In 2010, riding a scooter was considered street-cred suicide.
People I had been skating with for years, even those I considered my mentors, renounced me instantly. My entire circle of friends, crew, and network revolved around skateboarding, switching to scootering was the cardinal sin.
In the memoir "Shoe Dog" by Nike's founder, Phil Knight, he mentions a time when running for enjoyment and exercise was ridiculed. People would throw beer cans at runners' heads, yelling, "Get a horse!" My experience was similar, the taunts being, "Get a skateboard, ya scooter fag!"
My attempts to use logic and reasoning to explain how absurd it was to hate someone because of the type of wheels they chose to ride were met with out-of-context homophobic insults, even veering close to physical violence. It's worth noting that multiple people from that group would later find themselves in prison — a fate I'm almost certain I would have shared, had I not found scootering.
The message was clear then: if I chose a scooter, I wasn’t welcome at the skatepark where I had spent the last five years of my life.
However, my new scooter friends embraced the sight of a skater picking up a scooter and going for it. Wherever they were riding, I was welcomed. The contrast only further cemented my decision to dedicate my life to my new found passion.
Here's the original line from the NIKE book:
"In 1965, running wasn't even a sport. It wasn't popular, it wasn't unpopular- it just was. To go out for a three-mile run was something weirdos did, presumably to burn off manic energy. Running for pleasure, running for exercise, running for endorphins, running to live better and longer- these things were unheard of. People often went out of their way to mock runners. Drivers would slow down and honk their horns. "Get a horse!" they'd yell, throwing a beer or soda at the runner's head. Johnson had been drenched by many a Pepsi."
People I had been skating with for years, even those I considered my mentors, renounced me instantly. My entire circle of friends, crew, and network revolved around skateboarding, switching to scootering was the cardinal sin.
In the memoir "Shoe Dog" by Nike's founder, Phil Knight, he mentions a time when running for enjoyment and exercise was ridiculed. People would throw beer cans at runners' heads, yelling, "Get a horse!" My experience was similar, the taunts being, "Get a skateboard, ya scooter fag!"
My attempts to use logic and reasoning to explain how absurd it was to hate someone because of the type of wheels they chose to ride were met with out-of-context homophobic insults, even veering close to physical violence. It's worth noting that multiple people from that group would later find themselves in prison — a fate I'm almost certain I would have shared, had I not found scootering.
The message was clear then: if I chose a scooter, I wasn’t welcome at the skatepark where I had spent the last five years of my life.
However, my new scooter friends embraced the sight of a skater picking up a scooter and going for it. Wherever they were riding, I was welcomed. The contrast only further cemented my decision to dedicate my life to my new found passion.
Here's the original line from the NIKE book:
"In 1965, running wasn't even a sport. It wasn't popular, it wasn't unpopular- it just was. To go out for a three-mile run was something weirdos did, presumably to burn off manic energy. Running for pleasure, running for exercise, running for endorphins, running to live better and longer- these things were unheard of. People often went out of their way to mock runners. Drivers would slow down and honk their horns. "Get a horse!" they'd yell, throwing a beer or soda at the runner's head. Johnson had been drenched by many a Pepsi."
Finding Freedom is meant to be read in the following order:
Petition, Dedication, Conviction, Exodus, Competition,
Treason, Funding, Physical, Virtual, Exponential.