Borden Skate Space City

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84 Skateboarding, Space and the City Constructed Space 85

'Skatehut ' (Rhode Island) with wooden ramps and bowl by Custom Skate Ramps ,168

'Ramp House ' (Carolina Beach, Nor th Carol ina) , 169 'Rotz' (Biddeford, Maine), a lsoby Custom Skate,170'Middle School ' (Wilmington, North Carolina), 171'Charleston

Hangar Bowl' (Charleston, South Carolina) constructed by Payne (4.15), 'Skate Zone'

(Atlanta, Georgia) also constructed by Payne,172and 'Mike McGill's Indoor Skatepark'

(Tampa Bay area, Florida).173A t ot al o f mo re t ha n 1 20 s ka te pa rk s i n a t l ea st 4 3 s ta te s wer e i n o pe ra tio n i n

th e u s i n 199 1-92 , and more than 165 in at least 38 s ta tes in 1997, many of which

were indoor and/or wooden ramp-based fac il it ies. 174 Unlike the 1970s skateparks,

m an y o f t hi s n e w g en er at io n o f s ka te pa rk s wer e o wn ed a nd ma na ge d b y s ka te rs , a

factor which undoubtedly contributed to their success.175Alternatively, some of these

skateparks, such as the 'Kennedy' warehouse fac il ity in San Jose, Cal ifornia, 176the

Powel l-Pera lt a warehouse in Amsterdam 177wi th ramps const ructed by Payne ,178

and another warehouse in Dewsbury, Yorkshire,179were constructed as indoor private

ra mps ope n o nly to clu b members, an a rran gement ado pted mainly to he lp with

financing and insurance costs.

In o ther coun tries, in door r amp -base d ska tepar ks have r ang ed from the

e la bo ra te , s uc h a s 'S ka te Ran ch ' ( Va nc ou ve r, Can ad a) , 1 80 'Ult ra ' ( S6 0 P au lo ,

Brazil), 181'Thomas I. Punkt' (Hamburg, Germany), 182and 'TitusWarehouse' (Munster,

Germany), 183to the moderate, such as 'Simon's Skatepark ' (Dubl in , I re land), 184to

t he v er y b as ic , s uc h a s 'Hob bi es ' ( Ba nd un g, Wes t J av a, I nd on es ia ). 18 5 I n t he UK,

ramp skateparks have included 'Skate Shack' (Barrow-in-Furness),186'Skate & Ride'

(Br is to l) ,187 'Pioneer' (St . Albans) , 'Rock City' (Hull ), 'Fast Eddies' (Whit ley Bay),

'Fearless Ramp Base' (Essex), ' l iverpark' (liverpool), 188'Re-Hab' (Wakefield, owned

by Donna and Stephen Jagger) (4.16), 189'Radlands' (Northampton, owned by Chris

lnce},190the lottery-funded 'Mount Hawke' (Cornwall) , 191and the Sony-sponsored

'P la ys ta ti on ' ( lo nd on ). S imi la r r amp -b as ed f ac il it ie s we re a ls o b uil t i n c ou nt ri es

such as Argentina , Aus tral ia , Belgium, Brazi l, Canada, Czechos lovakia, Denmark,

1 75 . ' Pa y You r D ue s' , p . 5 2.

1 76 . K en da ll , i nt er vi ew, p . 7 4.

177. 'Where?', R.AD, n o. 8 8 Wun e 1 99 0) , p . 4 0.

178 . 'News', Skateboard! ( se co nd s er ie s) , n o. 4 1 ( Ap ri l 1 99 0) , p . 5 .

179 . 'Where? , Dewsbury' , R.AD., n o. 8 3 [ lo nu or y 1 99 0) , p p. 3 8- 9.

180 . Lance Mountain, 'Ramp Locals' , Tra ns Wo r ld Sk a te b o ard in g ,v ol . 6 n o. 1 ( Feb ru or y 1 988 ), pp .

94-5.

1 81 B ro ok e, Concrete Wav e, p . 1 66 .

1 82 . O nb oa rd , T he A nn uo l,n o. 1 ( 19 97 ), n .p .

183 . Seren Aaby, 'European Meltdown' , Thrasher, v al. 12 n o. 3 ( Ma rc h 1 99 2) , p p. 26 -7 .

184. 'Simply Simon's', R.A.D, n o. 117 ( Fe br ua ry 1 99 3) , p p. 1 6- -2 0.

