Clem's Corner: Skateboarding in the Smithsonian
Published 8/1/2013 by Ryan Clements
Originally posted on Street League, June 30, 2013.
I was part of something pretty damn extraordinary last weekend. It took place at the Smithsonian Institution in our nation’s capital, and was called “Innoskate.”
I know that’s not the coolest name of all time, and sounds like something Nate Sherwood would say, but it was nonetheless extraordinary.
Of course the overall theme was “innovation in skateboarding,” but the fact that the event was hosted at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History meant so much to me personally.
When I graduated high school in 1991 (yeah, I’m that old and still that into skateboarding), I bought a van and drove it up the East Coast with a friend. Our mission was to skate in the major cities. That meant getting kicked out of many famous spots, then hitting the few skate parks that existed. Part of our journey took us through D.C. because we wanted to experience the history that we only read about in middle school.
We saw the typical D.C. sites like the Lincoln and Vietnam memorials, skated around, and of course toured the Museum of American History.
Fast forward 22 years later to February 2013: I was invited by a few members of the Smithsonian staff to tour the building and get busy helping with the planning of Innoskate. Over several months’ time it all came together. We formulated questions for panels with the likes of Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen, set up a mini-ramp for demos with Chris Haslam and Kyle Berard, and got to dissect innovations in skateboarding with some very brilliant non-skateboarders that have a true appreciation for our pastime.
That was all awesome, but the part that hits home the hardest for me was the irony of sleeping in my van on the streets of D.C. back in ’91 because I wanted to be there, versus being a guest of the Federal Government 20-plus years later, giving my input on the very thing that brought me to D.C. in the first place—skateboarding.
Skateboarding arrived in the Smithsonian, and no one kicked me out for skating this time.
Photos
Skateboarding in the Smithsonian.
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