Zaturdays: Revenge of the Hometown Hero

In the past, being called a Hometown Hero was about as bad of a bad thing you could be in skateboarding. If you thought you might ever want to get sponsored or even just get some hype from your fellow locals, the Hometown Hero label was the kiss of death. You could always assume with relative accuracy the following about any HtH: They were really good, and had potential, BUT, they were also overzealous and desperate for attention. They most likely had the tendency to show people up by following them around the skatepark, landing the tricks they were bailing, especially if a skate team was in town. The HtH was the show off, the one upper, the beamer. They’d also talk too much, usually about their skating and what tricks they’d filmed. I could go on and on, but the number one thing I could say about the HtH with confidence was this: He was never going to be anything more than what he already was. Okay, so you get the idea, being a Hometown Hero was not something to be psyched on. Which brings me to my next point. Skateboarders were always good at keeping each other in check. This was done almost out of a sense of duty. The older dudes would pass along wisdom to the younger dudes, often by bullying them and laughing at them but still, and then the younger dudes would eventually grow up and pass that same wisdom along to the next generation. It was a good thing. As a youngster, you’d gain the knowledge you needed to keep from unwittingly becoming a Hometown Hero. You’d learn to keep your mouth shut, quit trying so hard, frontside kickturn before attempting the frontside flip disaster revert, and, essentially, to not be a kook. The Hometown Hero was the unfortunate example of the kid who had slipped through the cracks. So what’s the point of today’s little rant? Well, maybe it’s that things change, but duh right? The Hometown Hero was rebranded and got a makeover. What used to be frowned upon is now promoted and encouraged. In the past, one crusty veteran could positively influence a whole scene full of skate rats by showing them the ropes. But social media has taken over that role and now the vet is being shown the ropes. Either way though, keep in mind that just because he’s being drown out in the noise, the old timer still can make a lot of good points. We might want to listen to him or we could end up becoming a Hometown Hero, because that won’t be cool forever either hopefully. - Paul Zitzer