1 85 . Wez L un dr y, ' Ju mp in ' i n J av a: a S ol o M is si on t o I nd on es ia ', Thrasher, v al . 1 7 n o. 7 Wul y 1 99 7) ,

pp.42-3.

1 86 . M ea ny, ' Ba rr ow B ay s' , Skateboard! ( se co nd s er ie s) , n o. 4 2 ( Ma y 1 99 0) , p p. 4 4- 5; an d ' In a nd

Around Barrow', SkB A ct io n ( Ma y 1 99 0) , p p. 4 0- 5.

187 . 'Undercover : a Nearly Comprehensive Indoor Skatepark Guide ', S i de w al k S u rf er ,no. 14 (March

1997) , n .p

188 . Ibid.

189 . Ben , 'Sleepless in Wakef ie ld ', R.A.D., no. 137 (February /March 1995) , n .p .; and 'Undercover ',

n.p.

1 90 . ' Ki ng R od !' , R.A.D., n o. 1 16 l lon vc ry 1 993 ), p p. 16 -2 0; ' Und er co ver ', n .p .; 'F iv e Yea rs O n',

S id ew a lk S u rf er ,n o. 2 3 U an ua ry /F eb ru ar y, 1 99 8) , n .p .: a nd S te ve E ng la nd , ' Wh at G oe s A ro un d C om es

Around', Xtreme, n o. 4 ( Se pt em be r 1 99 7) , p p. 2 8- 9.

1 91 ' New Wo od Mo unt H aw ke ', S id e wa lk S u rf er ,no. 20 (September 1997) , n .p .

4.15 Woo de n b ow ls b eing b ui lt a t Cha rles to n H an ga r Bow l (c. 1 99 1) , w ith d es ig n a nd

construction by Tim Payne.

1 68 . K ev in Wil ki ns , ' Ne w E ng la nd H at S pa ts ', Tra ns Wo r ld Sk a te b o ard i ng ,v el . 9 n o. I I ( No ve mb er

19 91 ), pp . 3 8- 9 a nd 4 3.

169 . 'Last Coast o f the Carol inas ', Thrasher, vel. 1 0 n o. 1 0 ( Oc to be r 1 99 0) , p p. 5 1- 4.

1 70 . Wil ki ns , ' Ne w E ng la nd ', p . 4 3.

171. Tra ns Wo r ld Sk a te b o ard i ng ,v el . 1 4 no . 1 U an uar y 1 996 ), p . 11 3.

172 . Dan Fisher, 'Pay to Play' , Thrasher, v ol . 11 n o. 9 ( Se pt em be r 1 99 1) , p . 3 7.

1 73 . ' In fo ', p . 9 2; a nd D an F is he r, ' Ra mp ag e' , Thrasher, v ol. 9 n o. 8 ( Aug us t 19 89 ), p . 3 0.

174 B d 'A d i A Sk k '


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10 4 Skateboarding, Space and the City

AI

I

_91

5.4 Architectural design as the projector of bodily flow. Variable transitions of pool section

at Livingston skatepark , designed by lain Urquhart (1980).

pr odu ction o f new moves t ook place. 76 I ns of ar a s s ka te pa rk f or ms d o p ar ti al ly

determine skate moves , a process of res is tance and re-crea tion occurs. Not only i s

t he S ar tr ea n l oo k r et ur ne d, b ut a rc hi te ct ur e c ea se s t o b e p ur el y t he Oth er, a nd i s

ins tead absorbed into the body-board- te rrain relat ion. The spaces created are thus

p ar t o f s ka te r a s we ll a s o f t he t er ra in , a nd e ac h i s a u ni qu e, a ct iv e p ro du ct io n.

The lines a skater takes are like fingerprints.77

7 6. D av is , ' De l Ma r' , p. 1 08.

Body Space 10 5

This process takes place through a very precise (although undoubtedly limited)

questioning of archi tecture put forward by skateboarding. What i s th is archi tecturalf or m f or ? To wha t p ur po se c an it b e p ut ? W ha t i s t h e r el at io n o f g ro un d, v er ti ca ls ,

textures, surfaces?

