Skateboarding
How Social Media has Changed Skateboarding
Chapter Two of Pushing Forward examines how social media has impacted pro skaters in 2014.
10 min
Pushing Forward Chapter Two
Chapter Two of the original skate documentary examines how social media has impacted skateboarding.
Has social media hurt or helped skateboarding?
In Chapter Two of ‘Pushing Forward,’ a skate documentary from Red Bull, we take a look at the impact of social media on pro skateboarders and how the modern pro utilizes social media to manage their own brand.
To help answer this somewhat obvious, but complex answer, we looked at the different ends of the spectrum. Joey Brezinski is quite active on social, as is Alex Midler, who at the age of 16 was born into the social media era and doesn't know anything different. And then there's Wes Kremer, who has a different approach entirely to the medium.
Brezinski explains how his mindset on social media changed, “when I picked up a skate mag when I was a kid, seeing Rick Howard nollie backside flip on the burrow banks, I liked the hell out of it, but there was no way to express how much I liked it other than putting it on my wall. Now, a kid can talk to P Rod, he can talk to all of these dudes instantly on their Facebook, their Instagram and they’ll respond.”
Legends Jamie Thomas, Mike Vallely, and Steve Berra weigh in on the subject with some strong opinions that provide interesting context to how the game has changed.
Check back on Wednesday December 17 for Chapter Three, as we breakdown the modern concept of ‘skater run’ companies and the role of corporations in the skateboard industry.