BY OLE GILBERTSON
10/12/01

Both street tricks & vert tricks have levels of technical difficulty. I would submit that the technical difficulty of most vert tricks are not as high as that of most street tricks. Think of this in respect to the basic tricks for both styles of skateboarding:

The First Ollie
Learning to ollie is the prerequisite for virtually any modern street trick. The mechanics of the ollie are very technical. Have you ever tried to teach someone how to ollie? You know that an ollie isn't hard because you have done it a million times. When you try to explain that you have to jump, hit your tail, and slide your front foot forward (not too far) all at the same time, you have to accept that the body mechanics of the trick really are hard. It just seems easy because it has become second nature to you.

The First Drop In
Wow, I know skateboarders my age that are still unwilling to take the plunge on the vert ramp. Dropping in is not a technical skateboard trick. When you explain to someone how to drop in, it involves just setting your tail on the lip & going. There are no tricks or technical tips that really work when you try to explain it to someone. When you explain to the person trying to drop in that they need have to have some faith in their abilities, you realize that this trick really isn't easy. There is a big faith jump when someone takes the plunge on the vert ramp. The difficulty on this trick lies more on the mental side of skateboarding.

To progress effectively as skaters, we need to develop both the mental & the physical side of our personal respective games. It makes sense that to develop on the physical side, one should take the more technical approach to skateboarding. Street skating is the more technical approach. To develop the mental side, vert skating is the obvious answer. Skating vert will help your overall skating ability because it develops the mental side of your personal respective game. Skating street will help your overall skating ability because it develops the physical side of your personal respective game.

Skateboarding, as a whole is currently dominated by the street skating scene. I love skateboarding & hold any talented skateboarder in the highest regard. I want to see skateboarding progress to a level that is beyond crazy. We should all strive to be well rounded. I think that if some of the street skaters spent a little more time on vert & the vert skaters spent a little more time on street, all of our personal respective games would take a giant leap forward.

The Third Lair has been host to a crazy vert skating resurgence. I can remember the days when I would watch the vert skaters literally running up the stairs to get another run. As I get older, my appreciation for skateboarding borders on the spiritual level. Hangin' with my homies & cheering each other on has got to be one of the most satisfying ways that I can think of to spend an evening. I would submit that skateboarding is one of the hardest sports on this planet. If it were going to be compared to anything, I guess gymnastics would be the best comparison. If you told a gymnast that they were going to be doing gymnastics on an infinite number of rolling planes (everything between horizontal & vertical) with no safety mat or spotters, they would probably tell you that you were crazy. I feel honored that I'm a skateboarder. I am in good company.

O. Gilbertson