From: byron@athena.mit.edu (Jack Miller)
Subject: Re: watchin' vert skating
Organization: SKaters At Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 03:21:47 GMT

In article <1992Apr15.193349.17609@news.media.mit.edu> mitchy@media.mit.edu (Mitch Henrion) writes:
>
>Wait, did you guys street skate first before you ever saw vert
>skating?  Or was the first time you ever saw vert skating in a video?

	For me, that's a double yes.

>I'm trying to figure out how you could *not* be blown away watching vert
>skating.  Seeing vert skating for the first time (and the second time,
>and the third time, and...) is what made me feel like I HAD to learn
>how to skate--it completely blew me away--it actually *still*
>completely blows me away.  I actually thought that street skating
>looked really boring, and I couldn't figure out why anyone would even
>bother. 

	Hmm, I still don't think vert is that much fun to watch on
video.  Live, it's a whole 'nother chihuahua.  I'd say that while on
video I'd rather see sick flatland than a McTwist, live, I'd rather
see a big ollie-to-fakie than an impossible down five steps.  Weird,
huh.

>Just this year really Halloween Jack and Juggle and Andy have gotten
>me keyed into how great street skating is, and it's a good thing, too,
>now that I don't live in Providence anymore where I used to have free
>or extremely cheap access to several ramps.

	For me, street is whre it all started.  The very concept of a
ramp of any kind for skating was totally foreign to me until I had
been pushing around the city for several months.  (I had finally
gotten a hold of _Thrasher_ in Tower Records.  That was my first
exposure to mini or vert.)  The concept of getting from point A to
point B in a fast, fun, incredibly sick manner and adapting to all
sorts of terrain still pumps my 'nads more than the thought of going
back and forth on a specially-built structure, but I admit I'm much
more stoked about ramps now than I ever thought I would be.

>
>If only I took more time out to skate and wasn't such a chicken at
>times, then maybe I'd get to be about an eighth as good as some of the
>skaters I admire!!  But what the hell, I completely love it no matter
>how slowly I learn or how infrequently I actually get out.  Plus,
>summer is just around the corner and we might be building a ramp on
>campus this summer!  I definitely second what Jack said the other day
>(was it Jack?) that everyone who's at a school where skating is still

	It was Andy, I think.

>allowed should definitely look into getting recognized as an official
>student activity.  When we first started looking into it here I
>thought it seemed pretty dorky and unnecessary except for the fact
>that we wanted to try to get a ramp on campus.  Now, hearing about

	Me too, except I wanted to make t-shirts and stickers.

>all the campuses banning skateboarding, I feel so relieved that we've
>gotten official recognition--also makes me feel better about skating
>our fave spots on campus.

	Speaking of the recent bans, I will soon post the address of
Jamie Balfe, a guy in Pennsylvania (I think) who is publishing a zine
called _Who is God?_ that will deal mostly with skate harrassment.
You should send him anything you can write about your personal
experience and thoughts about the subject via snail mail after I post
the address.  Also send a dollar to get the next issue.

			--Halloween Jack, landing kickflips on street
					  finally, and happy even though
					  Adam Ayer blew me away with 
					  something I can't even describe
					  right after I landed a good one.