As far as I’m concerned, “X-Treme” is a title given to sports such as Snow boarding, Skateboarding, B.M.X. free style bikers, and “Aggressive” In-line skaters by a bunch of forty-somthings, who could care less about the kids who make them money. I mean, they do pay the kids who skate for them a lot of money, but that’s nothing, compared to the amount of money that ESPN receives from their sponsors, like Taco Bell, Mountain Dew, and Snickers. The point I’m making, is that people like ESPN are just out for money, and while they’re at give the skaters stupid names like “X-Treme”. I’ll be the first to tell you that there is nothing “X-Treme” about rolling up and down on ramps.
My main focus is on rollerblading. If you want to be politically correct, you are supposed to call it In-Line Skating. Now, if you couldn’t tell from the first paragraph, I’m not talking about the kind of In-Line Skating where you put on pair of spandex and roll around on bike paths or roller arenas, I’m talking about jumping off ten-foot gaps and grinding down handrails. While there are people who are in the sport just for the money, there are companies out there that are out to help the progression of these sports.
Most of these companies are skater owned and operated. Kids buy more from a company they can trust, rather than a big-megabucks company, like Fila. Arlo Eisenberg, was probably the most important thing to ever happen to “Aggressive” rollerblading. He started the company Senate, which caters to skaters needs, such as wheels, designed with the “Aggressive” skater in mind. Eisenberg also started the very first magazine dedicated to rollerbladers, “Daily Bread” which has become somewhat of a Bible to rollerblading. The debut issue came out in the summer of 1993. Since then, it has done nothing but progress.
Since then there have been other magazines that have catered to rollerblading such as “Global Skate,” (which has since went out of business, I think) “In-Line”, (which covers recreational skating, roller hockey, race/fitness as well as “Aggressive”) “In-Line Skater”,(same as “In-Line) and the ones which I’ll be writing about, “Fourinarow”, “Box”,and of course, “Daily Bread” (all of which, are exclusively for “Aggressive” skating.) There are also many web-sites on the Internet for this type of sport. I think the best one is called “Sequence” which is more like a magazine, only on the Internet.
I think it’s a good idea that people are enlightened on a skaters perspective on “Aggressive” skating. We aren’t destroying your curbs, we are simply waxing them, so we can slide farther on our grinds. These magazines are ways of displaying our views and reflections on society. I think that if more people read these magazines, they would not only read some damn good magazines, but also change their perspective on rollerblading in general. Instead of viewing it as a crime, maybe they would view it as a sport that has been outlawed.
“BOX” is one of my 3rd favorite of the magazines IM reviewing. (not counting the web-site) It is mostly photos of skaters showing their stuff, like the others, but it is about the size. It isn’t as fun as the others, and doesn’t do as good of job covering competitions, tours, and other events. “BOX” has good photos but, since it’s not as big as the other magazines, it doesn’t have as many. On the plus side, it is only $2.99 , so you aren’t losing too much.
It has a more professional feel to than “Fourinarow” or “Daily Bread” and doesn’t have to much jargon, except in interviews. (It usually has one interview with a professional skater each month.)”Daily Bread” my 2nd favorite rollerblading publication. It is bimonthly and is $3.95. This magazine has a very fun feel to it. It is owned, operated, and written by skaters. It is the most popular, and that shows, since it’s been around since 1993.
It has interviews every issue and covers events and competitions very well. It has various articles such as “Skating Naked with Adam Bendar” which gives a taste about how fun this magazine really is. It has monthly departments like “The Word” (letters to the editor), “Disinformation” (information about what’s going on in the skater industry), “Section 8” (various pictures of skaters at their best), interviews, tours, and they feature different cities to tell what the skate scene there is like. This magazine isn’t written as well as most magazines are, but that doesn’t really matter, when their target audience is from 12 to 20, and don’t really care about jargon or correct grammar. ( It still is written very well) As for an added bonus, it comes with a free poster.
The magazine “Fourinarow” is probably the worst in grammar and spelling, but is the best for skating and skating coverage. It has very good photos, outstanding stories, it’s imported from Australia, and has the best departments like “Ten useless facts” (ten useless facts), “Betty of the month” (a centerfold), 2 interviews, c.d. reviews, movie reviews, video game reviews, “The Brass Balls award” (the craziest photos you’ll ever see), Random Moments (just a department of great photos), and it profiles amateur skaters. I love the fact that it covers events from a skaters point of view and tells about all the fun and mischief they have.
It also has a free poster. It does use jargon words like “mum” instead of mom, (Remember, it is Australian) and like “Daily Bread”, it uses words like “dope” and “sick” when describing tricks. It is a great magazine, but the only bad part is it is quite expensive at a whopping $6.99 cover price.
I really enjoy the Sequence web-page. It is supposed to have a new issue out every month, but its usually every two months. It features things like skate review, accessories (i.e. grind plates) review, wheel review, skate movie review and other things like a letter to the editor type thing, an industry update, it has this one has a featured skate spot (where people can send there favorite place to skate at and what it has to skate) and music you can listen to. (if your computer can play mp3) I like this page because it plays full motion video clips, unlike the magazines. It’s free if you have the Internet.
Skating means something different to every person. I think these magazine display the love for this sport very well. I’m very glad that the sport of “Aggressive In-Line Skating has such great publications. I think these magazines suit our personality and our sport very well.
