For the most part, the skate community is overwhelmingly positive. Like any community, there are also battling egos, gossip, and even exploitation. We’re all people, and people are a mixed bag.
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Nowadays, skaters don’t care if other skaters dress differently, listen to different music, do different tricks, or even if they just prefer to cruise, and ignore tricks altogether (at least, we don’t care). We believe that everyone belongs, including people we might not particularly like. And that’s okay. Everyone deserves a seat at the table, and that is ESPECIALLY true for women, LGBTQ folks, and every race, religion, ethnicity, and socio-economic background.
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However, there is no room for bigotry, exclusivity, or exploitation, particularly for profit. 𝘼 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝘼𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬.
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Skateboarding’s ethos is one of anti-authoritarianism, and so we’ve been lucky to have some built-in checks and balances on our various scenes. But discrimination still happens. Recently we shared a video @bythesmiths that highlights the disgusting sexism perpetrated against female skaters by male skaters in the age of social media. Similarly, there are people in small pockets of the skate scene who attempt to bully, silence, and demonize others, whether for clout, ego-gratification, profit, or all of the above.
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At Impact, we try our best to be fair and inclusive, but we are not exempt from criticism either. We always encourage people to step up and say when they feel something is wrong—even if it’s directed at us. We are here to learn, grow, and be the best stewards of our community that we can be.
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Thank you, to everyone who strives to continue lifting this community to greater heights, and show others that we really are stronger together. 🙏🏽
