EDITORS NOTE: Ahh, ‘tis the new year. A week in and wow, what a start. We’ve been greeted with some weather (rain + snow), some waves (swell story coming soon), and finally, another fantastic write up from our beloved Mick. We’re entering a time that fits this article perfectly – that is, a time of the year in which a character like Mick has a wonderful opportunity to showcase his talents, his lifestyle, and his overall bad-assery. Sit back and enjoy.
You got athletes who excel in their respective sports. Then you have straight up playmakers who do it all. This is the trifecta of surfing, skating, and snowboarding. Another prominent triplet is football, basketball, and baseball. But for the sake of this session, we’ll stick to boardsports. It takes a scrappy combination of skill, will, ability, agility, focus, patience, persistence, determination, resilience, and toughness mixed in with a slice of weird and looseness to address the action sports spectrum. They’re all swimming in the same vein, but at the same time distinctively their own flavor. All three have a common thread that runs through them. This less-common-than-you’d-think broad talent is underrated and warrants some bonus points to player ratings.
Skating is the hardest, then surfing, snowboarding is easy (but you got to really want it to send it into mountains, we’ll circle back to that later…hardest part mounting/dismounting the chair lift?)
Skating is the grungiest of the 3 by far. Core skaters tend to carry a palpable edge and grit to them. Like the skid from the hot asphalt is ingrained into their skin. There’s a scent of the streets that never really washes off. I’d even say the gnarliest of the bunch. Anarchy is standard, obedience nonexistent (maybe that’s hyperbole but not all that far off). This crew is most likely to lose their temper. As much for the 80th attempt gone awry, as for some weekend Ken rolling in front of them as they approach their line. This is unchecked, but I feel like this scene is the least likely to maintain their shit, let alone invest in newer and better equipment. There’s real deal rippers out there rattling down the block as their wheels struggle to roll through their busted bearings. But they roll on. THRASHER really is a perfect caption in one word for a world of chaos, carnage, and soft cruiser wheels.
This sport is the most unforgiving. Exhausts the legs. I don’t think the average spectator realizes how much energy it takes to pump around. Skating probably holds the most painful slams. Concrete and metal copings all dig deep. Some hip slammers still bang through my bones to this day. Wheels sliding out, rocks and pebbles on the attack, unforeseen cracks, lost body composure mid boost. My most high profile slam came during one evening at the US OPEN, I was zipping down one of the parking lot ramps into the boardwalk when I reached a patch of sand. I went down in front A LOT of people. Board went flying under a fire truck. My head phones scattered away. I was a mess.
A slam is virtually within reach at any moment. Going down on a skate is more consequential. A small fall can bring big pain. There’s the line between style, steez, and street tough to the other side of safety, logic, rationality, and quality of life. You can be cool and not wear pads. Or you can be not cool and wear pads. I’ve done both. I am at a point in life where sustainability is crucial. Pads are critical; helmet (can’t have the dome touching home on the paved floor). Concussions are not worth props. That damage lingers and has the potential to impact day to day living. Knee pads are solid, this addition of security can elevate a session a couple of notches with the crutch of confidence. A wise but nerdy move, wrist guards. Peak weak. But man, they can be the difference between having a spoon in that hand slamming ice cream or swollen in a cast. One thing that’s pretty tough to gear up against is the splits. Yeah, those’ll get ya, feel the back foot slide off the tail and start dragging you down to defeat, maybe with an ACL tear.
Also unforgivable in the sense of skill retention. Take a few weeks, few months off, 6 months, a year, and fuck, seems to feel like square one. This sport’s abilities escape quicker than the other two. Snowboarding can come back in one run while surfing depends on size/conditions. If it’s fun sized and smaller bouncing back in surfing is an easy pickup. If the waves are cranking it might not be so easy to jump back into it. Skating everyday is crucial for success, progression, retention. It’s important to note, rolling away from a manuever, trick, slick spot that exceeded the comfort zone, but still managed to pull through is a fist pound to chest moment. Oh, and the rail racks. When you stick that spot and the boys wack the tails to the rails. Live for the rail racks.
Moving on to the more bourgeoise end of the spectrum, snowboarding. This sport is the easiest and yields high fun. The most pretentious, the most expensive, and correlatingly enough, the most affluent. There’s some frost bite fools up there, yeah, but the majority come from the mid to upper class. No shade on anybody, just a societal observation. Pricey. Day passes to season passes, cabins, car fuel, people fuel, jackets, helmets, gloves, googles, thermals, boots, bibs, bindings, board! It goes on and on. Pay to play or get lost pal. Even if you rage against the system and hike up, that’s one run.
I say easiest because you essentially strap in and get pushed down the hill for the ride. Gravity does half the shredding. POWder is a gamechanger. Ice flirts with skating concrete with less traction. Rail to rail. Tail to nose. Butter. BOOST. If you want to air, you look at the jump and you go in that direction. Surfing makes you work for the opportunity to take flight. Skating takes a big gulp of gusto. And snowboarding hands you the boarding pass and recommends buckling up. Stomping airs in the mountains feels like some real life snow-angel shit.
