Why is it always the Z-Boys?

It always makes me smirk everytime I hear someone refer to the Z-Boys as their influence in skating. Why is it always the Z-Boys? Don’t get me wrong, it is a fact that the Z-Boys were indeed a huge influence on the skate scene. But what makes the malicious part of my brain tingle is the reference to the group itself and not to the individuals which makes up the outfit.

Think of it this way. If you were born during the time when the Chicago Bulls were at their prime, you don’t go saying “the Chicago Bulls influenced me to play basketball”, but would rather specifically point out Michael Jordan as your influence. Logical point right?

Going back to the Z-Boys, the crew initially started with 12 members, each with his/her own unique style of skating. For a person to state that he/she was influenced by the Z-Boys, would that person be referring to the whole crew itself as his/her influence? If that’s the case I’m pretty sure some old skool skaters would definitely raise an eyebrow. Because in my experience, those people would point out particular individuals, rather than saying Z-Boys all in all.

Why is it always the Z-Boys? Is it because they were the innovators, the originals, the poster boys? What about Kaupas, Hosoi, Mullen, and Caballero, weren’t they innovators and poster boys for the sport too? Why is it that I only hear a handful of people actually giving props to those individuals? And with the issue of “innovation” some would argue that the Dogtown scene was no different from scenes around the U.S. during that time with only one exception, it was the one that was given media mileage. And if we talk about crew, the Bones Brigade were pretty sick too. Now why aren’t there more people saying “my influence were the Bones Brigade”?

I’ll tell you why, it’s because of the hype around the Z-Boys in Philippine Longboarding. It’s like when Mr. Reznor came to the Philippines. Everyone was giggling like a teenage girl with a crush over the idea of being at the gig even if they only were familiar with “The Perfect Drug”. Go figure.

This is not an attempt to single out individuals who have used the line “my main influence were the Z-Boys”, but rather a statement to at the very least try and find your own voice rather than be dictated by what the majority is saying.

Skateboarding is not about how fast you can go down a hill, what tricks you can throw, how cool your gear is, or what crew you’re with. At the end of the day, it’s about the pasted smile on ones face. Did the Z-Boys give you that too? 

Nope, it’s all you.