the world of skateboarding is much more complicated and diverse than i imagined. this weekend i took my little brother birthday shopping and bought him a new deck. apparently his old deck has something wrong with it. i don't understand. and yes, i'm throwing the word "deck" around because it's one of the only skateboard lingo words i know, and it makes me feel smart. does that make me a poser? i suppose.
anyway, a deck is just the board. no wheels, no chassis, just very expensive wood and paint. the best decks, if you're a snobby skateboarder like my bro, are zero, element, and girl. he picked out a zero one. okay.
the prices on these things are amazing. i'm not complaining, because i like spending money on my little brother, snob skateboarder that he is, but what about the kids with no doting big sisters? just buying the deck, two chassis (can i make that word plural?), and four wheels, according to my calculations on saturday, cost about $140. that's without the screws and bolts and tools to put the things together. and since andy's old element board is only about six months old and needs replacing, apparently they don't last very long.
how do kids afford these things?
though it's expensive and i think the skateboard execs are making a killing, i support this hobby of my brother's. other than skating, he's into video games, hockey, school, and the saxophone. apparently he's unusually talented at the sax, but he doesn't really care. he's fine with being "just okay." same with video games and school. and hockey, much to the frustration of his former-coach brother and sister.
but skateboarding he loves. he tries. he practices for hours and hours, despite his ADD tendencies. it's something that he wants to be better at, and he's improving! my parents aren't as enthusiastic, since they thing skating somehow makes his grades worse, but i'm excited that he's actually trying to be better at something. i'm excited that he's excited.
hence the overpriced pinkish zero deck. i hope it lasts longer than the greenish element.
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