SKATEBOARDING AND GROWING UP.....THE UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATION

I was bored one Saturday night and made the familiar skateboarder mistake of visiting the SLAP message boards (yes, that still exist OGs) when I read some disturbing shit about Yonnie Cruz and Johan Stuckey. I was reading a thread about professional skateboarders in their 30's still doing juvenile ass creep shit that was acceptable when they were teenagers. I had a discussion with one of my friends and was informed of a saying in the skateboarding community: "skateboarding is a fraternity". My question in response to that is this: at what point do we as skateboarders leave this "fraternity"? At some point in our lives we have to grow up, we have to mature, start acting our age. We are not our high school selves anymore, we have grown up, however some of our favorite skateboarders that we grew up with didn't and that is such a disappointing thing to me. There are so many stories now coming up of skaters our age still being predatory towards women, spreading STDs and being manipulative to get some pussy. That to me is corny as hell and a really bad look for not only the community, but the companies sponsoring these professional skaters. What these people fail to realize is that as a professional skater, you are now a public figure, you are the face of whatever brand you are representing. People may not necessarily be a part of the skateboarding community, but they may have friends that skate and put people on to you as a professional skater. At a certain point, we have to look at ourselves and each other and say to ourselves "the behavior we are displaying as HUMANS, not skateboarders, but HUMANS is not cool when you reach a certain age". Acting like a high school senior at 25+ is really not a good look at all, we used skateboarding as an excuse to act immature and outright weird for way too long. I'm not saying to be serious and moody all the time, no by all means I am here for the good vibes and energy skateboarding brings to my life and everyone involved in this great creative tool on a wooden plank and four wheels. What I am saying is this: at the end of the day, you're still a human adult being without that skateboard in your hands, it is okay to be an adult with a full-time 9-5, it is okay to also be a mature adult in check of their emotions and not be or feel entitled to whatever and whoever you want just because of your status as a professional skateboarder. Actually, to be honest this message isn't just about the professional skateboarders (the ones that actually skate full time and get paid enough to not need a side-hustle) this also for the 9-5ers that skate on their off days or skate on their lunch break: Don't be weird, don't be manipulative to get what you want, be genuine and if someone isn't down for you, move on until you eventually find someone who is down for you. Otherwise get some help, check yourself and check your homies too when they are doing predatory shit. Another thing: I am guilty of this myself but having temper tantrums over not landing a trick gets kinda old, we need to find healthier ways to let off some frustration, kicking baby strollers out of your way in anger isn't a good look either, all that does to be honest, is give Karens an excuse to shut down our favorite skate spots around the world (in this case, NYC) I said all that to say this one very basic thing: Dear skateboarders(ing) it is time to grow up, we are not 16 anymore homies and homettes...

PRETTY LATE BUT STILL PRETTY SWEET TO WATCH

YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW I'M 3 MONTHS LATE BUT FUCK IT: THIS VIDEO IS TOO DAMN GOOD, SHOUT OUTS TO CARL AIKENS AND JORDAN TRAHAN FOR TURNING PRO FOR CHOCOLATE! ENJOY THIS QUALITY SKATEBOARDING EVERYONE!

IF Biggie and Pac Was Still Alive....(An Utopia)

