Surfers and Skaters for a Free Palestine

I haven’t found the heart to update this blog with the genocide that has been happening in Palestine and still having to go about daily life in a country that is complicit. I had been frustrated with the action sports world remaining relatively silent. Granted, politics are a touchy subject for sponsored athletes, and it turns out I was looking in the wrong place. Beyond the contest scene and big brands are organizations, media, and individuals highlighting the years-long struggle of Palestinian surfers and skaters.

Explore Corps founded the Gaza Surf Club in 2008, and that same year, the documentary God Went Surfing With The Devil highlighted the struggles to just get surfboards into the blocked-off area. Eight years later, a film that centered the voices of Palestinian surfers themselves, Gaza Surf Club. One noteworthy aspect of this documentary is the inclusion of female surfers, and although the male surfers espouse sexist attitudes, this is visual evidence that Palestine is not the oppressive place that Zionists are trying have us believe it is. You can rent Gaza Surf Club on Vimeo.

Last November, Australian surf culture site The Section published a letter, Surfers in Solidarity with Palestine, which condemns the genocide in Gaza and calls for a ceasefire. The Instagram accounts, surfequity and surfyonder, boosted the letter and have continued to post in support of Palestine. Their founders are among the initial signatories of the letter, which also includes Lee-Ann Curren (yes, she’s Tom Curren’s daughter) and Saad Abid. Another notable name on the list is the legendary Tom Carroll, who previously led some of his fellow pros in boycotting South Africa during the apartheid.

Why snowboarding and figure skating are more alike than you think

The idea for this post came to mind six years ago (yeah, I procrastinated) after I read this article about Adam Rippon winning the 2016 U.S. Championships of figure skating without landing any quad jumps. That’d be like winning a snowboard slopestyle contest without any triple corks, which did NOT happen a week later at the Winter X Games, or winning halfpipe without a double cork. I noticed a parallel narrative in these two seemingly different sports. Of course there’s more to both sports than the competitive aspect, but what gets the mainstream coverage and consistently appears in the headlines is the debate style vs. athleticism in competition, fueled by the Olympics.

This is what goes on in a figure skating quad.

Snowboarding seems like the more free-wheeling of the two, but on the competitive side, there are unspoken prerequisites. You’re not gonna win with just methods, no matter how stylish they are. The double cork was a hot topic for men’s halfpipe snowboarding leading up to the 2010 Olympics, and all three riders who podiumed had one in their run. Shaun White unveiled a new variation, the double McTwist 1260, which helped propel him to the top.

Indigenous Action Sports Athletes

Happy Native American Heritage Day! Although I am not native, I want to recognize that I am writing this from Kiikaapoi land and pay tribute to the indigenous athletes in the action sports scene.

Surfing is probably the first sport that comes to mind when you think “indigenous” and “action sports”. It was invented by aboriginal Hawaiians and popularized by the legendary Duke Kahanamoku. Then there was Eddie Aikau and Michael and Derek Ho, the first kanaka maoli (native Hawaiian) to win an ASP World Championship.

However, Surfer Magazine noted that the sport hasn’t been free from colonialism, as Sunny Garcia is the only other kanaka maoli with a title from the World Championship Tour 20 years ago and both Kalani Robb and Michael’s daughter Coco Ho are retired.

I will make the disclaimer that I’ve not seen Coco and her brother Mason explicitly referred to as kanaka maoli , but their dad and uncle definitely have as quarter-native Hawaiians and I am recognizing their ancestry. Mason joins Ezekiel Lau and Koa Rothman as a new generation of native Hawaiians looking for a spot on the prestigious tour. Koa’s brother Makua has made a name of himself in big wave surfing.

From the beach to the slopes, Canadian snowboarder Spencer O’Brien grew up as a member of the Haida Kwakwakw’wakw First Nation. She done outreach to promote wellness in First Nations communities and donated equipment to the First Nations Snowboard Team. Her 2014 Sochi teammate, Caroline Calvé is an Algonquin alpine snowboarder.

