Go to any skate industry event and you’ll realize how surprisingly out of touch many skate biz folk are with the younger generation of skaters. A couple of beers deep and you’ll hear a group of grown men reminiscing over dinosaurs like Tom Penny and Brian Lotti, comparing VHS collections and sharing tour stories from the 90s. Despite the fact that the average age of the skateboarder is older than ever before, skateboarding is and always will be fueled by the youngins.
But kids are dumb, and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt and a shot of tequila, right?
Wrong, you old geezer! Like it or not, the kids we scoff at today will be like us – the jaded generations of the future, so their tastes are just as valid as your own. And instead of just sitting around stalking Instagram and hypothesizing who the younger kids are hyped on, we went to three of Manhattan’s busiest skateparks and asked them ourselves.
ISAIAH EDWARD
Age: 16
First skate video: Ryan Sheckler’s first Plan B part on Youtube
Favorite skaters: Ryan Sheckler, Andrew Reynolds, Luan Oliveira, Louie Lopez, Trevor Colden
Favorite company: Organika
Luke Rinay
Age: 13
First skate video: Pretty Sweet – Girl
Favorite skaters: Grant Taylor, Nakel Smith, Ben Raybourne, Ben Kadow, Jesse Alba
Favorite company: Anti-Hero
Ethan Garcia
Age: 15
First skate video: Nick Mullins’s video on the Berrics
Favorite skaters: P-Rod, Luan Oliveria, Shane O’Neil, Carlos Riberio, Brian Peacock
Favorite Company: Nike SB and Plan B
Mecca Morris
Age: 15
First skate video: Some local skate video, but Baker 3 was the first real skate video I saw.
Favorite skaters: Brandon Westgate, Ishod Wair, Shane O’Neil, and I don’t have any more…
Favorite Company: Real Skateboards and Vans
Shane Gordon
Age: 15
First skate video: the first online part of the Brunner twins
Favorite skaters: Marc Suciu, Louie Lopez, Kevin Bradley, Ishod Wair, Trevor Colden
Favorite company: Real, Emerica, Thunder, Spitfire, Skate Mental
Carlos Wilson
Age: 16
First skate video: Parental Advisory – DGK
Favorite skaters: Jimmy Carlin, Theotis Beasley, P-Rod, Keelan Dadd, Tom Asta
Favorite company: DGK or Real
Mickey Bellam
Age: 14
First skate video: Pretty Sweet – Girl
Favorite skaters: Luan Oliveria, Trevor Colden, Curren Caples, Manny Santiago, Torey Pudwill
Favorite company: Plan B
Tal Radke
Age: 13
First skate video: Pretty Sweet – Girl
Favorite skaters: Chris Joslin, Chris Cole, Mike Mo, Torey Pudwill, Youness Amrani
Favorite company: Any Kayo company for boards
“Chris”
Age: 14
First skate video: Pretty Sweet – Girl
Favorite skaters: Ryan Sheckler, Trevor Colden, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Torey Pudwill, Nick Tucker
Favorite company: Trophy Griptape and Plan B
Julian Aprende
Age: 15
First skate video: Alien Workshop’s Memory Screen on Youtube, it was one of the suggested videos to watch…
Favorite skaters: Daewon Song, Curren Caples, Ryan Sheckler, Trevor Colden, Chris Joslin
Favorite company: Real Skateboards
Investigative reporting & photos: Russell “the Intern” Dolan
Original Illustration by Michael Giurato (@badhairlife)
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June 12, 2015 2:44 pm
Alright, we all know you vetted your subjects for affinities with Revive. Or maybe it’s just because these are hip Manhattan kids who’ve been cued in by their older peers that my company just ain’t cool or whatever. But they’re a minority, I can tell you. The reason so many young skaters like Revive is quite simple: it’s accessible, relateable, fun. It gives the kids what they want, not what some jaded company owner believes they ought to want. Too many ‘core’ companies are caught up humping the same old business model based around ultra-serious professional skaters, looking to come off as edgy artists and whatnot. That’s cool if you’re a collegiate age hipster skater, but kids don’t care about any of that stuff – they just want a daily dose of Youtube videos from dudes they can relate to, who lead the same kind of life as they do, whose skateboarding life takes place in Wall Mart parking lots, or random skateparks out in the middle of wherever, not in fashionable urban locales. They don’t care about industry politics, company image, or even who did what – you have to appreciate that for an overwhelming majority of young kids, if you can ollie knee-high, kickflip, maybe grind a bench, you’re an awesome skater, period. It’s more about personality than on-board prowess anyway.
average dudes who don’t drink, smoke or swear
who make skateboarding look fun
June 12, 2015 3:08 pm
I can’t tell if your actually Andy but I really think you got that point across well.
June 12, 2015 8:02 pm
No idea who Andrew Schrock is or what Revive is, nor have I ever seen a kid or adult on anything that said Revive on it, haha. If this is some clever troll comment, then it’s hilarious and I sort of feel bad for this Schrock character.
BUT, if you are actually some company owner who leaves comments on Jenkem articles claiming they vetted their 13 year old subjects for “affinities with Revive”, then this is enough reason for me to hate on anything that is ever remotely related to your company in the future.
Also, there is no such thing as an “average dude” who doesn’t drink, smoke, or swear. Do you know what the definition of “average” is?
June 15, 2015 1:16 am
you and black ninja should film a gay porn
June 16, 2015 1:53 am
Not everyone has to like your company relax no need to get so offended
June 18, 2015 11:00 am
You are just shifting product – don’t act so noble – so many of your vids are just product unboxing. Plus, your videos are juvenile, so don’t pretend your company is more adult than Girl or Polar or whoever.
Is it so wrong to want to watch Marc Johnson or Jerry Hsu over your team? Skateboarding is about aesthetics, like most art or sport, so it is natural for people to want to watch the most creative, innovative, stylish skating, or to see those who skate as best as anyone can.
There’s nothing wrong appreciating skateboarding as it has become, and I’m not saying kids can’t have fun watching your videos – they are obviously aimed at kids given the way you guys behave (like children) – there is nothing wrong with that. Just don’t pretend to be doing it better than core companies (who built the market you now profit from).
May 14, 2016 3:13 am
obviously this was trolling, if you responded you played yourself
June 12, 2015 3:08 pm
Despite saying three parks, I only see LES and Tribeca. Should have hit Chelsea too for a different demographic.
June 12, 2015 3:42 pm
Luke had the raddest taste, bless his heart
June 12, 2015 4:03 pm
solid article theme. I understand this being directed at the youth, but you should do an older demographic to compare. Would be interesting to see how self aware the dinosaurs have become.