Where do you think Slalom is going?

[Steve D.]

The only thing I don't like about slalom is setting up the cones all the time...yeah lazy I know. I prefer just bombing hills.

I do go to quite a few slalom races though and it seems like I always see a couple new kids so I do think it's growing a bit.

i like going to places where i don't have to move the cones

[roastbeef540]

slalom = the ####
and jesus everywhere i look its hottub action... YOU ####### GUYS!!! hahaha good times

anyway regardless of it getting huge or shrinking like ty's penis in that hottub, i know for sure that whenever we skate we have fun, and thats all that matters.

[bara]

That's fine Cat, please refrain from giving the children your myspace address as your warrior princess pic is exactly the type of outfit we look to avoid in Slalom.

hey hold on man.....we have to see Joe crawling under Fatboys kilt, but we cant check out Cats warrior princess?.....there's something tragically wrong with that logic




please

[Slim]

Alot of negative posts always seem to be from sidewalk commandos who do not compete or cannot because of lack of talent !

That pretty much describes me! I certainly don't have the talent or dedication of someone like Richy. I've been to watch slalom races quite a few times (i especially enjoy it when the worlds is in morro bay) so I have a vague idea of the "scene", but hell, i've only entered one little minor race event and got beat by nearly everyone, including a guy twenty years older than me and there was a 13 year old girl that almost beat me! But it was still fun and it prompted me to buy my own slalom set up and some cones. I'd do it a lot more if there weren't so many other options for skate terrain and not so many waves to surf.

I apologize for having a negative attitude but the original post asked for predictions so I was just making one. I kind of hope I'm wrong. Richy and Maria are great for promoting slalom. I took my son and his friend to meet them at the Purple Skunk event a while back and then we all ran some cones over in golden gate park. The kids liked it but for whatever reason prefer the skatepark (i guess that's what we get for having such a great one in our neighborhood). Richy reminding me to bend my knees and stay lower was a big help. Thanks man! Not bending my knees has always been my biggest problem in skateboarding.

Jack, the event you are working on sounds great. I'm totally down for something like that even though I'll probably eat it horribly, ha! And don't worry silverfish safety committe, I have a bunch of pads to wear.

[Slim]

I also think that guys wearing all black, and leather that are Hackett's and Olson's age look just as silly as a guy their age wearing lycra. Do you really think young skaters think it's cool to see middle age men dressed either way? I feel the same way about when I see middle age guys decked out in leather "colors" riding Harleys.

I guess you're right. Though I think kids can tell the difference between dirty biker punk rock types (even when they roll up in a benz) and weekend warrior new harley owners with their brand new leather jackets and freshly ironed jeans. And up here in norcal i still see kids wearing leather jackets. the "hesh" skate scene is still pretty strong up here i guess, ha!

I wasn't really thinking of kids being attracted to slalom by the likes of dp, hackett and olson, but more the 20-something crowd or the 30-something former/current pro skater crowd. I know some of them have shown up to park slalom events (Hosoi for example) and it would be great to get those guys out to "real" slalom races and see how they stack up to the slalom specialists. I'd also love to see a few of the younger street/vert skaters competing against the slalom/downhill specialists. You know, Alva vs. Hester type thing for a new generation. I bet thrasher would even mention it (if only in the "trash" section) if someone like Trujillo came out and went up against the likes of Chaput or whomever. Or maybe someone could convince thrasher to put a "enter a slalom contest" as a point scoring task in their King of the Road contest. Maybe those guys would be totally humbled or maybe they'd be fast right out of the gate, but either way it'd be great for skateboarding.

[sAMOa]

wow. i remember back in my downhill ski days a similar situation. the downhillers dissin the bump skiiers and the air patrol laughing at both disciplines. and now snowboarders dissin skiiers and vice verse. someone is always gonna be frowned upon.

the thing about the industry now, you get dudes who think they know it all !!!! but the instant they make it sound like they know something, they stick their foot in their mouths. dissin slalom is like dissin their ugliness in the pictures they posted. those pics are the epitomy of being lost

nice to have energetic healthy exercise in any capacity. aint that the bottom line?


and richy! SIDEWALKS SURFERS RULE !!!! and you are the michael jordan of slalom! love you bro!

all these twits that think slalom is lame are lamers themselves in more than one way in some capacity. we just dont get to cast stones at the stench that hides.

cYa

[msk]

[Bugs]

Trivia: Who was it that once said "I wanted to look different; I wasn’t into wearing the typical surf rat costume-the trunks, T-shirt and jock socks. I wanted a professional appearance, something new and different...If other people would dress up and clean up their acts , the sport would look more pro and classy. You know, class among gruel. Right now everyone looks the same. I was just trying to set a new standard, to impress people outside of the sport, to show them it was more than just a bunch of kids skating around, to help them enjoy the skateboarder as a professional entertainer and athlete."?

I'm guessing it was Tony Alva.

I think the BLR look complements the lycra look. The tension between them is a natural hook to hang a story off - something that makes watching a race more interesting. No need to stop there - add a Captain America jumpsuit, some ragged skater clothes, the Michael Dong cyborg look, and maybe a 3-piece suit, and you've got yourself a spectacle and the possibility of a picture in the local newspaper or a spot on local TV (or maybe just an acid version of the Village People).

