3.29.98

Looking Back: Kickin' It Old School with David

I was just looking for something to take my mind off of the fact that I had just mashed another $150 rim on my Diamondback BMX.

I was a fifth grade student with no access to my bank account, little income until next weekend, and I felt like it was the end of the world.

April Vacation seemed to drag like a boring school day. If someone said 'Lance Mountain', I would have thought of a ski resort. So when my good friend Jody told me that I could borrow his 'Lance Mountain', I did not know whether to thank him or call him a wiseass.

I went to his garage to get this mysterious Mountain and to ride it home.

The next day I sold my BMX and blew the dust off of my generic old plank. One week later I got my first real deck from a company called BBC.

I have never been the same.
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Everybody started out at a different time, for a different reason. For me I guess it was just...luck. A decade, a million ollies, and a thousand cuts and bruises later, I look back and never regret a day of it. The friends, the girls, the slams, the embarrassments. You had to take it all in stride.

Skating was a lifestyle for me, and is probably now for more young people than ever before. It is important for those of us who still tinker in the skate world to respect and to encourage the younger generation. Heck, I remember the days when police harassment was not heard of because no adults even knew what a skateboard was. Granted the music, the parties, the graffiti were all there too, it was just that nobody bothered to equate skaters with evil.

It is sad that today's kids face so much in school, at malls, and in public places in general. So many people are prejudging skaters as reckless, drug-crazed loonies. There may be a couple here and there, but generally skating is and has always been about one thing: FUN!
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    This is my first column for this zine, and I intend to make it a regular contribution. I just wanted to cover a couple of thoughts off the top of my head, and next column will be much better, I promise. Anyone who wants to email me can do so (toscano2@ix.netcom.com) and will get a reply. I still own over 2000 items from back in the day, and I trade/buy/sell. Drop me a line. I love you all!

-Dave