Spencer O’Brien in the indigenous inspired outerwear for the 2018 Canadian Olympic Snowboarding Team designed by Kwakwaka’wakw-Tlingit artist Corrine Hunt. Photo by Cameron Spencer (Getty Images AsiaPac)

The accessibility of skateboarding has allowed the sport to spread among various indigenous communities and become a form of outreach. Rosie Archie created Nations Skate Youth to help inspire indigenous youth while teaching them to preserve their culture. Lenni Lenape-Irish pro Jim Murphy, who’s skated for Alva Skateboards in the 80s, has co-founded two non-profits: Stronghold Society and Nibwaakaawin (Wisdom) and the company Wounded Knee Skateboards. Another 80s pro, Tommy Guerrero of Bones Brigade fame, is of Ohlone descent.

Wounded Knee isn’t the only native-owned skateboard company. Apache Skateboards was spotlighted in the documentary The Mystery of Now and has a team of indigenous riders including Doug Miles Jr. (co-founder), Tracy Polk Jr., and Di’Orr Greenwood. Di’Orr is actually Navajo and makes he own custom wood-burned decks. Going back to Canada, Colonialism Skateboards broke barriers in sponsoring the first residential school survivor-turned-skater Joe Buffalo.

Joe Buffalo’s pro model depicts his Cree ancestor Pitikwahanapiwiyin (a.k.a. Poundmaker). Photo from Vancouver Is Awesome

BMX’s indigenous athletes come from the Southern Hemisphere. Khalen Young competed in Men’s BMX Racing in the 2012 Olympics and is descended from one of the Aboriginal “Stolen Children”. Jed Mildon is called the “Maori Warrior” by his Nitro Circus castmates and has done the haka before their shows in New Zealand.

There are more native action sports athletes making waves than this list and probably a few big names I missed. However, the point of this post is to make sure the pioneers are not forgotten and to support the ones who are either competing or making action sports more accessible. As indigenous youth get more opportunities to pursue a passion, we’ll start to see more representation and hopefully hear the stories that need to be told.

Action Sports Allies for Black Lives

If you’ve followed this blog or known me, you know I’m an advocate for social justice.  I have long wondered if I should talk about racism in action sports, but that’s a tricky one because some sports are more diverse than others.  There are programs like Burton’s Chill Foundation and Black Girls Surf addressing the inequality, but the industry as a whole, like the majority of America and the rest of the world, has remained mum about systemic racism, notably the unjust killing of Black individuals by police.  Until now.

Even though #BlackoutTuesday was mostly an act of performative allyship, it’s a step.  Non-Black athletes who have never brought up race posted a black square in solidarity.  The message did get lost when Black athletes posted the square too.  We should be hearing from them.

X Games recognized this need to amplify Black voices, and they doubled down on Instagram after getting criticisms for their support of the Black Lives Matter movement with quotes from their Black competitors.  The boldest was this quote from skater Ishod Wair:

“This country is so disgustingly and blatantly racist. The vale [sic] has been pulled for the world to see once again that the system never meant to protect us. Failing to put rules in place to stop the madness not even acknowledging the serious issue at hand. If we don’t come together things won’t change.”

X Games have since gone back to their regular programming, but maybe we’ll see a bit more diversity in the athletes featured and invited.

Another skater they quoted was Nyjah Huston, who went out to protest.

 

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WE WONT BE UNHEARD!! JUSTICE IS A MUST😤

A post shared by Nyjah Huston (@nyjah) on Jun 1, 2020 at 9:07pm PDT

Nyjah has also talked about being 1/4 Black yet raised in a Rastafarian household and what that has meant in terms of identity.

COVID-19 is not a risk the action sports world should take

I’ve debated whether I wanted to bring up COVID-19 on this blog.  However, I am connected to the medical community (I’m just on the non-human side of things), and I felt it would be irresponsible not to speak up.  I have been disappointed in the lackadaisical response to the pandemic by some members’ of the action sports community in the U.S.

Although local governments have started reopening measures, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to grow.  If you look at the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, which compares cases within the U.S. and with other countries, the U.S.’s number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people (dark green) is still trending upwards.  We have yet to truly “flatten the curve”.

Even though most action sports athletes are young and healthy, there are those who have survived battles against severe illnesses and may not have as strong of an immune system.  Heck, asthma will increase your chances of being more affected by COVID-19 since it attacks the respiratory systems.  Then there’s the older legends of the sports, and family members who may not be as healthy.  Over 1.5 million people have died from the virus in the U.S.  We don’t need to lose more.

I recognize that the spirit of action sports revolves around risk taking, but as many professionals will maintain, it’s a calculated risk.  It’s fine to go surf, skate, or ride, but it’s unwise to hang out with your crew afterwards. Surfline did a feature about how some areas were more successful in maintaining social distance and how closing beaches didn’t solve the issue. A lot of it is personal responsibility.

