The Dead Horse
August 31st, 2006 by Crza under archive, links, skateboarding
I went over to my good pal Brinks site and saw this article on the war between Nike and Consolidated. THEN…I went over to the consolidated site and found this link to adbusters which was an article on Nike and it’s insertion into skateboard culture. I use to skate in Nikes when I was a youngen cause I couldn’t afford Airwalks or Vision Street Wear. It wasn’t cause it was cool it was because I was broke. So when Nike tried one more time to skate and did it with a shoe I recognized I wasn’t mad at them. Fuck, they even saved some of my homies stores from going out of biz. I’m not sure how I feel about this great debate (Corporations vs Subcultures). Maybe their slick marketing has broken through my purist ideals. Well with nothing being said (those last sentences were so random), here’s what I think has fucked skateboarding prison style. Spread’em boys here’s another Hot Crew list:
Events and other Crap that killed skateboarding:
- X-games and Gravity Games
- Skate magazines placing non skate company ads
- Tony Hawk Video Games
- All skate shoe companies
- 411
- Alternative Marketing Firms made up of skateboardings elite and influencers
- Pac Sun and big mall chains
- Thrasher doing a Nike Blazer model
- Red Bull, Sobe
- Andy Mac
- Agents
- Rocco
- Stunt type events
- Money
I’m not hating on these things or people it’s just my observations. I’m sure some of you have stuff to add to this lovely list.
September 1st, 2006 at 12:49 am
Andy Mac single-handedly clobbered what was left of skateboarding with a 360 judo air kick to the head.
September 1st, 2006 at 1:12 am
Rocco made it great too…admit it…pulled skateboarding out of its last mainstream slump. You know, Powell, Vision, Swatch Impact tour, 3 or 4 dudes running the industry. We need another early-nineties Rocco revolution right now…
September 1st, 2006 at 1:17 am
Come to think of it…what about a list of companies who could save skateboarding right now, or take it in a new and better direction if they tried, directed their efforts more effectively or had more power/influence?
Baker, emerica, enjoi, Consolidated, Alien Workshop, Habitat, Girl, Chocolate, all DLX brands, Independent…I dunno, just a thought of who is on the level these days…
September 1st, 2006 at 1:22 am
PS…the smaller guys, like 5Boro, Instant Winner or even companies that don’t exist yet can take it back too.. etc…once upon a time, World/Rocco, Element, Flip, Alien, Toy Machine, Zero, Real, etc etc were as small as you guys…
September 1st, 2006 at 1:58 am
Oh wait, but I didn’t bitch and moan about what ruined skateboarding!!
I agree with Craig’s list (haha Craigslist!) except for Rocco.
1. Sneakerhead culture
2. All PR and Marketing departments in the entire industry
3. People working in the industry who don’t skateboard or no longer skateboard
4. Drugs
5. Political correctness, censorship in mags and skate media, fear of lawsuits, fear of parents and fear of lost revenue (ads or otherwise).
6. Rocco selling out and leaving us (I dunno if me and Craig think he ruined it in the same manner. The early Rocco years, pre Flameboy, ruled and that’s where I feel he changed skateboarding for the better)
7. Flynt buying Big Brother
8. Skaters allowing Nike to be successful in skateboarding
9. Blogging and everyone thinking they have something critical, valuable, worthwhile or epic to say about skateboarding
Chomp on that…
September 1st, 2006 at 2:06 am
Oh yea…
10. Limited edition anything
September 1st, 2006 at 4:08 pm
hi again. skateboarding isn’t dead if you still skate.
i was involved with consolidated for about a year and left before the nike thing hit the fan.
the consolidated thing bums me out because birdo is a cool dude but he totally jacked his best newer riders like olu and seth because they got hooked up on nike. I can’t blame them because consolidated was giving those dudes like 80 dollars a month, not really touring or supporting them at all. they lost nesser and clint for the same reasons. they totally harshed on their art dude, who worked there for 7 years and pretty much ran the company.
sure maybe skating shouldn’t be the weird semi-pro-sport-rock-star thing, but all the other janky companies at least build a mini ramp in the warehouse so their riders have someplace to skate when it is raining. the consolidated ramp when it existed was actually someone else’s ramp, and when that guy didn’t want it anymore, the cube took it down so that birdo could build expand his (not skate related) screen printing shop in the space.
so anyway, I don’t have an issue with nike because the shoes skate well and they give their riders the opportunity to skate more by actually paying them and giving them the opportunity to tour. I do have an issue with consolidated because they fucked over some legit, serious, “skate to live” type dudes by giving them the boot over some stupid imaginary political ideology.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:54 pm
I didnt give anybody the boot
September 2nd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
In terms of Nike I could care less that they are in skateboarding. They do allow their riders the ability to make a living and they do support the skate shops (and I mean the small ones). When most shoe companies were selling their shit every where possible Nike came in and gave the little guy a product only they could have and wouldn’t be sold in the mall. Nike sort of bitched slapped everyone else and made them realize we need to get back to the ones that put us on the map (the little shops). Before I get smashed for this post realize this, I’m aware of how big they are and why they are doing this. I’m also aware that 6.0 is to bring a limited type SB product to the malls. They marketing and strategy is well thought out and scary. In the end skateboarders (not industry dudes) have to make the choice who is allowed in and it seems most kids are cool with Red Bull, Nike, Boost and all that other crap.
