Covid-19 has forced skaters to approach and adapt to their hobby in a whole new way. These different approaches look to have altered the shape of skating for the foreseeable future.
The world of skateboarding was plunged into uncertainty once the pandemic went into full affect. Staying inside has never been more important than now. Of course, with some countries lifting stricter anti spread measures as Covid cases gradual decrease, more people can go outside. With Skateboarding being a predominately outdoor sport or hobby, Skaters across the globe were impacted as their hobby suddenly became impossible to do in todays climate.
So, how much have things changed in the skateboarding industry as well as its culture? How have they tried to adapt to keep up their skating lifestyle?
How skateboarders have adapted to Covid and governmental measures:
Caption: Skate parks are often empty during the pandemic
Skate parks have become harder to find and access over the past few years and now seem to be barely used at all. Unless brand new and heavily funded, they are often abandoned by their local councils. Less upkeep means more litter, graffiti and damage caused to the property. When entered on a sunny Sunday afternoon a Leicestershire skate park, in particular, is barren. It feels like a ghost town. You can almost hear the echoes of wheels clacking and grinding onto rails from when this park once was used daily. You can see the drift marks on ramps slowly starting to fade away like a healing scar.
In a pre-Covid world, this park was the highlight for adolescents and teens. Now, no one seems to be skating. Within a year, this skate park has come to feel more like a relic than an attraction. Even with restrictions being lifted to allow for up to six people to have social gatherings outdoors, No one seems to be using skate parks. Instead, skaters are flocking to the streets.
Caption: Street Skating requires the use of ordinary ledges and benches to do tricks.
Thanks to social media, Skaters still have an avenue to connect as a community. Reddit, Twitter and Facebook host a plethora of groups for skaters to still showcase their passion even during this pandemic.
Daniel Power, who is a member of the Skateboarding UK Facebook group, elaborated on the changes this pandemic has made on him as a skater as well as how he has had to adapt: “I’d say the restrictions impacted it massively but in the good way! I stopped skating years ago and only picked it up again due to Covid shutting all the pubs, restaurants etc. Once I was back into it again though, I found the park closures impacted a lot too. Being a London skater, there is a lot of rain and cold, so indoor parks being closed meant I was back in the underground car parks or under bridges. The outdoor parks were basically all closed off too.”
It isn’t just the UK skating scene that has had to adapt like Daniel Power has. It occurs overseas too. In an interview with Canadian Long boarder, Gokulan Nagabaskaran, he elaborated on how he adapted to all of this and why Skaters have had to resort to ignoring the “no skateboarding” signs: “Because there is nowhere else to go. That's why parking lots are getting overrun. In Downtown Toronto, there is a huge culture right now where we find open parking lots because you can’t close down all the parking lots. Like, big shopping centres have huge parking lots that have open entrances into them, and the big skating culture is to hit these big parking lots at night. That's the whole reason why I was trying to do it in the first place. Just for that image bro. In terms of the public perception on this kind of stuff I feel like with Covid there is a higher presence of skateboarders and long boarders on the streets. If you take away skate parks, the only place where boarders have a place to go is public asphalt.”
Caption: Gokulan Nagabaskaran, Mask on, skating on the street.
The impact on the industry and public perception:
With governmental measures used to suppress the spread of Covid-19, Businesses too have been impacted. David Mendelsohn, owner of Onda Skateboards, elaborated on how the pandemic has impacted the industry: “My business started during the pandemic. All the shops got cleared out of stock once the pandemic started because a lot of people wanted to get into skateboarding. Supplies issues are on a global scale. The pandemic has hit the skateboarding industry on two ends. On one hand shops are seeing an increase in revenue because there is more demand. There are more people skating than ever before. It is certainly a boom in the industry. On the other hand, there are supply issues and a scarcity of products and the raw materials.”
“It seems like the culture of skating is a lot more friendly than I remember it as a kid. People are a lot warmer to you regardless of what level of skater you are. I hope the good vibes can continue. There is a lot of exciting things happening.” Mendelsohn’s skateboarding business is based around todays current events. Mixing todays current climate with skateboarding culture. For example, Decks are decorated with the image of a skull with a facemask on.
He holds a positive outlook on the perception of skateboarding culture during the pandemic: “Skateboarding has always been considered a fringe sport, if it’s a sport even. Now it’s sort of grown into more of a popular culture. More experience. More awareness. I think attitudes are changing. I think parents are a lot more inclined to let their kids try it. So, we do see a lot more young skaters than ever before. There are even more adult skaters getting involved for the first time. There is a lot of growth in that way. I personally don’t feel like the public is against us.”
Covid has changed how people have approached skating. However, it has also provided a gateway for beginners to start no matter what age they are. For now, Street skating may be the compromise, but the future looks bright for the industry as well as the culture of skateboarding.
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