 

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A post shared by Cody Thompson (@whitesunglasses) on Apr 18, 2020 at 8:28am PDT

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Cody Thompson offers great advice for anyone catching waves.

This weekend, my Instagram has been filled with announcements of skatepark opening and videos of private gatherings.  I know parks can insist on temperature checks and reduced capacity like my workplace, but I worry about how these rules are going to be enforced. That’s been hard to do at my job, which is an essential operation (in terms of how we have very expensive things and organisms that need to be maintained). Conversely, this may reduce the crowding on sidewalks and in neighborhoods because everyone wanted to get a bit of fresh air while sheltering in place.

I take issues with private gatherings when pros start coming and going to each other’s houses. That defeats the purpose of the quarantine. You don’t know if your friends have COVID-19 unless y’all were tested so y’all may be spreading it. As I mentioned above, just because our local governments have started to relax certain rules doesn’t mean the virus has started to go away. Think about why events are still being cancelled rather than operating with 25% the amount of people (or doing what my mom suggested and filming without an audience for TV).  There’s a risk with gathering in groups, and corporations don’t want that burden. We as individuals should consider the same.

I don’t want to be a party pooper, especially since action sports athletes have done a lot of good in raising money or handing out masks for those in need. I know the culture likes to rebel and reject authority, but this virus has had devastating effects. Our sessions and parties can wait, and we can get creative with on-line content. Please stay safe and do the right thing.

Loveletter to Jeff Grosso

Dear Grosso,

I know you don’t start Loveletters to Skateboarding this way, and you’d probably make fun of me for being so formal.  You were never one for frills or euphemisms. Skateboarding is full of hard slams, and you definitely had your share, physically and figuratively.  Very few people can say they went to the “School of Hard Knocks” on Facebook without sounding like a poser, but you definitely went there (and maybe got held back a year or two).

For a while, I didn’t know about your career.  You were just some weird announcer guy who also made Youtube videos.  Those videos though had intriguing content, and pretty soon I realized the wealth of knowledge you held.  I learned about the skate scenes in my town and my grandfather’s homeland.  I learned about all the well-known skaters without the sanitization of mainstream media.  I learned what it meant to be a real skater.

As for your announcing, again your unapologetically raw approach brought energy and a realness—”color commentary” indeed.  I saw the rapport you had with skaters, particularly the women.  In supporting them, I felt like you’re supporting me… even though you’d probably call me a bunch of names I don’t generally approve of for chickening out of certain moves.  Tough love is still love.

Thank you for everything you’ve done for skateboarding.  You were a ripper even after the “end” of your pro career. While your official role might have shifted from pro to commentator and mentor, you were always a skater. Except when you became a father. I’m sharing the “Father and Sons” episode of Loveletters because I think it best embodies you, father and skater.

Ride in Peace Jeff Grosso
April 28, 1968 – March 31, 2020
 

Thoughts on Mandatory Helmets for Olympic Skateboarding

I’ve been listening to The Monday M.A.S.S. podcast, and in a recent episode, the hosts Chris Coté and Todd Richards discussed the mandatory helmet rule for under-18 competitors in Olympics-sanctioned park and street skateboarding events.   Based on what I saw in the X Games Shanghai replays, X Games doesn’t have such a rule.  World Skate, however, does, and last year, Jagger Eaton was disqualified as a result of the head of delegation of the Brazilian Federation of Skateboarding filing a complaint.

There’s a lot to unpack with that particular incident, especially as Jagger’s DQ allowed Brailian skater Murilo Peres to advance to the finals.  The idea of filing complaints fuels the criticisms of skateboarding’s inclusion into the Olympics.  There’s bureaucracy, regulation, and competitiveness—things directly in opposition to skating’s free-wheeling, anti-establishment rules.  I’m not sure the complaint was filed out of concern for Jagger’s safety but rather a seizing of the opportunity to advance.  Not exactly cool.

However, safety is something to consider.  The brain is still developing in adolescents, and although helmets don’t prevent brain injury, they at least protect the skull, which in turn protects the brain and also doesn’t finish growing until adulthood.  Last year, a pilot study was published in Frontiers in Neurology that revealed adolescent mice with a mild brain injury don’t suffer worse effects from a subsequent injury.  Their skulls do get changed, which could be a means of protection from future injuries or a consequence of development being altered.  There isn’t a clear answer, and this is just one study.  Also, note that they specified “mild” TBI.