A sk t he c op ing . I t q ui ver s a t t he s igh t of a p oo l r ide r' s ba re t ruc ks .. . B ut t ha t's

w ha t i t' s f or ; i ts ro un d e dg e p ro tr ude s t o b e p ul ver ize d, i ts c em ent c ri es to be

g ro un d to the b on e, i ts f at l ip e xi st s a s a n e ar th ly e xi t for s ky -b ou nd w he el s 78

T he s ka te r' s b od y h er e i nt er ro ga te s a rc hi te ct ur e a s a no th er b od y i n r el at io n t o i ts

own actio ns, a p roce ss descr ibed b y one ska ter as th e 'inst in ct to direc t a bo dy

mass through the "unseen cor ridors" cal led l ines ' .79

Objects touch one another, feel, smell and hear one another. Then they

c on te mp la te o ne a no th er w ith e ye a nd g az e. O ne t ru ly g et s the imp re ss io n tha t

e ve ry s ha pe in s pa ce , e ve ry s pa ti al p la ne , c on st itutes a m ir ro r a nd p ro du ce s a

mirage effect; that within each body the restof the world isreflected, and referred

b ac k to, in a n e ve r- re ne we d to-an d- fro o f r ec ip ro ca l r ef le ct io n, a n interplay o f

shifting colours, lights and forms 80

A nd i n t he ( dee p) e nd

The l in e tha t y ou g iv e

I s e qu al to the g rind

Tha t y ou g et 81

Where the archi tectural space of moderni ty tends to homogenei ty, fus ing geometry

and the visua l, inspi ring physica l discomfor t and erasing local izat ion, the body (sucha s that of th e ska tebo ard er) ca n pr oject its symmetrie s a nd action s o nto tha t

archi tecture, refus ing to accept i t as a pre-exi st ent wor ld and ins tead ( re)producing

archi tecture on i ts own terms . These quest ions are unconcerned with archi tecture' s

h is tori ca l purpose , but are nonethe less demanding in the ir l ine of a tt ack, res is ting

the intel lectua li za tion, ' logic of visua li za tion ' and 'opti ca l formant ' which modern

architectural space imposes over other senses B2

A narrow and desiccated rationality of thiskind overlooks the core and foundation

o f s pa ce , the total b od y, the b ra in , g es tu re s a nd s o for th . I t fo rg et s tha t s pa ce

does not consist in the projection of an intellectual representation, does not arise

78. Brian Brannon , 'Viva Las Poo ls ', Thrasher, v ol . 8 no . 7 U ul y 1 98 8) , p . 7 2 .7 9. M or iz en F oc he . ' Ne w B lo od ', Thrasher, v ol. 6 no . 3 ( Ma rc h 1 986 ), p . 4 5 .

80. Lefebvre, Product ion o f S pa ce , p . 1 83 .

81. Bil ly Runaway, 'Retu rn to the Beatie Bowl' , Thrasher, v el . 6 n o. 1 0 ( Oc to be r/ No ve mb er 1 98 6) , p . 5 5 .


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17 8 Skateboarding, Space and the City Urban Compositions 17 9

with l ines such as 'Free on the Stree ts ', 40 whi le Powel l-Pera lt a marketed back- to-

basics 'Street Issue' decks.v '

The f ir st coverage of the new stree t skateboarding came in Action Now,42 but

t he Ap ri l 1 98 2 Thrasher was t he f ir st 'g na rl y s tr ee t i ss ue ' t o b e l arge ly d ev ot ed t ostreetstyle 43 Thrasher in p ar ti cu la r p ro mo te d st re et st yl e a s t he n ew f or ce i n s ka te -boarding, publi ci zing Cal ifornia ska ters such as John Lucero and Richard Armejo

who , dep rived of th e b y now defu nct Skate City skate park in Whitt ie r,44 b egan

radical ly extending skateboarding onto the mostquot id ian of urban elements. Their

fundamental move was the 'ollie' , the impact-adhesion-ascension procedure by which

the skater unweights the f ront of the skateboard to make i tpop up seemingly unaided

i nt o t he a ir,4 5 Ala n Gel fa nd 's s ka te pa rk -b as ed i nv en ti on ( se e Cha pt er F iv e) n ow

being adapted to the s tree t.

