The Dark Side of Olympic Skateboarding

[@AdventuresInSkateboarding]

We all find our own way in skateboarding, some do a 1000 tricks. Some go to the Olympics, some do FS Nose slides because that's all we got. It is skateboarding. Surround yourself with your people and push. I love winning, but I also love skateboarding that I absolutely suck at.

[@NickGoSk8]

They made skating a sport as opposed to something fun to do. Gonna be lots of crap parents pushing their kids to do stuff they don’t want to do. I have witnessed it in every sport. The kids burn out, get hurt, or turn into drug addicts.

[@SICresinwrks]

Thats very similar to what happened to me, it was the late 80s-90s, it won't end unfortunately

[@gravelmonarch]

That's what happened to me with basketball, I got really good after being forced to play from birth and traveled but never actually liked it. Its actually why I picked up skating in the first place lmao.

[@chickenpants]

I did two of those things, and I didn't burn out. I'm in my 50s now, and my right knee lets me know every time I go up stairs. I was on my way to train for the Olympics when my both cruciate ligaments in my right knee just quit. I enjoyed running. I did not enjoy competition and races. Much like skating there was a freedom in just putting my shoes on and running.

[@LegendaryJiggXV]

Basketball being one of the biggest sports in the world didn't necessarily take away from the culture. In the same way that you can enjoy and become really nasty at basketball without having dreams of playing in college or professionally, I'd imagine the same is true for skateboarding. I think we really be romanticizing this lil' wooden toy..."What you eat don't make me shit" is the saying that comes to mind. Other people being weird about skateboarding doesn't have to take away my joy.

[@kirbydjentleman6010]

Good example!

[@mr.thammisses6119]

Good point but Also forcing kids to skate which is a lot more dangerous then learning to play basketball something just doesn't feel right there.

[@LegendaryJiggXV]

I don't think parents should necessarily force their kids to participate in *any* sports, but I can't tell people what to do or not to do with their kids (for better or worse), @@mr.thammisses6119 .

[@kirbydjentleman6010]

@ the danger for kids being forced to training are a structural issue that lies within the shadyness of being a shady autocratic state. this is nothing skateboarding specific and seems to be a weak spot of the big picture.

[@bassyey]

Exactly. You don't have to participate in the Olympics lol, we probably can't anyway. It's your choice. Street basketball is still alive. You want to get hurt? And gamble? Yeah, pull up some 3v3. Nobody is stopping you. Skaters being overly sensitive and whiners is ironic.

[@bargerkenneth]

John, you're killing it. Here's my pushback on the Olympics thing. It's giving an amazing opportunity to skater kids from countries that haven't had access before. Peep the Ugandan Olympic team. There was no way those kids were going to beat the American, French, Brazilian, and Japanese skaters, but they showed up and shredded and there was NO WAY this kind of thing was happening for those dudes if it weren't for the Olympics. What a joy for those rippers. The Chinese example you gave is problematic indeed but I believe on balance this is bringing more shredding to more kids in more places than it is doing harm. My two cents. Keep up the good work.

[@sharkh20]

This isnt a skateboarding thing exclusively

[@HadrianAelius-m5s]

This is Chinese totalitarianism, and I hardly see this coming to western countries. Don't use this example and apply it to the rest of us

[@xavierrivera9130]

Look up Japanese little league. This is youth sports. Not just overseas, the amount of kids doing sports they don't care just doing it to please parents is so common.

[@gravelmonarch]

Skateboarding is not a sport. Its recreation, repurposing public and private infustructure for fun. And its awesome.

[@MadTurt]

Im younger and grew up on playing thps and the 'skate games' before even skating myself. So skating was already cool and a thing people were posing to look cool. I still fell in love with skating, for how cool it looked and the wonder of how that must feel. Contests were all in full flare and tv shows, advertisements, movies, all mainstream outlets were pumping skateboarding. So i never really noticed the difference. And im dogshit, always have been. but im in love still. And I dont think anything or anyone else could change that for me, even if i did grow up in your era with the greater sence of rebelious culture associate. But who knows im just some idiot guy haha Keep Killing it

[@808jin]

I had an argument with a friend last week, about what you just mentioned in this video. I don't really care for contests or competitions..... it takes away from the purity of just playing a sport. Feel sorry for those kids who get forced to skateboard. No one should be forced to do a sport they don't like.

