*warning*
long rant, but I think you should read it,
especially you kiddies out there
*sub warning*
this is not directed to EVERYONE. but it is directed to most of you
i have been riding along time, and have been involved in freestyle since i was
a lil kid and it first started to come onto the scene (thin K2 poachers, proto
1080s). over the past few years, ive noticed something really disturbing in
this sport. the total loss of personal style.
the state of skiing today is pretty fucking dismal. honestly. does anyone have
any personal opinion on anything anymore? everyone, pros and all you on NS
alike, are just trendy as fuck. when a new idea comes around, people bash it to
hell, shield themselves from it, then, around a year later, it becomes the cool
thing to do. need examples?
lets see.
1 footed or rolling influenced grinds.
this mass of people i am talking about rip this potentially awesome new source
of influence to shreds. instead of embracing the idea that people are trying to
progress skiing and add their own personal style, these styles arnt (or werent)
cool right now. in a year, every one of this group will be trying or doing
them. cause they will be the new cool thing.
Grabs.
every year someone does some cool grab. after then land thier jump, that grab
is all i see for the next year or so.
-truckdrivers.
-octograb
-rockets
nothing against those tricks, but why do people feel that they have to do them
exactly, instead of maybe progressing thier own style?
no poles.
first, no poles is NOTHING new, so dont thing your on the cutting edge for skiing without them.
now, remember last year, how every single one
of you ripped it apart. look at a terrain park now. every single person in
there has lost thier poles. who cares if it does or doesnt look good? its COOL.
neon clothing, specially the solid color suit thing
first, i could care less what people wear, shit, i like neon stuff too. alot
of that gear looks pretty good. but the fact that EVERYONE jumps on that trend,
ugh, its not cool when everyone looks the same!
Ok. now, howbout Kryptons or SPKs?
despite the fact that both are JUST boots, its pretty much impossible to find a
person in the park without them. forget fit, SALOMON IS COMMING OUT WITH
LEATHER ONES!! OMG. now i cant do a damn thing to the boots to actually make
them fit right, but ill look cool as fuck.
I myself have the crosses, and to be 100 percent, im not that impressed. even
after alot of custom work, the flex still feels rather dead. they are fine
boots, but to limit your choices to two or three boots strictly cause they are
cool, is retarded.
Need anymore??
the bottom line is that skiing is becoming self destructive. No one cares about
their personal style. Its all about looking like everyone else. that is BAD
people! Look at skiers like Pollard, Tanner, Candide, Mahre, Jon, Dave Creighton
(totally forgot how to spell it), Vanular,
Favre, etc etc. these skiers, along with a number of others, are unique. You can
see a black silhouette of pretty much any of them skiing, and YOU CAN IDENTIFY
THEM!
Im not saying people shouldn’t do things that make them
happy. If you love to spin your ass off on boxes, then go for it. if you feel
like doin a 1620, go for it. I cant stand stuff like that, but that doesn’t matter.
What matters is people ski for themselves, instead of trying to blend in with
everyone. instead of hating on someone for doing something unique or different (cough, like tight pants cough), just let them do it, or try to appreciate it. we need to stop suppressing creativity, and embrace individuality.
i dunno about you guys, but I started skiing to be different, now all you want to do is be the
same.
