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Skateboard Clothing: Element Jeans, 686 Belts And Volcom Boxers
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Published: December 7, 2006
In the old days, skateboarding was not about how you looked—your T-shirt or hoodie, your jeans, even the shoes on your feet did not matter. What mattered was that you were out there doing it.
At the beginning, skating was a way to practice surfing when the waves didn't cut it.
It evolved into a trendy mode of transportation and then a bold form of expression. Skateboarding was, and to some still is, a lifestyle and an expression of the punk ethos. There was no such thing as skateboard clothing. If there was skateboard clothing it was a T-shirt and a pair of Chucks or Hi-tops. Skateboard jeans were just a pair of trusty Levi 505s. Wearing skateboard Belts? Wearing skateboard Boxers? No one cared. What mattered was how you could bend a piece of seven-ply to your will and defiantly challenge conventions of physics and the pull of gravity.
"Subvert-Resist-Deny-Revolt," Analog skateboard clothing's copyrighted mission statement looks great on a T-shirt or as a desktop background, but may be better suited for the hearts and minds of the skaters that sport their product line. Challenge the commitment of professional skateboarders and skateboard clothing companies (read corporations) and their commitment to skateboarding. Although companies like Volcom and Element do their share to give back to the community that supports them, corporations like ESPN, Nike and Tony Hawk have only one thing in mind: lining their pockets with the money of the youth. For many, skateboarding is nothing more than an opportunity for another product placement—the co-opting of a lifestyle with corporate sponsorship.
Although the intention of companies like Burton and 686 are the best, a focus on skateboard clothing has become the paramount concern in the youth skate culture. Kids are spending more time carrying their skateboards while shopping at their local mall for the latest skateboard clothing and trends than on the streets and (government funded) skate parks.
It is not to say that skateboard clothing is a wholly bad thing. T-shirts and jeans and accessories like belts, boxers and the like can prove powerful statements of individuality, but it is important to remember that skateboarding is more than a marketing tool. The merit of a skater is not in the skateboard clothing he or she wears, but his or her performance when she is "push, push" coasting her skateboard through the grey streets of suburbia, lending her own creativity and color and in her way "subverting, resisting, denying and revolting" against the oppressive forces that draw on her when she's not on her board.
Sources:
History. 2005. Westlife Distribution USA LLC. 7 Dec 2006. www.686.com
About. 2006. Analog Clothing. 7 Dec 2006. www.analogclothing.com
The Company. 2006. The Burton Corporation. 7 Dec 2006. www.burton.com
At the beginning, skating was a way to practice surfing when the waves didn't cut it.
Related Articles
"Subvert-Resist-Deny-Revolt," Analog skateboard clothing's copyrighted mission statement looks great on a T-shirt or as a desktop background, but may be better suited for the hearts and minds of the skaters that sport their product line. Challenge the commitment of professional skateboarders and skateboard clothing companies (read corporations) and their commitment to skateboarding. Although companies like Volcom and Element do their share to give back to the community that supports them, corporations like ESPN, Nike and Tony Hawk have only one thing in mind: lining their pockets with the money of the youth. For many, skateboarding is nothing more than an opportunity for another product placement—the co-opting of a lifestyle with corporate sponsorship.
Although the intention of companies like Burton and 686 are the best, a focus on skateboard clothing has become the paramount concern in the youth skate culture. Kids are spending more time carrying their skateboards while shopping at their local mall for the latest skateboard clothing and trends than on the streets and (government funded) skate parks.
It is not to say that skateboard clothing is a wholly bad thing. T-shirts and jeans and accessories like belts, boxers and the like can prove powerful statements of individuality, but it is important to remember that skateboarding is more than a marketing tool. The merit of a skater is not in the skateboard clothing he or she wears, but his or her performance when she is "push, push" coasting her skateboard through the grey streets of suburbia, lending her own creativity and color and in her way "subverting, resisting, denying and revolting" against the oppressive forces that draw on her when she's not on her board.
Sources:
History. 2005. Westlife Distribution USA LLC. 7 Dec 2006. www.686.com
About. 2006. Analog Clothing. 7 Dec 2006. www.analogclothing.com
The Company. 2006. The Burton Corporation. 7 Dec 2006. www.burton.com
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