[@PressureCracksToHealthySnacks]

It does seem like theirs so much separation even in skateboarding now compared to 10 years ago (regarding the comment on traditional sports and us vs them mentality). I think its super cool how you can be any skateboarder you want to be now but it does seem like theres more clicks and groups compared to all of us being together. I know its not one for one but it seems more common now then ever before and I always loved the concept of being able to do something by myself my own way and still include everyone around me no matter where your from or how much money you have or what culture you are

[@LotkaVolterra]

The presentation during the Olympics was so flaccid to me. I wouldn't blame any casual viewer for being bored. Every trick was filmed from the letter box angle like it was an NBA game, and it felt like the commentators (Sheckler excluded) were told to announce like it was a golf game. Very low energy. The whole thing just felt sterile. They'd show Yuto and Nyjah's best tricks at a good angle, but then Cordona Russell would get put in picture-in-picture mode while an ad for Pepsi played. Every single time. I watched with my family, and they were totally checked out.

[@dbk1440]

I would love to grow up in a skateboard training facility than an average low educational school...

[@TekkenXtremeS]

Honestly depends if it was like americanized maybe. China no, but honestly I like John Hill a lot, but obviously he's made his living off Skateboarding not in the traditional since, but yeah. Making Skateboarding an Olympic sport will give way more skaters a chance to actually make it a living. Sure there will be kids forced into it, but for the kids and teens that do enjoy it and are able to get to that level and compete, it sure hell beats working in a factory, construction, retail, food, education etc. I have worked in all of those. Trust me if I could be a skater or bmx or any extreme sport as a living sure as hell I would've taken it. Granted I was never that good, so it doesn't matter. but for kids that are that actually love it and aren't forced into, their dreams have a higher chance now.

[@smurxxx0910]

That's what you say as an outsider looking in but if you were to have been forced into it instead of picking it up yourself you'd probably look at it differently.

[@grutfrut5817]

I remember (back in the 90's) a mocking of the infamous Nike "what if we treated other sports like skateboarding" add ... It was hilarious and pretty much on point with your opinion.

[@andrewsmyth1652]

I totally agree. I started skating (pro board) in 1990. I was drawn to it for exactly the same reasons. It was a sub culture that didn't conform to anything. My crew of skaters were a couple of hip hop kids, a punk guy, some hippies, and it was great. We all influenced each other music tastes. Kids would come and go but the guys that kept skating were all outcasts in one way or another. When I moved to the big city at 17 I couldn't go to an event, nightclub or art show that didn't have at least one skater heavily involved. That will never change I'm sure. Skateboarding now has the type of people in it that I started skating to avoid. I dont need Skateboarding to expand. Give it back to the skaters.

[@tet-life]

You're one of the most competitive skaters I watch. You're just constantly competing against yourself, setting targets every session. I like that skateboarding is in the Olympics. No matter what anyone says, it's always had a competitive side since the beginning. Being part of the biggest competition on the planet helps keep it relevant. Imagine if scooters had become an Olympic sport first. They're way more consistent landing tricks so arguably a better experience for viewers 😉. Every activity has a dark side. Nothing new there.

[@calliewilliams8133]

Yeah I share the same sentiment. I fell in love with skateboarding from the rawness of it when I was young. Just seems so buttoned up now.

[@Manifesto7777]

The Olympics is lame asf, but it’s a chance for the homies to get paid.. which is good for them tbh

[@mateuszgasffsajh2644]

Bro, you said who cares about winning olimpics... It's the biggest thing you can actually achieve in this world when it comes to sports, or just the biggest thing in general.

[@Dave3rdEyeArt]

The training camps are pretty messed up. Its literally insane.

[@joshuakakooza5736]

This is nuts bro

[@PatRourke137]

John, skateboarding as we knew it died in 2010 and it was already on its last legs. Late 90s early 2000s was the peak. And it couldn't stay peaked forever. Olympic skateboarding? Over a decade since the death of skateboarding? Sure, why not

[@GlitchInTheSkatricks]

I’m in full agreement with you on this one bro. To me, skateboarding is something along the lines of painting or making music. The amount of time it takes to perform these crafts isn’t as instantly gratifying as skating, but it’s similar in the way you’re able to uniquely express yourself. Hence, why we value skate parts above pretty much everything else. But imagine painters or musicians battling it out.. it would be kind of lame compared to just watching the artists create art for the sake of creating. It’s one of the reasons skateboarding is so hard to judge too, which makes that competitive aspect feel like even more of a let down. Making kids skate just takes it to an even deeper level of disconnect from the entire culture of skating. They need to teach these kids skate history and how to avoid burnout!! Ha.

[@mattf9096]

You dont have to love what you do to be successful in it. It's great if the two paths converge, but they dont often do. If there's a 10 foot tall dude who wants to write poetry and someone forces him into playing basketball they did him a favor by using his strength to find a level of success that can fund his passion. Following your passion might feel more rewarding, but following your strengths will be more successful in the long term.

[@michaelnusbaum]

Geoff is no longer an announcer for street league

[@smurxxx0910]

Imagine the Piss Drunx in the Olympics.

