Let's face it...In our sport we love to categorize and segregate other riders for choices they make. Whether those choices be to ride certain parts, ride certain terrain, and even as simple as dressing a certain way. I never really saw it as a huge problem, and overall it is normal. Although, I just feel like there is little to no point in it.
Our sport is young, and is trying to grow into whatever we all think it should become. We are such a small community, and for some reason we just love to cut eachother down and discourage either for choices we make in our riding. Your scooter sucks, Your bars are too wide, You don't do enough tricks, You do too many bri flips, You only ride park, and the list goes on and on and on. In the end, does it really matter what someone is doing on their scooter? The point is they are ON THEIR SCOOTER.
Younger kids fall victim to this the most, and I am not innocent in this matter either. However I also now realize that sometimes you just need to look past what he or she is doing, and look at the bigger picture. That the kid you are insulting, chose to ride a scooter. He could have picked a skateboard, or bmx, or anything else...but he chose our sport. So who cares if he's riding a stock scooter, or only doing tailwhips in his first video, the point is he wants to be a part of our sport.
Its a huge problem that we face in the sport, because the majority of our riders are young teens. Who are really impressionable and are Always looking for the next band wagon to hop on. Whether its the "Ride Wide Bars" bandwagon, or the "Bri Flips Suck" bandwagon, or the ever so popular, "Lets hate JDBen". The point I'm trying to make is that sometimes, you just gotta look at the bigger picture. Realize that EVERY new rider that starts riding, or registers on a forum, is a new rider who decided that they saw what all of you could do, and made the decision to want to be a part of that. So let them ride the parts they want, and ride the terrain they enjoy. Let them do the tricks they have fun doing, and dress, or talk, or do whatever the hell else they want to do. Because in the end, they're riding scooters just like we are. Some will progress fast, and some will progress slow. Some will turn into amazing riders in due time, and some might start their own companies in the future. But we gotta give them a chance first. So next time you see a new rider, doing something that YOU don't agree with...Keep the insults to yourself, and just remember that every new rider that starts to ride..is helping expand the sport we all love to do.
written by Steven Tongson
Couldnt agree more its alot different when you look at it that way
ReplyDeletenice one steve.. im a new rider.. im progressing slowly but i wanted to start cos i found riding scooters way more appealing than other sports.. and i've made a few friends from it so im happy haha
ReplyDeleteAwesome dude. Good to hear.
ReplyDeleteSo true. But also, the writers on inside scooters, amazing! Jordan Jasa, Steven Tongson. You guys really know how to write an article. Both of you know how to grab a potentail readers attention. Great job both of you!
ReplyDeleteagreedddd
ReplyDeleteSteven, I love your topic. This really hits home for me and my efforts. I had been researching, writing letters and making lots of phone calls to get scooters legalized in many different skate parks. Funny thing how I let the judgments, comments and wise cracks about the HYPHY jam knock the wind out of my sails. I drove 7 hours to SF to participate, support and sponsor a scooter Jam. Yes, I realize it was a street jam, but just because you CHOOSE to wear a helmet shouldn’t mean you will be uninvited or unwelcomed next year... One goal that Team Scooter Tees wants to achieve is legalizing scooters in public skate parks.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a huge task and I think we can do it! One park at a time!
What we are up against are some horrible statistics, (see below).Unfortunately insurance companies and city offices make decisions based on statistics. Even though this is an old statistic…… that’s what they go by. The only way to change this is by wearing helmets and inspiring younger and/or newer riders in the sport to so the same. Our target is children under the age of 15.
We can’t change things, if we are not being examples ourselves. It takes more character to walk the walk than just talk.
Statistics from Brain Injury Association of America on
Razor Scooter Safety
In the year 2000, there were almost 40,000 emergency room treated injuries associated with scooters.2In September of that year alone, there were 8,600 injuries - an increase of nearly 1,800 percent from May to September 2000.2Children under age 15 are the most common users of scooters.1 About 90 percent of the injuries sustained in scooter crashes happen to children under 15.1Nearly one third of injuries sustained in scooter crashes in 2000 have involved children under age eight.1 Proper use of helmets could reduce brain injuries by 85 percent.1 Brain injuries can be particularly serious in children, whose heads are proportionately larger than adults so they tend to land head first. We see them everywhere, children of all ages using them on sidewalks and in streets, and often they’re not wearing helmets. It’s the old made new again, lightweight, portable scooters. They feature low-friction skate wheels, light materials and a collapsible handlebar.
March 2001
Awesome article Steven. Sometimes you just gotta take a step back and look at the big picture...in the end we're all riding kiddy scooters...it looks the same to everyone outside the sport. It's all the same...people skaters talk smack on scooter riders for, well riding scooters, and then scooter riders talk smack on other riders for doing certain tricks or following trends..which makes us just as bad as those skaters.
ReplyDeletei decided not to go to the next SF jam since helmets are not allowed and that sucks for me since a helmet is the only way i can keep riding and owning a scooter
ReplyDeleteThank you Kimberly and Jordan, and everyone else who commented.
ReplyDeleteyea, let people ride how they want!!
ReplyDeletejust thought i would let you know, http://www.scooterresource.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35704 take 2 is back.
ReplyDelete