This morning, I was listening to Roy Ayers, smoking a spliff and enjoying an iced coffee with my girlfriend when this random thought just came to me: Can we imagine a world with Tupac and Biggie still alive? I would like to imagine a world like this, wouldn't you? Maybe the east coast/west coast beef will finally come to a close as Big and Pac eventually squash their beef and rekindle their friendship. The black community and the hip hop community as a whole would probably look to Biggie and Pac as something of a father figure to them, maybe even make new music with these two iconic figures. Who knows, maybe MF Doom would make a collab with Biggie, Madlib and $ean Price (RIP). I would have loved to see Pac and Big together on Drink Champs with NORE, talking about the evolution of hip hop, the future talent and the direction that hip hop is moving towards. Can we imagine a world where J. Dilla is still alive? I would love to imagine that world, maybe Slum Village and Common would still be doing music, imagine Lupe Fiasco working with Dilla? If Pac and Big was still alive, there would be less beefs and less young black men killing each other off over stupid shit like a block that they don't legally own, probably never will own. There would probably be more Nipsey Hussles in the world, less hate and jealousy in the black community. Can we imagine a world where lyricism means something? There would probably be less "mumble rap" and more trap artists rapping coherently in their songs without being high off lean all the time, maybe there would be more love and respect amongst one another in the community. Hell, maybe more artists would branch out and create their own music labels, scenes, and network with like-minded black creatives to collaborate with, form a healthy ecosystem of not only hip hop artists, but artists and fellow creatives in general. I would love to imagine a world where Pac and other departed hip hop icons are still alive, maybe self-hate in the black community would be a thing of the past, there would be less xenophobia in the Asian-American community, there would be less appropiation and culture-vulturing and if there is such a thing, it would get nipped in the bud so fast. Hell, if Pac and Big were still alive, cancel-culture wouldn't be much of a a thing, if at all. Maybe people who feel marginalized and attacked, instead of crying to social media forums, they instead have healthy conversations about it, create their own spaces and just leave alone the ignorant ones that would rather remain ignorant instead of educating themselves. A world with Pac and Big still alive would probably be a more healthy world for the black community, maybe even America in general. Who knows, Pac and Big may even spearhead a modern movement for Black America to receive their reparations payments from the US government. I know, I know all of this seems ridiculous and far-fetched to the pessimists of the world but a man can dream right? In the meantime, please enjoy this amazing cover by D'Angelo. Until next time ya'll...

ARENT YOU TIRED?? ( A BLACK MAN RANT)

DISCLAIMER the views expressed here is solely from the mind of the author V.Vaughn Over the last 2 years, ever since this whole COVID mess, I have been reading different books and collective stories written by black Americans, and I couldn't help but notice one common theme with these written works: There is alot of promotion of victimhood and woe-is-me in the narrations, hardly anything actually inspiring or empowering to Black people in America. Aren't you tired of the same old "woke" think-pieces that only discuss the supposed problem and not any tangible solutions to the conflicts? Arent you tired of the same old "urban fiction" stories about some drug dealing dude and a woman who is obsessed with him? Well I know for a fact I am sick and tired of that. The difference between me and most people is that I am willing to talk about this on a platform such as this, I am willing to verbally express what alot of people may think but too scared to actually say it, and I am also willing to hold discussions based on SOLUTIONS. I feel as black people, it is high time we start getting creative with our thinking, it is time to proverbially "leave the block" so to speak. We have been doing things the exact same way for over 5 decades now, don't you think it is time to look at this and say to ourselves "hmm its been years and shit has not changed much if at all"? I spend alot of time on social media (Facebook to be honest) and I see these stories and say to myself "are we really doing this to ourselves yet again??". In terms of storytelling, I see way too many stories based on slavery or some traumatic events from history concerning the black community. My goal with GREY MATTER is to show the world that black people in America have a bigger imagination than slavery stories and quote unquote "urban fiction". I don't want to be the only black person in America with a story to tell that isn't part of the victimhood mentality and want to empower black America with stories of encouragement in the face of adversity. This year, I aim to inspire others to live their truths, think outside the box, and think outside of the toxic cultural norms perpetuated in the Black community. Science fiction is a world not widely explored within the black community. Outside of Octavia Butler, there isn't many known black sci fi writers or creatives (If I am wrong, which hopefully I am, please feel free to send me some recommendations of black sci fi creatives). My ultimate goal is to tell a story, inspire other black people in America (maybe even around the world) to create their own science fiction worlds, and to turn this into a potential collaborative effort. I just think completing a creative project solo isn't as fun as creating something great with a group of people you fucks with and support each other mutually. One thing I feel I have taken for granted during the pandemic was social interactions and building new friendships and bonds over mutual interests, passions and sharing similar values as well as sharing a common goal that can be reached with that collaborative effort. They say Rome wasn't built overnight, well Rome wasn't built singlehandedly either.