Thousands of them, if we’re talking about ‘just skaters’ as opposed to aspiring pros.
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You reckon there’s thousands of unsponsored vert skaters? In the US and Japan?
I reckon yeah. There are at least a hundred in the UK I reckon so if you extrapolate from that there must be 1000s in the States. Vert scene tends to be word-of-mouth so if you’re not in it, then you won’t know where the ramps are. For every Tony Hawk ramp there will be multiple backyard/private jobs.
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Yeah I’d agree with that UK figure, maybe go as far as to say even more… There are like 7 or so pay to play vert ramps across the UK at indoor parks and then at least 5 backyards I know about. That’s kinda crazy for such a tiny island with essentially a pretty poor estate of skateparks.
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I skate vert when I can, but you have to keep doing it regularly to keep up your skill and your nerve, and the availability of ramps in the UK is so poor. You have to be really dedicated and willing to travel long distances to be part of the scene.
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Vert is not dead but inaccessible to most people.
Bit scary too.
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It’s very scary. Standing at the top of a 12ft ramp thinking about dropping in for the first time is one of the most intimidating things ever. You think you’re going to die.
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This one seems relevant here I guess
Cool piece on here with Quentin, the guy behind the excellent Beyond Boards podcast that’s been posted on here many times.
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Not necessarily the thread for this but as it’s more Tom Schaar musings…
The first section of this Village Psychic piece, regarding Schaar doing “odes” to tricks Bob Burnquist had done previously, made me wonder what’s the deal with ABDs and NDBs on vert?
Is there enough distinction from vert ramp to vert ramp to class them as different “spots” and therefore filming a trick previously done by someone else, somewhere else, is fine?
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Also thanks for sharing. That was fun to write and Quentin deserves some shine for the effort he puts in.
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