Form Vs. Function

Well it seems that my post on the Slovenian quadrupedal skateboarder has ruffled a few feathers on the message board that we used to call our comments page. (Not a diss, I'm actually stoked on the amount of comments we get.) It seems every time I make fun of any skater on here such as Richie Jackson, William Spencer, and the Slovenian William Spencer, we always get a lot of comments by people arguing over the fact that this type of skating is original and creative, and should be applauded. But as Raddical Sabbatical stated "Skateboarding is about form.", a statement I couldn't agree with more unless it was more eloquently stated by Spod in saying "Just because something's hard doesn't make it viable. Hell, rape ain't easy but it doesn't make it right." So since this is my blog and you guys generally read what I write, please indulge me while I write you all a short essay on form vs. function.

Skateboarding of course is a "sport" that not only thrives, but depends on creativity. Where would we be without people like Natas and Gonz who had the ability to look at the streets differently then their contemporaries? Where would skateboarding be as a whole if there weren't people involved in it who were willing and able to break away from the norms and push the activity in a new direction? We'd be fucked. We'd be confined to a boring and stale sport that's unable to progress like rollerblading or snowboarding. So creativity and originality is good, yes? Yes, of course.

However, it seems a common fallacy for people to believe that ALL creativity and originality is inherently good. Skateboarding has a very unspoken and undefined set of rules as to what is acceptable in the sport and what is not. More often than not, the things deemed unacceptable are done so based on the fact that they look like shit. Why do you think people are so quick to describe skateboarding as an "art form"? (Personally I think doing that is corny, pretentious, and self-aggrandizing but hey, I'm a curmudgeon.) People do this because skateboarding is an activity that yes, thrives and relies on creativity and originality, but even more so is an activity that thrives and relies on aesthetically pleasing elements. Think of all the most favoured skaters throughout our short history. All of the those who are most revered are put in that position not necessarily because they could do the craziest trick ever (although that doesn't hurt), but because whatever they did, they looked good doing it. This is why a large majority of skateboarders would agree that they would rather see Gino ollie up a curb than see Ronson Lambert do a nollie heelflip tailslide shove it to tailslide pop up to switch crooks bigger spin 270 out on a ledge. This is the reason that pros like Austin Stephens (and even going as far back as Lance Mountain) can be pros even though their actual skills on the board may not be all that groundbreaking.

So enough of the fancy talk, right? In simple terms, creativity is good, but only if it looks good. There's this guy in my city who used to skate all the time, but now shows up to the skatepark about 4 times a summer and every single time he shows up, he does a 50-50 on the ledge, jumps off of his board, jumps on to a handstand on the board while it is still grinding, then does a fingerflip out, usually resulting in an off-balance fakie landing causing him to quickly pivot back to regular. This is creative, yes? Yes. This is original, yes? So since this guy is breaking free from the oppressive shackles of unwritten skateboard rules, should he be applauded and high-fived for it? No. Because it's a stupid fucking trick, and he looks like heinous horse shit. I hate that motherfucking dog-faced monkey-ass bastard.

Case in point, back to our Slovenian friend. Can any reader out there actually try and tell me this looks good?

Once again: "Hell, rape ain't easy but it doesn't make it right."

Just because you are doing something different doesn't make it good. For example the various tricks done where he crosses his feet in different directions, and then does flip tricks. This definitely does make the trick harder, but does it make it look better? Quite the opposite. It makes it look horrible. It's like those dudes who do manuals and then take their hat off and pass it through their legs whilst manualing, only to replace the chapeau to their head before landing. Okay, yeah that makes the trick harder, but you look like a fucking retard doing it.

Get the fuck outta my face with that shit.

So, as I've stated, creativity and originality isn't always a good thing. But obviously it's not always a bad thing either. You have to find the proper balance between pushing the envelope, and looking good. For a perfect example look at Kyle Leeper.

When his section came out in Transworld's Subtelties, he made a pretty big impact on the skate world, not only because he skated things creatively and originally in his own way, but also because he looks damn good doing it. Just look at how much footage you see nowadays of people skating the curved insides of planter ledges, and you can attribute that all to Leeper. It is possible to combine the functionality of progression, and the form of style. So give credit where credit is due, and the rest of these kooks.... well, fuck 'em.

Thanks for allowing me to share my point of view and stay tuned for a lengthy essay on how ledge combo tricks suck because they looked like shit in the early 90s and they still look like shit. (Note: I actually will probably never get around to writing that. You're welcome.)