[Eddy Martinez]

I where my Team colors, BLACK AND SKULLS AND CROSSBONES I really do not care what the guy on the ramp next to me is wearing. All I know is that my heart is pounding and that on that 3rd beep the back of my wheels are hitting that backboard and I am ready to get the hell off that ramp. I am concentrating on the course. I am healthy so far this year, at the age of 46 I am ready to get go again, down from 230lbs lbs to 212lbs and dropping. As I said before when I can no longer compete I will not fade away, I will stay in the sport as a promoter. Only those of us who have been inside the competitors pit love that feeling. One more year that is all I want. The sport will live as long as we do not let it die. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws.

[Momona Boe]

BLR? I'll show ya' BLR!!!!

Slim, you come to ANY race that I'm at and I guarantee you won't be last!!!! I OWN the basement!

[MrTGun]

dissin slalom is like dissin their ugliness in the pictures they posted. those pics are the epitomy of being lost

I may be reading this wrong, but if you are refering to the DHB/Hot Tub/Party pictures posted on previous pages I would beg to differ.

Those pictures are not of the lost.............They are of the found.

And since the Fatman missed his cue on an explanation of "Fullbag Dude"............

Fatty, my girlfriend and myself are chillin' having a couple beers in the Courtyard at the Canadian Nationals (Dovercourt).

Off to the side two members of the Quebec contingent decide to play a fun spirited game of "Let's trade pants". Now I have no issues with two grown men trading clothing whilst in a drunken stupor, but it just so happens one of them was "freebagging" that evening.

For some reason my girlfriend decided to look over at the worst possible moment (Drunk man trying to get one leg into new pants), saw all that God had given him and proclaimed "FullBag Dude!"

And so became the warcry of all that is Team Fatboy, and my friendship with Jersey and drunk naked Francophone.

~TG

[cfav]

first,somewhere in this thread,somebody posted a pic of a "cleanshaven" jason mitchell.i dont need a shock like that before my third cup of coffee.just the races i have been to in 2006,everyone is getting scary fast and there seems to be a heavy expectation on promoters getting hairy hills to throw insanes gs courses on(get that big hill eddy-wink).there are too many rad crews to list,but to me,bigger,faster and scary is a good way to go.yea,sometimes i am up there smiling to hide the fact that i am scared as ####,but,just running some of those hill(hobby,windsor) is a feeling of major accomplishment.so,in regards to the future in slalom?its on a CHIxILL.cfav

[Directive0]

Personally I can't wait to see FullBag decks showing up to the dysfunctional slalom party. Keep watching the skies...

[Mig]

Off to the side two members of the Quebec contingent decide to play a fun spirited game of "Let's trade pants".

I think it was one member of the Quebec contingent and one member of the Connecticut contingent...

Personally I can't wait to see FullBag decks showing up to the dysfunctional slalom party. Keep watching the skies...

Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to come out of the closet...


And to keep this related to this thread: if I didn't believe in the future of slalom and the amazing people it brings together, I wouldn't have started FullBag Skates...

Special thanks go out to Lisa and Fatboy!

[Mister Surly]

hells yeah!

[Mile_High_Mark]

[Directive0]

#### YA MIG!!! Love the logo!

[Momona Boe]

I ordered two!

[hapaboarding]

That's great to hear!

But on the "pro" level, the guys still seem to be plenty old. At least the Americans. The site below shows the current world rankings and it's clearly not dominated by 20-somethings like it would be if the best skaters in the world were into slalom.

http://www.worldcupranking.com/

Not yet anyway! lol j/k. but i think it's gonna take guys like wax and the other COSS guys to help grow the sport. If cbark and jason and the rest of the guys had cared only about ranking points they would not have taken the time to come to a dinky little college race... but thanks to them we have the first college funded slalom club/ team with a timer and cones which we bought with the money raised at the race. IMO i believe that the ranking thing will keep the sport stagnant, due to the fact that the better riders wont go to certain races if they wont earn any points. This limits the visibility of the sport if the top guys do not show up to races to help show what wiggling is all about. It is expensive to travel just for skating, and some of the racers may not seem intrested in flying to a place like park city to ride for no points. This is too bad because park city is an awesome place and the utah crew know how to throw a fun race. Why not award all races some sort of points.? would this draw in more riders? IDK, im relatively new to the sport and just want it to grow.
All i know is that if people dont see slalom, they will never even know what it is. I have many friends that skate/surf that have never even seen a slalom rig or cones, and if they did they'd give many of the "old" guys a run for their money, pro or not. Im sure there are many other guys besides wax and coss/ mile high rollers that support grassroot developements and I look up to that. It is also awesome how companies back smaller races. Thanks Sector 9, Seismic, khiro, skaterbuilt, milehigh skates, and the wright life for supporting our race. Im sure the other companies out there are just as supportive, i just wanted to thank and mention the oes that have helped us, the club really appreciates it. It aint easy to afford good equipment while paying school tuition..(this may also explain why 20 something year olds arent dominating (conspiracy?)) j/k lol
Anyway I hope I can help other begginers as others have helped me out, PASS DA STOKE and beat the youngins while you can, they are the future ...SHOOOTS braddahs, just my two cents.

aloha
jp
UNC Slalom

[Civ]

those look so sweet Mig!!. I totally love the logo.