Clem's Corner: Olympic Glory!

Published 8/1/2013 by Ryan Clements

Originally posted on Street League, June 6, 2013.

"Olympics says no to skateboarding," read the text from a long-time friend and skater.

Snowboarding is the toast of the Winter Olympics, but skateboarding just got passed over yet again. (Who do they think invented the half-pipe, lien and method airs, rails, etc?) After we texted back and forth about 20 times, we concluded that we know no more than nothing about the Olympic selection process for sports. (Yes, skateboarding is not a sport, I know.)

I'm privy to a lot of info in skateboarding. Or at least I think I am. I feel like I'm a well-informed, behind-the-scenes guy, but maybe I'm just kidding myself regarding this Olympics stuff.

As skateboarders, do we really even care if skateboarding ends up in the Olympics?

Personally? Yes, I care. My career depends upon kids riding skateboards. That's my selfish viewpoint. The way I see it, the more eyes that witness how amazing skateboarding is, the more likely we'll have more participants. Not to mention, skateboarding is rad and life-altering, so why not share it? If you can change lives for the better, why not?

Oh, wait. You might be thinking that skateboarding is special to us skaters only; that it's a secret society; that it doesn't belong in the X Games; that Street League is wack; or whatever your negative sentiments may be.

You're about 20 years late with the negative, niche view of skateboarding. Unless you skated in the early 90s, and remember when World Industries was the realest skater-owned, mafia-funded skateboard company in history, back when Koston flossed in a Civic, you're too late to pretend you knew skateboarding when it was underground or counter-culture. Why even go back just 20 years? Tell Tony Hawk or Rodney Mullen they never kept it real when they made peanuts in the 80s, yet were the winningest contest skaters in the world, and invented half the tricks you've ever tried. Tell them they were sell-outs.

Us older guys in the industry never thought that we (or skateboarding) would make it this far. I wanted a job at SPoT in 1998 because I figured that I may as well skate and be around what I love before I figure out what the hell I'm going to do with the rest of my life. And it happened to be a lot more fun than mowing lawns, my prior occupation.

Skateboarding is not new anymore; it's reaching a certain level of maturity. I not only accept it, I embrace it. I'm ready to see skateboarding continue to grow and expand, to bring the joy of rolling thunder to more kids around the world.

Can anyone let me know when I can I submit my application for Coach Clem of the US Olympic Skateboarding Team?

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