A lt ho ug h t hi s n ew s tr ee t s ka ti ng t oo k p la ce r ig ht a cr os s t he US, o nc e mo re a

speci fi c concent ra tion took place in the beach cit ies of Los Angeles . In par ti cular,

'new blood' Dogtown skaterssuch as Natas Kaupas, Eric Dressen and JesseMartinez,

a lo ng wit h a p le th or a o f o th er l oc als , e xp lo it ed t he o ll ie i n o rd er t o r id e u p o nt o t hewalls, steps and street furniture of the Santa Monica strand and Venice Boardwalk. 46

As Nat as Kau pa s p ut i t,

I a ttempt to make everything skateable - walls , curbs, ramps, whatever.47

Or i n t he wor ds o f S ta cy P er al ta ,

Ska te rs c an e xi st o n the e ss en ti al s o f w ha t i s o ut the re . A ny ter ra in . For u rb an

skaters the city isthe hardware on their trip.48

As Thrasher i nfer red through a long l is t of urban elements, ska teboard ter ra inwas no lon ger restr icted to pools, r amp s or skate parks, but involved a nything

encountered in the modern city:

40. Independent, advertisement, SkateBoarder, v el . 6 no . 7 ( Fe br ua ry 1 980 ), p . 3 .

41. Powell-Perc lto. adver tisement (September 1980) , p . 11.

4 2. J oh n S my th e ( ps eu do ny m f or C ra ig S te cy k) , ' No P ar ki ng ', A ct io n N ow,v ol . 8 n o. 2 ( Se pt em be r

1981) , pp. 52-7.

4 3 . T h ra s he r,vol, 2 n o. 4 ( Ap ri l 1 98 21 .

4 4. P er al ta ' Sk at e' , p . 4 0 .

4 5. S ia n l iz E va ns , ' Yo un g, G if te d a nd B oa rd S tu pi d' , T he B igI ss ue ( lo nd on ), n o. 1 26 ( 17 -2 3 A pr il

1 99 5) , p . 1 8.

46. lowboy, 'Street Sequentials', Thrasher, vol, 4 n o. 9 ( Se pt em be r 1 98 4) , p p. 3 2- 9; M or iz en F ii ch e,

'New Blood ', Thrasher, vo! 6 no. 3 (March 1986), pp. 40-7; Thrasher, vol. 9 no. 6 Uune 1989), p. 53;

and JesseMartinez, 'Venice', B i g B ro th e r,n o. 2 6 [ lu ne 1 99 7) , p p. 4 0- 5.

47. Natas Kaupas, interview, Thrasher, v ol . 8 no . 5 ( Ma y 1 988 ), p . 6 5.48. Stacy Peralta, interview, Interview, n o. 1 7 U ul y 1 98 7) , p p. 1 02 -3 .

7.2 An early instance of the new street skating . Steve Rocco applying the skatepark-basedinvert move to a road-side curb 11980).


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18 0 Skateboarding , Space and the City Urban Compositions 18 3

Alley Gas pump Road

Army bunker Graveyard Road obstacles

Bank Gutter Roller rink

Bedroom Half-pipe RunoffBench Hand railing Schoolyard

Bevel Hill Seawall

Bike path lane divider Sewer pipe

Brick wall launch ramp Shopping mall

Bridge lawn Sidewalk

Building loading dock Skate park

Bumper Mailbox Slide

Car Meteorite crater Slope

Casting pond Mountain Spillway

Construction site Parking lot Stairs

Couches Picnic table Statue

Crack Plank Street sign

Culvert Planter box Street

Curb Playground Tennis courtDowntown Pond Train track

Drainage ditch Pool Tree

Driveway Public park Truck

Dumpster Quarter p ipe Tube

Full pipe Ramp Wall

Garage Reservoir Wheelchair ramp49

E S P N coverage of the multi-sport Xtreme Games 59 ) or occasionally on terrestrial

channels (often integrated into programmes on snowboarding 60 and general youth

culture 61 ). Other masscoverage came from films like Back to t h e F u tu r e(Dir. Steven

Spielberg, mid-1980s), B-movie Thrashin' (Fries Entertainment, Dir. David Winters,

1986),62 P o li ce A c a de m y 4 (1987) and G lea min g th e C ub e(Twentieth Century

Fox/Rank, Dir. Graeme Clifford, 1988). Top streetsty le professionals in the 1990s

included, among many others, Salman Agah, Kareem Campbell, JohnCardiel, Mike

Carroll , Rob Dyrdyk, Reese Forbes, Omar Hassan, Matt Hensely, Frankie Hill, Eric

Koston, Jason lee , John lucero, KrisMarkovitch, Chad Muska, Tom Penny,Andrew

Reynolds, Geoff Rowley, Willy Santos, Chris Senn, Daewon Song, Ed Templeton,

Chet Thomas, Mike Valle ly, Simon Woodstock and Jeremy Wray. Similarly, certa in

s ka te s po ts - s uc h a s the Emb arca de ro ( 'EMB', the 'Ch ar tr es Cathe dral o f s ka te -

boarding'63) and Pier7 in San Francisco 64 - became aswell known globally through

v id eo s a nd m ag az in es a s h ad s ka te pa rk s s uc h a s Pip el in e, Mar in a d el Rey a nd

Cherry Hill during the late 1970s.