[@ShawnxEdge]

Competitive skateboarding is a sport. Skateboarding itself is an art form. Also both could be true if you’re a contest skater but also skate for fun. It’s up to the skater…

[@craigjohnson2015]

just sat down to eat chicfla, thanks

[@jacuzzistream]

Post the mukbang ! 🤩🤩

[@marshalmiller1323]

4:32 yupppppp

[@Sk8anddestroy-p2z]

I don’t really like the Olympic skating but I’m sorta ok with the x games but not like a really big sport’s enjoyer but I like actually doing the sport

[@yungm0rris]

This is why I have always been a follower of John hill. Tru skater

[@CiceroMonteiro]

China strips the style out of skateboarding, which for me kills it. No one wants to see a sterile skateboarder, style and cool factor are 90% of the fun.

[@chomp3291]

Skate for the soul ❤ Competitions make people forget the whole reason we started skating in the first place , FOR FUN ! The only battle there should be is between you and the board! Love ❤ Big up yourself, John. I 100% agree with you!

[@mantisvlogs6029]

lol the rc car

[@AndrewDangerously]

Olympic skating to me is like watching flatground freestyle routines. I will never appreciate how hard it is and it's not that entertaining to watch.

[@pockets5921]

I am currently about to turn 45 the first time I got in a skateboard was a penny board that my dad had bought to get around a college campus while he was teaching their my dad was one of those people who put roller skate wheels on 2 by 4 and skating around on that so my dad was pretty good at it he showed me my brother my brother thought it was cool and wanted to be cool so he begged for a skateboard for Christmas are grandparents got him a 1980s Sears skateboard that weighed about 8 lb with trucks that weigh about 3 lb each my brother gave it up because it was too hard and I proceeded to use that skateboard whenever and wherever I could mainly in my family's basement and the real place where we lived the only thing I was ever able to learn on it was flatland tricks and that was from what little footage of skateboarding I had access to making me the only person in a over 100 mi radius that was riding a skateboard it wasn't until I was an adult that I was able to buy myself a good skateboard and try to pick it up again the board was so late I can actually do things on it that I didn't know I could do beforeand after several decades I was able to do my first Ollie unfortunately after that my health went downhill and I lost my balance so no more skating for a while till I get my health back and my balance but that is one of the many things I look forward to keeping me going with my ongoing health issues sometimes if there's a way to make money or use it politically then there are those people that will do that then it becomes hard to distinguish whether somebody is into it for the right reasons but if people try something new it's not always a bad thing just as long as there isn't people pressuring anyone into it unfortunately even sometimes parents themselves will force kids into doing things that they're not comfortable with and don't want to do because they think that it'll be good for them so those kids were Belle in other ways sometimes much worse ways because let's face it there are far worse ways to rebel against people trying to force you into doing things you don't want to do lots of love for all those who want to skateboard because they think it would be fun and want to try it and to those who skateboard already and would like to see others join them in their fun ❤❤❤

[@kirbydjentleman6010]

I can follow your opinion and I respect it. In my point of view there is a way to let both worlds exist in parallel. Honestly I think that skateboard culture might even profit of certain effects the "legitimation" of skateboarding as an olympic "sports" has on the opinion of politicians when it comes to investing in new parks. Suddenly there are good reasons for them to say "yes why not". The other way around I loved to see the very supportive and passioned mindset of Skateboarding Culture being now displayed in the official Olympics. For a lot of those "competitors" it obviously wasn't just a competition of countries to the olympic skaters. It was the biggest noncommercial skatecontest event in history accompanied by a great gathering and lots of cool events in the city besides the official contest. There allways have been Skatecontests and there allways will be. This new global stage makes Skateboarding even more visible and interesting to some, without touching DIY / Street / skateboarding anticulture or skating being practiced as an artform in a negative way. It can be all of this the same time in all of it's complexity without loosing spirit.

[@Ha1rD1aper]

i knew the Olympic mentality would kick in for some as soon as it was announced... sad thing is the kids will miss out on the time where it's not super serious and can just have fun with it. which is probably part of the reason some old timers are old timers. the personal drive to progress and have fun doing something on something that had no obligations other than the ones you put on it yourself, substituted with the drive for Olympic gold fueled nationalism from day one... hopefully EU and NA culture can catch some of these kids as the comps.

[@Salema-d7x]

Damn watching the first 5 minutes of this has been the best part of my day. Cannot Agree More, The Olympics Suck, Competition generally ruins the creativity and Fun.

[@comanchecreature]

Good video topic. Some countries just totally throw out ethics and morals.