September 2nd, 2006 at 3:49 pm
-Snowboarding.
Honestly, when that shit got huge in the 90’s & made it into the ‘98 Olympics, every jock who used to make fun of skaters got into it. And every other jackass in the world assumed skateboarding & snowboarding where the same thing. Then it also became big business when Burton’s brand got out & the skate (& skate shoe) companies realized they could make loot.
September 2nd, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Good call on the SNOWBOARDING…
that is the gayest shit ever…
September 2nd, 2006 at 5:11 pm
You know what? I blame Marilyn Manson and Slayer for all this. And Ozzy. I blame metal!
September 2nd, 2006 at 5:12 pm
And I blame Howard Stern too. We need to clean up America and go to church more.
September 2nd, 2006 at 6:35 pm
snowboarding is pretty fun, though… too bad its so crazy expensive!
maybe i’m just lame cuz I grew up in BC…
what’s killing skateboarding now is track bikes. I mean, even huf, morf and jovante quit skating so they become pro track bikers!
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:19 pm
I don’t pay too much attention to the industry side of skateboarding. I read a few of the magazines. I pretty much just look at the layout, design and photos though. My only problem with Nike is that they made those shoes popular. I used to buy The same styles before they were “revamped” at marshalls for $20. The blazer lowtops are grippy as fuck. Who cares. If you like to skate in them then go for it. If you like to skate in Vans…then just buy ANY other companies shoes. Hello. Everybody is so biting Vans right now. But who care because Vans sold out too right? DC sold out to Quiksilver. Business is business. Unfortunately skating is not real sacred.
Holy shit.
I just ranted.
September 2nd, 2006 at 9:59 pm
random guy is right. Track biking is the new skating…hahahaha. That would be amazing if Huf became a pro tack dude. Those dudes wouldn’t sport the spandex though…pussies. Snowboarding was a good call. Snowboarding did blow it for skateboarding. It’s fun as hell but the whole lifestyle is corny and for the upper class. There’s no street cred in snowboarding, period.
September 2nd, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Matt, you are right skating is not sacred. It’s biz as usual.
September 3rd, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Hip Hop killed skateboarding.
September 7th, 2006 at 8:18 am
There’s too many parties, not even real work. Reroute some of that party budget into your web department. The internet will save skateboarding!
September 7th, 2006 at 8:27 am
’streetwear’ companies stealing skate logos, and just putting their name on it, charging $40 bucks for a damn tee. what?
September 7th, 2006 at 8:28 am
kids who skated when they were 9, starting ’streetwear’ labels when they are 20something and saying the label is skate influenced. YA HAVENT’ SKATED IN 20 SOMETHING YEARS FATTY.
September 7th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
but vox is ok
September 8th, 2006 at 8:57 am
kookincros
September 9th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/video/mutualfundrpt/10306114.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
September 10th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Pete, that video made me throw up in my mouth.
October 7th, 2006 at 10:21 am
You guys are retarded… bitter fucktards… just go skate.
October 10th, 2006 at 9:25 am
Retarded?…yes. Bitter?…maybe. Skate?…some times.
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:19 am
Those Nike shoes were most likely made by a young person from the age of 5-14 living in Indonesia, Honduras, China or Haiti. Nike the company where its employees face both health and safety hazards. I’m still surprise that a number of people don’t know about Nike Sweatshops. Sad!
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:59 am
I think when NIke got blasted years ago for making their shoes in sweatshops they quickly changed factories. They have all this info saying they don’t do that anymore. Is it true?…who knows. I think if we all knew how the products we buy were made we’d all be sad.
October 24th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
All the hype around skating is hilarious. And embarassing. But I love it.
[for example] i found a vol-com sweatshirt at the skatepark the other day. sign from god: yes. i will sell it on ebay.
[. . .] we played t.s.o.l at the skatepark. asked little girl if she knew. pink floyd? yes. My mom has this on her ipod.
[. . .] are you here for the olympic tryouts? me? yes. they start soon. you can still skate now, it’s warm ups. you should try out.
[. . .] you will do what because i am not wearing my helmet?
[. . .] florida. that’s right next to california, right? do you know why they call it gatorade? [end]
October 25th, 2006 at 9:23 am
if you look closely, you can see how they totally used 12 year olds to make nike shoes…