But more than any other phase of skateboarding, streetsty le is based on the

ev er yd ay a ct ivi ti es ~ il li ons o f pr ac ti ti one rs c ond uc te d i n c iti es w orl dw id e

('Everybody, Everywhere!'? ), ratherthan on theextreme movesof itsmostspectacularprofessionals in extravagant purpose-built facilities or events. As one advertisement

put it, every skater isyet 'another nobody' .66 Itis important not to underestimate the

sheer quantitative nature of this phenomenon. Already in the early 1980s, Powell-

Peralta was receiving letters from countries suchas Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden,

G erma ny, Tha il an d, N ew Zea la nd , A us tr al ia a nd Can ad a, p lu s o th er s in Sou th

America and elsewhere,67 while Pravda and regional newspapers were reporting a

skateboarding boom in the USSR. 68

Wit h t he s tr ee ts o f S ou th ga te a s h is p la yg ro un d, M ar k G on za le s c ha ng ed t he

w ay t he w or ld l oo ks a t a s ka te bo ar d. H an dr ai ls , s ta ir s, b en ch es a nd g ap s a rethe canvas of his rnosterwork.s?

Featu re i t: people are bui ld ing ramps beh ind the I ron Cur ta in , they're f reesty ling

in the Arctic , they're concre te carving on the Ber lin woll 69

Of coursethisnew skating was notjustabout new terrains, buta mode of engagement.

C al ifo rn ian M ark G on za les ( 't he G onz ') d id m or e t ha n a ny ot he r t o us her in th e

n ew s tr ee ts ty le s ka ting , w ith m ov es s uc h a s the f ir st b oa rd sl id e o n a h an drai l a nd

180 0 nosegrinds (7.3).5 9. Iv ory Serra , ' Co rp orat e Dea th B urger: Xtreme Games , P ro vidence, R ho de Isl an d, 1 99 6 , Thrasher,

v ol . 1 6 n o. 1 1 [ No ve mb er 1 99 6) , p p. 5 2- 7; a nd A ir wa lk , a dv er ti se me nt , T r a ns Wo rl d S k a te b o ar d in g ,vol.

1 5 n o. 1 1 [ No ve mb er 1 99 7) , p . 4 9 .

6 0. ' Bo ard S tu pid [Glob ol P ro du ct io ns /C hann el 4 , UK, J an uary 1 99 7) .

6 1 ' Pa ss en ge rs ' [ Ch or in el 4 , U K, 8 J ul y 1 99 4) ; a nd ' Th e M ag [ Ch on ne l 5 , U K, 1 F eb ru ar y 1 99 8) .

6 2. Kev in Tha tcher, ' Rant and R ee l , Thrasher, v ol . 6 n o. 1 0 [ Oc to be r/ No ve mb er 1 98 6) , p . 9 4 .

6 3. Marc Spieg le r, MetropoliS, i n l e ah G ar ch ik , ' Th e U r ba n l an ds ca pe , S an Fran c i sco Ch ro n i c leIlateVisiting UK skaters were amazed in 1984 to see Gonzales do 3-foot-high ollies from


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19 0 Skateboarding, Space and the City

Or again:

We l iv e in a b la nd c ul tu re g ov erne d b y the s ac re d p rinc ip le o f CON VENIEN CE.

Everything around us, right down to the mostmundane aspects of our daily livesi s p re -p la nn ed , p re -a rr an ge d a nd p re -p ac ka ge d s o a s to e ns ure a n a bs olute

minimum of time consuming, conscious involvement from us. You don 't think so?

