Nothing says “skateboard” quite like posting your video with corporate brand in your chest, cashing a check from the same ciggaretes brand you swore “selling out the culture“. You’ll talk all day about DIY spots, midnight sessions, and “keeping it real,” right up until a corporate rolls into town with a ramp, a hashtag, and a full coloured t-shirt with their logo, suddenly your “skateboard manifesto” gets quietly shelved for a branded hoodie and a photo op with the marketing team. Funny how “the industry is ruining skateboarding” only ever applies to the brands that aren’t currently sponsoring you. Turns out skateboarding has a price point, and it’s usually whatever’s printed on the invoice.