Why does all news involving skateboarders seem to be negative? Most of what I find on the world wide web is articles about skateboarders committing crimes or getting seriously injured by idiots. Thankfully, for this week, I was able to find one uplifting story… but the rest are bummers:
1. Man hits ATM customer with skateboard in Santa Cruz
In Santa Cruz, a man identified as James Daniel Johnston hit a man in the head at an ATM, knocking him to the ground. Apparently Johnston couldn’t find any money, so he fled two doors down to a bus station where he swung his skateboard again, this time at a First Alarm guard before pulling out a knife. Police arrived shortly after and arrested him. Thanks James, for making people look at skateboards as a weapon, and for making all us skaters looks more dangerous to nervous soccer moms… idiot.
1. Florida Man Steals Flat Screen TV, Makes Getaway on Skateboard
We got a video! Besides that, the title pretty much explains it all. Watch the skater make a daring escape as a plump Target employee walks casually after him.
3. Two Napa Men Arrested for Alleged Skateboard Heist at School District Office
During a lunch break when teachers and faculty were out of the office, and young man snuck in and stole a skateboard. At first I was optimistic, thinking this was going to some awesome tale of a skater standing up to the man. Maybe the teachers took his board because they just hate skaters for no good reason, and in an act of true punk-rock defiance, he stole it back and rolled off into the sunset. But instead, it was just some dickhead who could only get away with a skateboard and some cash before the teachers returned. Awesome…
4. Teenage skateboarder hit by car in Adelaide Hills
It gives me chills hearing about skaters getting hit by cars. I’ve had too many close calls on both my bike and skateboard. Thankfully, in this instance, the skateboarder is now in stable condition and should recover nicely. But kids, always wear a helmet.
5. Canada College Student Sets Skateboard World Record
Holy crap, a positive skateboarding news story! A college student in Canada by the name of Brendon Davis recently set the world record for longest stationary manual on a skateboard. For those that may not know, a manual is when you ride on either the back or front two wheels. As many of you reading this probably know, manuals can be pretty tricky, but Brendon managed to do it for a whopping 19 minutes and 39 seconds, completely shattering the previous record of 7 minutes and 59 seconds! So congrats Brendon, and thanks for lightening up this edition of Skateboarding News.
