Contrary to the "What To Expect" page, there are a fair amount of discourse communities that are not bothered by the skateboarding community's presence. Since most people fit into multiple discourse communities rather than just one, people within the skateboarding community are often affiliated with other communities such as music, art, photography, etc.
Music Community |
Photography & Videography |
The local music scene in Lansing is extremely interconnected with Lansing's skateboarding community. One of the local skateboarders, John Olson, is actually in a famous experimental noise band from Detroit called Wolf Eyes. Wolf Eyes is signed to the famous record label Sub Pop Records where bands such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Pissed Jeans got their big break. Smaller bands such as Mango Lane perform around the Lansing and Metro Detroit area and grew up skating with the locals around the Lansing area. Skateboarding and music have gone hand-in-hand since the underground punk scene blew up in the 80s consisting of bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, The Circle Jerks, and Agent Orange. Later on in the 90s, skateboarders began listening Hip-Hop artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, and Wu-Tang Clan. As skateboarding grew, so did the genres of music that are involved with skateboarding. Nowadays one can see skateboarding influence music in every genre and vice versa.
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Skateboarding is an extremely aesthetic-based culture. Skateboarders put a lot of emphasis on whether something "looks good" so they can help their friends create a successful video project, create skateboard blogs, get featured in magazines, etc. Some of the most talented "filmers" and photographers stem from the skateboarding community. Though a majority of the time the filmer is just a friend that also skateboards, people still create amazing video projects because, as I previously stated, skateboarders fall into multiple discourse groups. To be a quality skateboard filmer, one has to feel comfortable riding on a skateboard so they can follow the person performing their tricks. The best example of this is Chris Gregson, a professional skateboarder and filmer who is known for his extremely talented filming capabilities. Locally speaking, there are a few photographers that are popular amongst the skateboarding community in Lansing. Gabriel Hales, who grew up in Okemos, is an extremely talented photographer who has had recent involvement with the skateboarding community in Lansing. Though he had just recently picked up skateboarding, he has fully submerged himself within the culture and is looked upon as a respected with an amazing talent.
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