I was up late one night, because I couldn't sleep, and I somehow landed on Muchmusic, in which they were talking about Avril Lavigne and whatnot. Then this girl came on, and said something like "Then she comes in with this whole skater look and...." *CLICK*. I then shut off the T.V. One thing that I'm really getting annoyed of is the word "skater" being used to describe a certain way to dress.

This pisses me off to no end.

First of all, let me just get this out....SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A TREND OR A WAY TO DRESS! It's crap like this that makes me wish skateboarding was unpopular right now like it was back in the early 80's or early 90's. I'm really getting sick of people who wear all the gear so they look like a skateboarder, but have never picked up a board in their life.

It's so dumb how people just love to look the part but don't want anything to do with skateboarding whatsoever. You gotta love when a jock leans out the window of his life sized hot wheels car to yell "SKATE OR DIE FAG!" at you, while their wearing an Independent Trucks shirt or something like that.

I also hate when people use the excuse of "Oh, skate shoes are comfortable, that's why I wear them." Oh yeah? Then why the hell weren't you wearing them five or six years ago? Oh that's right, they weren't popular back then.

Now here's the flipside, if you actually skateboard and do it and love it just because skateboarding is so great, then you get mocked. I have a friend who works at the local West 49 around here (one of the few people that actually skate on a regular basis that work there) who basically got made fun of by a fellow employee. She labeled him "a dirty skater."

So, it's okay to look the part, but not actually do it? BULLSHIT.

I'll admit. Without the popularity surge that skateboarding is in right now, we wouldn't have so many great concrete parks springing up all over the place....but at what a cost. The only exception I'll make is to people in bands that wear Vans and other skateboarding brand shoes. Music is a very important part in skateboarding and most musicians understand it, support it or have done it or still do it. Also, people that have been injured to the point where they physically cannot skate anymore is also an exception.

But anyways, getting back on track, skateboarding is not the shirt that you wear, it's not the shoes on your feet or any type of skate accessory that you can buy at your local shopping mall. Skateboarding is the act of skateboarding itself, and if you do that you are a skateboarder, and that's that.

If you're just wearing the gear and want no part of it whatsoever, you're just a straight up trend following douche, and that's it.

J.Coops