Skateboarding is going to reach a broader audience with the Olympics.  Not everyone is going to have someone to teach them how to fall properly or access to skateparks where you don’t have to worry about cars and random obstacles (I mean, I used the back of the couch as a balance beam after watching gymnasts in the 1996 Olympics).  It’s better for the competitive skaters to set an example for young kids whose development may be impacted by injuries to the skull and brain until we obtain more information the consequences of early TBI.

References
McColl, Thomas J et al. “Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescent Mice Alters Skull Bone Properties to Influence a Subsequent Brain Impact at Adulthood: A Pilot Study.” Frontiers in neurology vol. 9 372. 25 May. 2018, doi:10.3389/fneur.2018.00372

Action Sports Gets Political

“Can we keep politics out of it?” is a phrase often repeated but not quite fully understood.  I say that as someone whose existence is political.  I’m the queer daughter of immigrants, and as as result, I can’t keep my politics out of action sports.  Whether the lack of exposure of female athletes or the choice of vocabulary that directly affects LGBT kids in a negative manner, I’m going to challenge the status quo of our community.  Nowadays, the pros are taking similar views, whether it’s Gus Kenworthy coming out in such an open manner or Colton Satterfield leaving Monster Energy for religious reasons.

I’ve previously posted about action sports athletes championing environmentalist causes.  It’s a great example about how politics is tied with the culture.  Winter and water sports depend on the existence of natural environments, which are legislated upon through policies regarding climate change, pollution, and protected areas.  Then you have motocross sitting on the other side with riders protesting restrictions on fuel emissions (although innovations in electric bikes and four-strokes are providing a compromise) and where they can ride.

Politics doesn’t have to refer to the issues of one particular country’s government.  Imprimatur examines the decisions, trends, and identities that affect the economic. social, and creative aspects of BMX.  A lot of its articles remind us that a component of BMX involve making money, whether it’s pro aspirations or being able to access footage of other riders.  Sometimes it does get into the larger scope of things, especially with Chelsea Fietsgodin’s essays about microaggressions and the use of certain symbols.

If you know me or this blog, you know that I have a very specific point of view, and it’s obvious at how I’m trying to avoid expressing my strong opinions.  I could make an entire post about how I’ve had to cut ties with friends in the community and unfollowed certain athletes specifically due to their opinions on certain sociopolitical issues (and how they’ve expressed it).  The point of this post in particular is to challenge the notion that politics can be left out of action sports.  That’s a privilege only some can enjoy, and it might be taken away so…
Graphic by Violet DeVille

There’s even a site dedicated to getting American skaters to vote.  The deadline to register to vote for this year’s midterm elections, which are important (laws on all levels affect us—just think about city ordinances and skate parks), is today in some states and inching close in the rest. So if you haven’t registered yet, plug your info into Skaters Vote.

I won’t lie about how difficult it is to be an informed voter, but there are great resources out there (sample ballots and voter guides are your friend) and even if you choose to focus voting on one issues, that’s a start too.  We’re a community of revolution, and we now span multiple generations so we can get our voices heard and make the world a better place.

Why I’m not stoked about Shaun White in Olympics

I have several issues with Shaun White, who used to be one of my favorite snowboarders.  I’ve followed his career since we were both 14 years old, but over the years, I started to see the criticisms that the community had for him.  It was glaringly obvious at the U.S. Grand Prix this weekend, and Todd Richards has invited a discussion on Shaun’s perfect score.  I want to talk about another issue, one that is much bigger and yet no longer discussed.  In 2016, Shaun’s former bandmate Lena Zawaideh sued him for unpaid wages and sexual harassment.

They reached a settlement early last year, a few months before the Harvey Weinstein cases broke news and the #MeToo movement began.  I wonder if Shaun would have been let off the hook as easily because settlement or not, people are starting to take a stand against sexual harassment, especially in a workplace setting.  The texts that Lena used as evidence could be interpreted in different ways, but in some of them, Shaun is clearly behaving as superior.  Therefore, even if they were “joking” as he claimed, it is still unethical conduct as he is in a position of power.

