Zaturdays: The Difference Between Pros and Ams

We all know the literal definition of an amateur as someone who doesn’t get paid. But the first problem with defining an amateur when it comes to skateboarding is that a lot of them DO get paid. So…technically those ams are pros. But they’re not, because the second problem that we run into is that we stubborn purists don’t consider any skateboarder a genuine pro until a skateboard brand manufactures a skateboard deck and prints the skaters name on it and sells it. So, even if a dude gets paid a million dollars a year from a major shoe brand but a board brand has yet to “turn him pro,” he’s still pretty much just an am in our eyes. But what does any of this mean in a practical sense? Like, what are we supposed to do about any of it? Well nothing I guess, sorry, but I’m dedicating this week’s Zaturdays to drilling down down and down to the very heart of the defining characteristic of what makes a company decide to turn an am into a pro. Plenty of ams are more consistent than a lot of current pros that came up in a more inconsistent era but are still holding on. Ams are generally hungrier, and thus more willing to jump down bigger gaps, grind bigger rails, and put it on the line more than a ton of older pros who can’t handle that sort of nonsense any more. The great ams are more prolific than many older pros that have exhausted their supply of original moves. The up and coming ams can pretty much universally do perfect hardflips, switch tres, and will nollie heel out of any nosegrind while a lot of the pros that are still hanging around just can’t. SO, why aren’t these great ams all pro? One word: MARKETING. Pros that are worth anything at all have something that at least at one time was considered valuable enough to sell. Whether they were thought to be the “best,” or instead just had good style, a few deluxe moves or whatever, the thinking went “let’s put this guys name on the bottom of a skateboard and see if we can make some money off of it.” But a lot of today’s ams, no matter how technically proficient, might never get that blessing from any marketing department. A lot of times it’s “sure the kid is good…good for nothing.” So when the comments section on the latest hot video release includes a bunch of chirpers saying “this dude should be pro!” I say, “Are you actually going to go out and purchase the products with his name on it?” If so then sure, definitely, if not, then no, no he shouldn’t and he probably won’t ever be pro. At the end of the day, if you’re a skater in the industry, you are a walking promotional item. So, are you getting our attention? Do we like what we see? Will we open up the old digital wallet to buy into the hype? If the answer to those questions is yes, yes, and yes, then soon enough you’ll be pro, even if you can’t hardflip. - Paul Zitzer