Look around you. I09

For the experiencer of such architecture, there isa similarly reductive effect. In

Barthes ' concept o f ' zero point ', the neu tral izat ion o f symbo ls statesco ld ly what is,'f . I . 110 If'as I a simp e witness. n terms 0 architecture, the lack of qualitative differences

and corresponding surfeit of instructions isexperienced as banal monotony, the urban

having lostthe characteristics of the creative oeuvre and of appropriation; a 'poverty

o f dai ly l ife' der ives from the fai lu re to rep lace the symbo lisms, t imes, rhy thms and

d ifferent spaces o f the tradi tional city with any th ing o ther than dwell ing uni ts and

the constraints of traffic. III Thus for skateboarders towns such as Mil ton Keynes

were perceived as having 'no real identity' , where culture isalternatively disjointed

o r non-existen t, and where security cameras are ' endlessly re-shoo ting the most

interesting of feature films: everyday life' . 112In such places, metropolitan dwellers

are simply witnesses to the funct ioning of the city, where the experience o f u rban

space is l ike that of the museum, with v isitors' bod ies con trol led by an 'organisedwalking' of contrived route, speed, gestures, speaking and sound 113- a state referred

t o b y o ne skat er a sa ' cot to n w oo l p ad ded, T V programmed world ' .114

O ur fee t w ra pp ed in c ot to n a nd lea th er, w e t ro d u po n a c on crete a nd a sp ha lt

sheath, the topographical inconsistencies paved over by a more biped-friendly

habitat. Mobility isorderly and effic ient: s idewalks, sta irways and elevators ...

With our eventual adaptation to our contrived civilization, we've adjusted and

now take itssheltered nature for granted. T he c ro ss wa lk s ig na l t ur ns r ed t oo F as t.

P le ase p ay c as hi er F ir st .M y c al li ng c ard h as t oo m an y n um be rs o n i t. D on 't e ve nt hi nk o f m er gi ng i nt o m y la ne .I IS

H ow ev er , p as siv it y and enn ui a re n ot t he o nly p oss ib le r espo nses t o such

reductive architecture. Resistance to the zero degree 'concrete craziness' of places

109. Bowman,'Comment',n.p.

110. RolandBorthes, W r it in g D e gr ee Z er o(London:Cape, 1967); and Lefebvre, E ve ry da y l ife i n t heM o de rn Wo rl d,pp. 183-4.

111. Lefebvre, Writings on Cities, pp. 127-8.

112. Worland, 'Milton Keynes',p. 18.

113. TonyBennett, T he B ir th o f t he M u se um(London,Routledge,1995).

114. PhilChapmon, 'FineTimes', S id e wa lk S u rf er ,no.21 (October/November 1997), n.p.

115. Miki Vukovich,'PleaseUsetheHandrail', Warp,vol.4 no. 1(April 1995), p. 46.

Urban Compositions 19 1

,vsuch as Milton Keynes116takes place outside buildings, in the streets, countering the

routinized phenomena of privatized urban space and the corresponding pacification

o f u rban experience by enact ing a d ifferent space and t ime for the city. w

Projected onto the terra in , it is here that they can transcend themselves - in the

s tr ee ts . I t i s h ere tha t s tu de nt m ee ts w orke r, a nd rea so n red uc ed to a fun ct io n

again recovers speech.117

New towns feel like they're waiting . The empty build ings, the deserted walkways

heading off to somewhere that hasn' t been built yet, the neatly landscaped bits-

i n-bet wee n w it h benches that have never been sat on .. . des olat e w ast es,

abandoned even by the builders, absolutely dead - until the skaters bring them

life. liB

,~ Itis here, then, that skaters consider themselvesto be 'one stepahead of the pedestrian

o r static eye, the archi tects and the art is ts ', 119 finding at Mil ton Keynes ' an inf in ite

n um ber o f skat e sp ot s . .. h un dr ed s of s teps , b ank s, h an dr ail s, cu rb s, ca rp ar ks ,//

flowerbeds, gaps, benches, blocks, everything' .120 ln such cities worldwide,

Skaters create their own fun on the periphery of mass culture . Sewers, s treets ,

m al ls , c urbs a nd a m il lion o th er c on crete c on st ru ct io ns h av e b ee n p ut to n ew

uses. 121

Skateboarders target the space-times of the urban degree zero, reinscribing

themselves onto functional everyday spaces and objects, seeing skateboarding as

'a challenge toour everyday concepts of the functions of buildings, an~ to the closedworld we create for ourselves out of this massively unlimited city' . 122For example, a

handrai l isa h ighly funct ional object whose t ime and use are who lly p rogrammed.