Not to harp on the easy factor, but we need to address chair lifts. A primetime bonus to the whole experience. They provide timely breathers, views, swigs, puffs, laughs, or perhaps a lifetime moment of serene solitude with human’s place in nature. Connected out there in the elements. Snowboarding and surfing provide that same sense of connectedness with Earth. Getting on and especially off the lift are deceivingly difficult. Worth mentioning that the majority of folks on the slopes are buzzed to shitfaced, half a run away from getting a grill full of sleet. I don’t drink while going downhill (no shade to those that do), but seems like most are sloshing on the slopes.
I say easy this, easy that, but you know what? You got to really want it. There’s typically an early morning drive. 4am alarms. Account for parking or you might get caught in the far lot waiting for the trolley with the rest of the herd. This sport is demanding on the legs. Calf burners. Burning. Burning. Do you feel that? Sizzzzzle. Slams on ice can deliver a knockout blow. Hitting the jumps can ruin a day, maybe a season. Boxes are tolerable. Rails are super sketch, like skating, unnecessary territory. A strike to the mountain is a full day strike, regardless of length of session. The drive, the shredding, exhausting. Surfing and skating can be slices of the day. Weather and wind play a big factor in snowboarding in a similar manner as surf. Cold to freezing can play a huge factor. Equipment choice is paramount in the snow and water. Thermals, mitts, jackets, wetsuits, hoods, and booties. Prepare for the elements.
I’d say the snowboard/ski crowd might be the friendliest. A bit goofy. Kind of one big party attitude on the mountain. That still does not excuse excessive lift lines. Big Bear I’m looking at you (seems to be some improvement this season with line management). The crowd factor is one area where all three arenas intercept. Snowboarding crowds on the slopes are annoying, but usually workable, sometimes potentially dangerous. Surfing crowds irritate the most and are one of the biggest culprits to buzz-killing a session. Skating crowds is not an option. These days skating first thing in the morning (park skating – bowls) is the only route. Years ago I would hit the night skate scene but now, mornings, uncrowded, empty park, mornings. Back to snowboarding, yeah bombing mountains is max fun. Forgot to mention bombing hills in skating, fun, proud of my highlight reel, but those days are dunzo. Snow strikes and powdery shredding satisfy the soul deep.
Surfing. Harnessing moving energy. Moving earth. Sublime beauty. Yet a wet beast. That’s the biggest change up for me, is the dynamic moving nature of this sport. That’s where it really splinters off from snowboarding and skating (stagnant structures/features) into another realm of experience. Almost like a dance as far as synergy and rhythm go. Surfing is difficult. It takes commitment and dedication to get better. Really to even learn. Whenever I hear people say they want to learn, I mentally roll my eyes. Its not an instant click. It’s a gradual process that takes a long time. Years. But it’s so rewarding. Paddle to the point where arms are soggy noodles. Wrangling the right wave is euphoric.
Don’t sleep on consequence though. The water factor is not only heavy and fast, but it also snuffs out breathable oxygen. Big sketch factor over snowboarding and skating. (forgot to mention avalanche factor, cliff drop-offs for snowboarding). There’s been a few times in my surfing life where I honestly thought I might die from the size of the wave approaching me. Been wrung out and rag-dolled to the point where my lip starts to quiver. That’s when I’m max spooked. But the flip side, like getting barreled or blasting that banger section. WHOOOOOO! YEW! The risk to reward seems to be the biggest payoff for surfing. When it comes to skating, charging will lead to notably sick shit, for sure, but the risk of slam countering that reward is not quite worthwhile. Snowboarding big airs is super steezy and feels like lifetime achievement status. But taking big air drops are super sketch. Prone to scorpions in snowboarding. You can still achieve max fun in snow without full send. Surfing, risk it for the biscuit. Sun can be a factor. Roasted. Wind either favorable or a fuck up.
Surfing is the primary sport out of all three. The most fun, and all around lifestyle. Can’t stand crowds in the water, some crusty fuckers out there. Parking lots/parking situations can be a real pain and sometimes the deciding factor on paddle out spot. Surfing is not the cheapest sport either. Right behind snowboarding. Boards, wetsuits, leashes, wax, state passes, city passes, mad gasses, and my favorite sunglasses. Not to mention the cost of living on the coast. But wow, what a privilege that is worth every bit. Oh, and surf trips. Some of the best times. Surfing is good for the soul. Good for the body, Good for the mind. Peak health and wellness. You want to be an all around ultra hot human being? Surf. Sidebar shoutout to snow bunnies. (skate chix are suspect. What’s your motive? Skating hurts and it’s a bitey crowd. What are you doing here? Are you trying to steal my wallet?) Surfing fuels up the mojo meter with more juice than any of them.
Another space where all these sports intercept, the soloness of each one. An entire session of epic proportions can go down completely alone without a soul in sight. Lone wolf howl at the moon. This makes all three always available. You will never need anybody else to have a run at it. Just a board and spirit. However, it can be a group mission. The camaraderie of going through the journey of poor to score with the crew can reach sacred levels. By yourself or mobbing deep, each sport searches for the next opportunity whether that’s a hidden skate spot around the corner, the trail tucked away in the trees, or the remote break that doesn’t have a camera or report to reference. These searches deliver dead-ends and delights. The experiences with all their injuries, exaggerations, and magic memories keep the heart alive. That’s what surfing, skating, and snowboarding do, they keep you moving. They put you in position to make a play. The ability to get down and boogie in all three arenas is an art and craft. They all float their own vibe, but they’re all connected. Feet to board. Style to steez. All three, that’s a bundle shredder.
-Mick