Fisheye?

I'm guessing you're shooting with a 7d or t2i which means you have a 1.6x and a normal "wide angle" like a 28 or 24 will be too tight. You want 20mm or less, my buddy uses the 17-40 for follows on 17 and says its perfect.

you only HAVE to have a fisheye if you, personally, decide you HAVE to have that effect. If you don't like the fishy effect, a wide angle is easier to do follows with because shooting wide will make shake and other unintentional movement less apparent. If you are a boss and want to shoot longer, go for it, but it won't be as easy and will produce a different shot. If you're planning on doing a lot of follow cam shots, getting a wide zoom, like the one evan suggested will be a good idea, because you can zoom in on the deck of jumps or if you are posting up with a tripod.

It all depends on the shot you want, how skilled you are, how much money you have, and personal preferences.

you pretty much nailed it man, because im hoping that in the next few months i'll have enough cash for a t2i, and i have Canon's 17-40 L. with the crop factor that works out to about 28mm at 17(for the full frame equivalent). what camera does your friend have?

7D.