The exchange is reminiscent of the viral short story “Cat Person”, which highlights a power imbalance between a man and a woman.  Even though Shaun is not much older than Lena and doesn’t hurl misogynistic comments in the texts (she does accuse him of such overall however), he does threaten to send her home for wearing an unappealing outfit and expresses “disappointment” in her decision to keep her hair long.  It’s the kind of language that borders on abusive.

Is this the kind of person we want representing our country?  Okay, this may be the wrong question to ask given who our President is.  The Summer Olympics is currently marred by the horrendous cases of abuse from the U..S.A. Gymnastics team doctor and the silencing of his victims, which included members of the famous Fierce Five.  The U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association should be doing more to take a stand, especially since they seem to have no problem with pressuring Scotty Lago to leave after risque but consensual photos of him were taken.  Should we only care about the athletes’ behavior only during the Olympics?

The snowboarding community hasn’t had the greatest track record with sexual harassment.  Although female snowboarders are finally getting the respect from peers, there are still the little microaggressions that happen behind the scenes.  Recently in a Shredbots video, Red Gerard, another member of Team U.S.A., jokes about wanting a “big booty ‘ho” for Christmas.  While he may have been quoting a song, it’s still discouraging to hear that come out of his mouth.  This is the sort of “locker room” talk that leads to men not facing consequences for harassing (or even assaulting) women.  It’s fine to joke, but we can do it without treating women, or anyone else, like garbage.  We can do better Team U.S.A.  We should do better.

What Gus Kenworthy’s coming out means to me… and the rest of us

I nearly cried when I read Gus Kenworthy’s coming out story (I probably would have cried if I had been alone in the room).  As a queer-identifying individual, I know how difficult it can be to express that aspect of you.  Anyone who is not a straight, white cis-gendered male is going to have it rough in a lot of places, not just action sports.  Unfortunately our community lags behind in creating more acceptance.

Two and a half years ago, I wrote a post titled “Action sports need to be more gay”.  Now we have one.  Although I don’t want to take away from what Gus has done, the headlines citing him as the first gay action sports athlete erases the struggles of those who came before him.  In fact, Cheryl Maas took a stance against Russia’s anti-gay policies when she was in Sochi.  For many reasons, that didn’t make huge headlines, and the simple truth was that things haven’t changed until now.  Gus won America’s heart as part of the Men’s Ski Slopestyle podium sweep in Sochi and also as the guy who brought home some puppies (though he clarifies that it was his boyfriend at the time who did most of that), and he more than earned freeski cred by being a five-time Association of Freeskiing Professionals champion.  He fits that privileged mold with the exception of being gay.  In other words, he had a lot to lose and yet a lot of power.

Photo by Peter Hapak/ ESPN

By sharing his story, Gus has raised awareness of the microaggressions, like using “gay” to mean something “uncool” or automatically assuming that there’s a girlfriend or even this little sketch that implies two men can only be in bed together for comedic purposes.  Those little things hurt, but they’re often hard to see when homophobia is associated with a slur-filled tirade or the Westboro Baptist Church protesting.  Now the action sports community can no longer pretend that a problem with homophobia and toxic masculinity does not exist.  Although contest organizers, sponsors, and other athletes can choose to remain silent or make a bad j, we fans will notice.

For me, I hope that the support means that there can be a safer space not just for LGBTQIA individuals, but anyone who is a minority in the action sports world.  I came into the scene because it promoted “freedom of expression” and united those of us who weren’t into the more popular sports.  I fell out of it partly due to the realization that I’d been seeing a facade.  My liberal politics have distanced me from my old motocross message board buddies; I can’t be myself around them when I’m not sure how they’ll respond to my interest in feminism or queer politics.  The day before Gus’ story broke, a photo of my drag king alter-ego with a skateboard on Instagram received a homophobic slur.  I brushed it off as some immature teenager or self-loathing adult with nothing better to do, but whey should we let anyone get away with such hateful actions?  To be a community, we have to help one another.

And that’s what I will be watching for.  We’ve taken the first step by listening to Gus’ story and Tweeting out our support.  Being an ally is more than that.   I’m still learning and constantly checking my privilege (because even if I identify with the LGBTQIA spectrum, my queerness is not always apparent or as big of a difference as my being female in a male-dominated world).  We’ve got to work together, and I have hope that a bunch of action sports fans will find the courage to be themselves.  Because that is what I feel like I can do even more now.  I don’t know if I’m making it to Aspen for Winter X this year, but if I do, you bet I’m gonna be waving a giant rainbow flag.