[@NickGoSk8]

@@comanchecreature replace ‘some countries’ with ‘Asian countries’. They drain the sea, deplete resources, over populate, and appropriate American culture in the worst way possible

[@7plyTherapy]

This mentality sounds like “well you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.” It sucks that they are destroying the culture, but the Olympics and other contests do bring more awareness to skating, which can help bring money to it. The balance is hard, but I definitely disagree with the Chinese approach.

[@mr.thammisses6119]

The culture aint going anywhere they just aren't a part of it.

[@TekkenXtremeS]

I like John Hill a lot, but obviously he's made his living off Skateboarding not in the traditional since, but yeah. So, it's easy for him to say skateboarding should be for fun etc. I can assure you, if there wasn't a social media thing, he would've grew up and got a normal job, and had a high chance of giving up skateboarding. Making Skateboarding an Olympic sport will give way more skaters a chance to actually make it a living. XGames, Red bull etc. Make it more popular meaning more money in industry meaning more chance to make money off it, whether that be an Olympian, Xgames, influencer etc. John hasn't worked in a 110 degree machine shop, he hasn't worked in many hard physical jobs, where it does make skateboarding harder to do as we get older, since the tear and wear etc. I do hate to generalize as well, but a lot of skateboarders that are lets say past 25 or 30 that hasn't become a pro skater or made money off influencing etc. Don't really work jobs that are harder on the body jobs, at least from my experience they are 30 plus still working retail/fast food. Not a trade job or white collar etc, they really don't have any drive at anything. Sure there will be kids forced into it, but for the kids and teens that do enjoy it and are able to get to that level and compete, it sure hell beats working in a factory, construction, retail, food, education etc. I have worked in all of those. Trust me if I could be a skater or bmx or any extreme sport as a living sure as hell I would've taken it. Granted I was never that good, so it doesn't matter. but for kids that are that actually love it and aren't forced into, their dreams have a higher chance now.

[@romanticprops]

All Olympic competitors from China were trained in that fashion. Look at gymnastics and pool diving. No need to feed bad because that's the way of the REDS, not Olympic. And nowadays Americans already forgot how far the REDS can go.......

[@wongfeihung6759]

I love the golden era of extreme sports culture how they doing it now is trash dude love your vibe and own your pro techdech fire bro

[@eclectricmagazine]

Link for the china vid?

[@TouglasBoat]

Dude. Have your edits always hit with the music so hard? kzbin.info/www/bejne/npm7kqlmm56LkM0 EDIT* I love this so much.

[@TouglasBoat]

I can't unhear the skateboard back beat now.

[@Robbo859]

Yes! I love this about John’s videos, the tricks always land on the beat! So fun to watch.

[@BennyEatsCheese]

Very much agree with ya

[@georgeaura]

Didn't the Korean pop culture come up the same way? I ask cuz I have heard some brutal stories come from Korean pop.

[@joshmcali.sk8]

I don’t get the issue of it being a sport 🤷‍♂️ I guess because I was into sports before I got into skateboarding. I enjoyed watching the Olympics and rooting for my country. But I agree the intense forced training of kids is pretty lame.

[@TekkenXtremeS]

I like you a lot John Hill, but I have to disagree. You have made a living on skateboarding, not in the traditional since. Yes you were pro for revive for a while, birdhouse right. However, let's say if social media wasn't a thing, you'd have to get a "normal job" and that would increase your chance of giving up skateboarding. With Olympics, how cringe they may be, it really could change skateboarders life, it could make them into something more than just as you said it a normal job monotonous life. Look at snowboarding, Shaun White a good example, because he was popular before a lot of social media profits etc. Hell lets stick with Skateboarding, Tony Hawk, if there was no competition he would've never landed that og 900. There would be no THPS, probably no Rocket Power, Xgames wouldn't have been as popular, not as many skate games etc, to break through pop culture. Basically made the millennial age a border age, even majority of them are not skating anymore, because of jobs, family etc. Skating would've never became as popular as it did, in key your channel probably would've never made it passed 1.12M subs. Probably would get as many views as Aggressive inline channels, if there was no competition. I am not sure the stats, but I wouldn't be surprised if more Gen Z watch your channel now, but if us Millennials never got interested to begin with because of Xgames/Tony Hawk/Bam Margera etc, you would not be making money on youtube. That is for sure. I will always watch your channel, but just don't think people understand the trickle effect these things cause and how it keeps it relevant to the world, not just niche.

[@WunderWulfe]

skateboard labor camps

[@andreasvirkus3653]

I'm anti world too

[@eklatist]

You say you are not into competition, but you are always competing with yourself. Not trying to hate on this, just wanted to let you know what I observe.

[@GazoomaStudio]

You said uou’re against competition and « let’s get to the skatepark and get closer to those 1000 tricks » in the same sentence. Isn’t that competing against yourself? Wouldnt your logic dictate to just do whatever and have fun then?