Hawk is now in his late 30's and was the helped to reinvent vert skating in the 80's and still continues to be an innovator in that aspect of skating. Tony's biggest public exposure came when he landed a 900º(2 and a half) spins at the X-Games. He retired from competitive skating but started to expose the public to skateboarding more through his Giant Skate Park Tour on ESPN. This show not only showed skating but a group skaters who were having fun and generally showing pro skaters in a very positive light.

Bam Margera, you may know him from his show on MTV "Viva La Bam" or from his parts on MTV's "Jackass". Bam is a very good pro-skater in his mid 20's. His rise to the public eye did not come about from his skating though. Along with his brothers band he put out a video combining his skating combined with clips of outrageous practical jokes on friends, family and innocent passers by. This lead to his part on "Jackass" and then his own show "Viva La Bam". I can only imagine that many more people have seen or at least heard of Bam and his antics on MTV compared to Tony on ESPN. Although popular with many viewers (even one of my guilty pleasures) many others find these shows disgusting and then they see him skating and draw conclusions that all skaters are like this and "bam!" all skaters get tagged with a bad reputation.

My inspiration for this project was from watching how a pro-skater, Chris Cole, that lives in Langhorne interacted with his friends and other kids at my local park. He wasn't condescending towards them or cursing his head off. He was just skating and even offering advice. The group of skaters that are usually with him give off a positive vibe and no matter what they might do while not skating, kids and parents are going to see and hear them at the parks and hopefully find something to model them selves after in him.

This is Chris Cole.com

Mike Vallely, I'll let him talk for himself and close out my report. If only there were more people in general like Mike the world could be a better place. This is the trailer from his DVD called Drive.