Zaturdays: Notes From a Former Hater

I used to hate on everything. Well maybe not everything, but at least the stuff that I didn’t really agree with in skating, or that I thought was less than cool. I hated on people with weird styles. I hated on bad fashion choices (and this at a time when I myself was often dressed like a clown). I hated on ending a line in a video part with a flatground trick. I hated on starting a line in a video part with a flatground trick. I hated on companies that had weak graphics. I hated on foreign skaters with weird names, and Wieger Wagonwheel wasn’t even around yet. I hated on heelflip body varials. I hated on skaters that looked like they were trying too hard. I hated on skaters that looked like they weren’t trying hard enough. I hated on 411’s World Reports. I hated on a lot of stuff. Where was all this hate coming from? I have no idea, but in my defense it was trendy to be a hater back then. Today I love all of those same things. That’s not to say bad styles are suddenly my favorite, or that I want to wear wacky gear, or end lines with flatground tricks, or whatever. But it is to say that all that variety is the spice of skateboarding and there have never been more things to be psyched on in our little skate bubble. If everyone had a great style, how would we pick our favorites? If everyone dressed just like me we’d be living in the boringest of worlds. If people weren’t trying too hard then most of the best stuff we’ve ever seen probably would never have even happened. And a lot of the coolest things happening in skateboarding are the things going on overseas; stuff being done by people with hard to pronounce names: Gou Miyagi, Hjalte Halberg, Carlos Iqui, Nassim Guammaz, Youness Amrani. It takes a lot of energy to be a hater, and all that energy is probably better used for more productive things. Like learning new tricks. Heelflip body varials for instance. I guess it’s trendy to love everything these days. I do hate being trendy though. -Paul Zitzer