I t is- like f ire hydrants, bus benches, s idewalks and traff ic l ights- a signal, a material

element within an urban s em a nt ic f ie ldof precise and imperative utilitarian objects

t hat con di ti on u s an d w it h w hich w e cann ot co nve rse. 123 Such elements have no

meaning as such, imparting only a message. Itis thiswhich skateboarders recognize

in statements such as:

116. MatthewPritchard,inlerview, Electronic Bat E g gs /M a d M o n ks M a ga z in e s,no.2 (n.d.,c. 1995),n.p,

117. Lefebvre, Explosion, p.98.1 18. 'Scory Places',p. 20.119. 'Seorching,Finding, living, Shoring', R.AD., no.79 (September1989), p. 15.

120. 'Ears', R.AD., no. 98 Uuly 1991), p.7.

121. Lowboy,'Skoteand Destroy',p. 25.122, TomHodgkinson,'Rod,Mad andDangerousoKnow?', Midweek, London(18Januory1990),p. 10.

123. Lefebvre, Introduction to Modernity, pp. 95 ond280.


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19 2 Skateboarding, Space and the City Urban Compositions 19 3

Empty of cars, car-parks have only form and no function' . 124

Or:

Go on, put somet hing back i nto t he com muni ty . .. t his, by t he w ay, doesn'tmean adding another traffic light. 125

As a cri tique o f the signal, skateboarders do something . In the case o f the handrai l,

t he ska tebo ar der 's r euse o f t he handr ai l - o l/ ie in g o nt o t he r ai l and, b al an ced

perilously on the skateboard deck, sliding down the fulcrum line o f the metal bar _

targets something to do with safety and turns it into an object of risk (7.7). Thewho le log ic o f the handrai l is tu rned on i ts head.

Most people think handrails are for thosewith mobility problems. Christian Hosoi

says they are for ollie nose grinds. 126

In particular, such streetstyleskateboarding takes itsvitality from unexpected eruptionso f meaning , act ions which retranslate the objects o f the city.

A c urb i s a n o bs ta cle u nt il y ou g rind a cros s i t. A w al l i s b ut l ed ge u nt il y ou d ro p

off it. A cement bank is a useless slab of concrete until you shred it.127

Where signals have no expressiv ity beyond d irect s ignification , skateboarding isa

lived utterance, a symbolic parole to the univalent langue of the city as techn ical

o bj ect . S kat eb oa rd ing i s a cr it iq ue o f t he em pti ne ss o f mean in g i n ze ro d egr eearchi tecture.

How, then, does skateboarding create this critique? What isthe precise ground

on w hi ch i t act s? T he an sw er l ies l es s in t he r ea lm o f semant ic s, and m or e i n t herealm of sensory rhythms and the physical.

While cit ies are made from social relat ions asconceived by thought , they arenot purely ideational.

The urban is not a soul, a spirit, a philosophical entity.128

life is but a dream. City streets are a reality.129

1 24 . ' Se ar ch in g, F in di ng ', p . 1 6.

125. Skin Phillips, 'Gasbag', Tr an s Wo r ld S k a teb o a rd in g, v el , 1 5 no. 1 0 ( Oc to be r 1 99 71 , p . 1 2.

126. 'Shudder Speed', Thrasher, v el . 11 n o. 11 ( No ve mb er 1 99 1 I, p. 50.

127. ' In the S treets Tadoy ', Thrasher, v ol . 1 n o. 1 D on ua ry 1 98 1 I, p . 1 6.128. Lelebvre, Writings on Cit ies, p . 103.

129. City Street Wheels, advertisement, Thrasher, vel. 5 n o. 1 0 ( O ct ob er 1 98 5) , p . 2 9.

7.7 The sudden eruption of meaning against the utili tarian message of the handrail.

Skateboarder: Danny Barley (1997). (Photograph Matthew Worland)


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244 Skateboarding, Space and the City

o f i ts in ha bit an ts ,8 8 a s pa ti ali ze d v er si on o f t he 'ma rke tin g o ri en ta ti on ' whi ch

encourages people to playa role,89 skateboarders use their particular appropriation

of the c ity to const ruct themselves and the ir rel at ions with others; the rhythm of the

city as external to the selfand the rhythm of the selfas intimate forms of consciousnessand behaviour are counterposed.j?

The s ka te r i s n ot a s ep arate e nt ity f ro m h is ter ra in . .. h e i s the ter ra in w ith a ll i ts

intricate pieces."!

