Weed X Skateboarding: Why It's So Compatible
The connection between cannabis and skateboarding culture has a long history. While there has always been a link between skateboarding and marijuana — the pop-culture stereotype of the "stoner skateboarder" stretches back to the 1980s — things have just recently been more blatant. Cannabis-themed decks, t-shirts, and accessories have become trademarks of online retailers and branded content.
Not all skateboarders are stoners! You would be surprised at how many athletic-type skaters out there keep away from getting stoned. Nowadays, many CBD brands provide all the health benefits of the plant without actually having to consume it or get stoned to benefit from it, but even then, it's not everyone's cup of tea.
There are tons of products available that some athletic skateboarders will use to relax muscles and treat the body before, after, and even during training.
Nonetheless, there seems to be an undeniable connection between skateboarding and cannabis.
It's no mystery that the right strains of cannabis can be a blessing for those afflicted with fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, and conditions caused by inflammation. We can not argue that this has skateboarding written all over it, so logically, it seems like a hand-in-hand connection. However, as previously mentioned, there are a large number of people who resist even using these risk-free products and believe they are just fine without them. So, smoking or dabbing weed won't make you a better skateboarder.
Skateboarding and Hip Hop: The 80s cultural crossover
These two youthful subcultures began to converge in the 1980s and 1990s: Skateboarding and Hip Hop. Hip-hop's link with weed needs no introduction. It's been blazed and flaunted in videos, in the lifestyles of prominent figures such as Cypress Hill, NWA, Mac Dre, Andre Nickatina, Snoop Dogg, Afroman… The list goes on and on and has only continued to grow over time while they're given all-around star treatment.
Skateboarding often took cues from other scenes, such as when it came to clothing styles and attitudes. This included a much more open adoption of cannabis once the fusion with hip-hop got underway. Baggy clothes and Wu-Tang Clan soon became the shit! With bigger pants, bigger sacks of weed, and a bigger playlist, came bigger respect.
SCABBY SPOTS
The other connection we have with the Hip Hop culture is that we spend most of our time out in the streets, and due to frequent spot busts, it's often that we are in the scabby areas, even sharing the same turf as the upcoming local artists recording their albums or just gangbangers out there slanging bags. When there's an equal amount of homies on each side, and some of them may even come from that background and have respect from the association of family or friends, which can be a big help when skating there.
This is not something you should try to find out for yourself, but if you are not already associated with people in that area, then you either become hated on or respected for your skating and lack of fear. More often than not, the question would be asked as to why you're there, and you would end up conversing; the street lesson of making friends over sharing a joint together becomes almost an instant go-to for breaking the ice. Unless the situation is sketchy from the start, don't show your money or weed at all; that could turn ugly quickly. Gangbangers won't like you bringing weed or any other product into their hood if it's not been provided by them. Pull a U-turn and get out of there!
THE MUSKA SHOE
Figures like Chad Muska saw pioneering opportunities in this visibility. In what is now a watershed event in weed visibility and skateboarding history, he came up with the famous "Muska Shoes" in 1997.
Many videos and advertisements show that The Muska Shoe was pure genius and took off! It consisted of a small stash pocket in the puffy-sized tongue of the shoe, perfect for stashing your weed in. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before the authorities caught onto the stash pocket, and its cover was blown.
Conclusion
To round things up, if you've ever ridden a skateboard while being stoned, you probably realized you're one of the people who either can or can not handle it. Weed can affect everyone differently; for many people, it's simply too much.
While we don't want to encourage smoking, we want to encourage skateboarding and being safe whatever you decide to do, whether you get high or stay sober… Know your limits, be aware of your surroundings and just have fun with your friends.
