Sk8r Boyz

By: Moujeck Cabales/Photos by: Jack Nonato and Moujeck Cabales/Article 1 of 7

People say skateboarding is the flashiest way to break bones and lose limbs. The noisy and rugged streets of Manila are a playground to this particular group of rowdy daredevil teenagers. Armed with skateboards, they strut and glide along the asphalt roads; never minding the painful lesions from always falling off the ground. They twist and turn at every corner, ollie up the curbs and sometimes grind along stairs that if they're not careful, they might roll on to the street and get run over by a jeepney. Sometimes they accidentally smash windows, topple off garbage bins and destroy government property. They are the same faces of every local skate competition. They've got the punk attitude, and everybody thinks they are an unproductive, wasted youth. At night, they run the streets wild. Low profile, rowdy and with youthful temperament, Manila's skater boys live out this unique kind of sport. It is a lifestyle, a subculture

How It All Began

During its birth and emergence in the 50s and 60s, the skateboard was nothing more than a practice toy for the California surfers. They used it to do their surfing tricks on land, when the waves were flat. Slowly on its own, it became a unique, freestyle kind of sport.

When the Age of Aquarius and flower power dawned, the Philippines had already its own emerging skateboard subculture. It was inherited from the Americans, much like how the hippie culture and Hollywood movies came here. Tony ‘Backside’ Nicolas, 35 years old, reminisced his teenage years when he first got hooked on skateboarding. “70s pa lang nakakakita na ko ng mga halfpipe d’yan sa Amoranto. 80s meron na din yan. (During the 70s and 80s, I was already seeing halfpipes in Amoranto)”, the old-school skater said. Because skateboarding embodies a youth attitude and urban lifestyle, the younger generation of Filipinos embraced the extreme sport wholeheartedly.

The sport's development soon slowed down after a decade though. And there wasn't as much enthusiasm for it, so the skateboard subculture remained an underground sport during the start of the 80s. But by the end of the decade, it livened up again and became a new outlet for teenagers to express their individuality. It turned into a form of creative expression, as more cultural influences such as rock music, punk fashion and lowbrow art added more dimensions to the extreme sport. It was elevated into something more than just a highly-dangerous activity.

Skateboarding’s Golden Decade

The 90s saw skateboarding reach its peak as the so-called MTV generation came-- there was some kind of an underground cultural ferment. The young people, much like the Hippies and Beatniks of the past, carved identities of their own. Individuality and creative expression became more pronounced, and everything that is not pop culture gained a following among the delinquent teenagers.

It was also during this decade that the skateboard finally became mass-produced (before, only a handful of companies made them). Almost everybody could own one. Numerous events and competitions mushroomed all over Manila. “Nung 90s grabe sunod-sunod yung mga events. Hindi ko na matandaan sa sobrang dami. (In the 90s the events followed one after another. I couldn’t remember anymore because they’re too many)”, said Tony. For skateboarders, they could be the best days. But it mellowed again by the end of the decade and was replaced by other more palatable, cultural products-- the extreme sport just couldn't seem to rise up above its subculture status.

Skateboarding though isn’t actually a lucrative venture. Opening a skate shop or holding a competition could be very hard, as there weren’t much companies who would sponsor for them. Even if it was a hit among the youth, it still had no huge following compared to other famous sports such as basketball or football. It was a niche market with a small audience, and so the enthusiasm during the 90s eventually mellowed down . And so skateboarding soon returned to its place as an underground sport.

Skateboarding Today

It has managed to survive through decades and it still thrives as a subculture among the youth of today. There are still skaters who would gather at their favorite spots at night, and a number of skate shops made by skaters turned entrepreneurs are yet around. And there are always event organizers who launch competitions in an effort to keep the extreme sport alive. For as long as there are followers, skateboarding would ever be around.

A lot of skateboarders who were active during the past few decades are still alive and very much enthusiastic about the sport today. Some of them made it their lifelong pursuit. “Marami akong kasabayan at kakilala dati na nag-isskate pa rin ngayon. Meron nga 56 na, naglalaro pa rin. (I have many friends, who were skaters before, still skate today. I even know one who is already 56 years old)”, he said. Tony admits though that his party-like-a-rock-star lifestyle then had mellowed out.

The veteran skateboarder is now also a small-scale entrepreneur. He opened a skate shop years ago, when he realized that his lifelong hobby could also be a business. His stall located in Cartimar, Recto, is a famous refuge for skaters, punks and metalheads alike. “Yung mga binebenta ko dito mga padala, yung iba nabili ko, nakita ko sa ukay, mga ganun. (The things I sell here are mostly from abroad, some I bought, some I saw on thrift stores, etc.)”, Tony said. Aside from that, he also repairs and customizes skateboards.

The popularity of the skateboarding subculture, like any other, would always come and go. It experienced a big boom during the late 70s, took a back seat in the early 80s, did a comeback in the 90s and is still quietly thriving today. When asked about the current skate scene in Manila, Tony concluded: “Alam mo kahit mamatay pa ko, kahit mawala pa ko, ang skateboard nandyan lang yan, papalit-palit (Even if I’m dead and gone, skateboarding will always be there, it will just evolve)”.