I t' s the o nly thing tha t I k no w h ow to do , an d i f I ev er st op ped doi ng it I w oul d b en o o ne . .. Ska te bo arding i s m y o nly ide nt ity for b et te r o r w orse .9 2

In par ti cular, for the skater i t i s the outdoor spaces, not inter iors , which form

the socio-spcce of sel f- identi ty and const ruct ion - a theme implici t throughout both

Lefebvre's writings93 and skateboarding subcultural practice.

O ur h om e l if e i s e x po se d o n the p av em en t. Eve ry bo dy joins in w ith u s, l et 's g et

r id o f the c ar s a nd p ut a ll the furni tu re into the s tr ee t. O ne b ig l iv in g roo m, a nd

everyone's welcorne.Y?

S kat er s a re a di ffe re nt br eed . N ot a b re ed apa rt . A bre ed th at e xi st s w it hi n a

steel, asphalt and concrete Irornework.i"

The meaning of ska teboarding, then, comes f rom i ts engagement with the spati al

n at ur e o f p ro du ct io n, e xc ha ng e, c on su mp ti on a nd i ts r ea ss er ti on o f u se v al ue s,

together with the subcultural values of a general ized rejec tion of soc ie ty a lready

identified above. Significantly, when Thrasher f ir st showed the new stree t ska ting, i twas not the skaters as individuals but their performance of moves which they promoted

as ' studies in non-conformity'Y" We must therefore consider tha t the spati al act of

skateboarding is meaningless devoid of its subcultural att itudes, while, conversely,

i ts subcultural a tt itudes have no substance except as produced in space in relat ion to

8 8. B or de n, ' Th ic k E dg e' , p p. 8 4- 7.

89. Wander, ' in troduct ion' , pp. x i-xiv; and Erich Fromm, Man for Himself (Greenwich: Fawcett , 1967),

pp.75-89.

90. Lefebvre, Writings on Cities, pp. 235-6.

9 1. P er al ta , ' Sk at e' , p . 4 0.

92. Don Cotes , 'Comment' , Sidewalk Surfer, no. 13 Uanuary/February 1997), n .p .

93. Eleonore Kofmon and Elizabeth Iebos , 'Lost in Transposi tion ', in Lefebvre, Writings on Cities, pp.

7-8.

9 4. G ed Wel ls , ' Wo rl d o n a C le an in g R ot a' , RAD., n o. 1 00 ( Se pt em be r 1 99 1) , p . 7 7.

95. Editorial, Thrasher (February 1983).

9 6. M or iz en F oc he , ' Ne w B lo od ', Thrasher, v al. 6 n o. 3 ( Ma rch 1 986 ), p . 4 7.

Performing the City 245

urban architecture. This isa true dialectic of the social and the spatial , each produced

t hr ou gh t he o th er. Ra th er t ha n a llo wi ng a rc hit ect ur e a nd t he c it y t o d ic ta te who h e

or she i s, the skateboarder poses in response the quest ion of 'who am I?' (8.4).In terms of the kind of soc ie ty thi s might indicate, c lear ly ska teboarders as a

g ro up o f y ou ng p eo ple a re n ot a bo ut t o t ak e o ve r t he r ev ol ut io na ry mi ss io n o f t he

p ro le ta ri at ;9 7 a s 's ma ll b ai t i n a s ea o f c or po ra te sh ar ks' 98 t he y i n n o way s ee k t o

fundamental ly a lt er anything. 'We 're not out to f ight the wor ld ' . 99A Thrasher coverproclaiming 'Skater s of the Wor ld Uni te ' over an image of Lenin was s imply rhe tori c,

highlighting a feature on skaters in different countries worldwide. I 00

8.4 A gi ft of freedom: questioning the self and the city. Skateboarder: Howard Cooke

(1996). (Photograph Matthew Worland)

97. Lefebvre, In tro d uc t io n t o M o d e rn i ty,pp . 3 39 -40 an d 3 59 .

98. Bonnie Blouin, 'Skcter's Edge', Thrasher, vel. 8 no . 7 U ul y 19 88 ), p. 3 5.

99. Editorial, Thrasher, v ol . 12 no . 6 [ lu ne 1 99 2) , p . 4 .

1 00 ' if t he S ka te rs A re U ni te d, T he y C an N ev er B e D i vi de d' , Thrasher, vo], 9 n o. 2 ( Fe br ua ry 1 98 9) ,

f ro nt c ov er a nd p p. 6 0- 7.

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