Michelle: Skateboarder’s Mom

On our video, Haley and I interviewed a skateboarder’s mom at the Plex. Below is the transcript.

What does your kid like to do?
Michelle: Anything on wheels is his thing. It started with go-karts, dirt bikes, but it’s hard to find a place to do that. Skateboarding and the razor scooter, anything on wheels is for him. He’s not into ball sports of any kind.

Where does he usually skate?
Michelle: On our driveway. We live over in the Irmo area, and we have a really, really long driveway, so there’s that. And the school parking lot when the school’s closed, and over at a friend’s house, that kind of thing.

Do his friends skate too?
Michelle: Yeh, they all have razor scooters and skateboards now; they’re nine. They’re a little older so they get a little more freedom, a little less hovering. Some moms are still a little hand-wringing nervous, ‘Oh my God, he’s gonna fall.’ You know, it’s what they do. I’m okay with it.

Would you go to the skate park in Columbia?
Michelle: I would go. I would definitely go. I’m from South Florida, and there’s skate parks all over the place. Some were better than others and some of the DC fans went to the outdoor skate parks. There does have to be some level of supervision, age group wise, and there’s the bully factor. There’s always the bully factor and you want to be aware of that. Kids need to challenge themselves physically; they can’t be coddled.

What are the benefits of skating?
Michelle: I’d rather have him skate and be physical than sit on the computer or in front of a playstation for 8 hours a day. He’ll develop friendships, be more social with people, and it’s physical activity, so it’s healthy. There’s a lot of good reasons for it, especially because all sports aren’t for everyone. I’m one of ‘em; I don’t play sports.

How do you feel about the drive?
Michelle: I don’t want to have to drive 45 minutes to come here. We looked online and saw Owens Field, that’s no longer in existence. We went out there yesterday, and it’s still posted online that it exists, so we went. We found it, but there’s not even a remnant that there was a ramp there.

Why would you say people could be against skateboarding?
Michelle: There’s a lot of reasons, one of them being popular waiver. God forbid they get hurt, but if you get pegged in the chest with a baseball hard enough it’ll stop your heart. So I don’t even want to hear that as an excuse. Gotta wear the pads. Kids get hurt. It happens, so don’t stop everybody because somebody broke an arm.

What do you think about stereotypes of skateboarders?
Michelle: They always stereotype everyone. It’s a new sport, even though it’s getting popular. It’s one of the X-Game sports. These kids that ride bikes on these ramps, the BMX bikes, skating, and even snowboarding. They don’t get a bad reputation on the ski slopes. It’s whatever is new; the older generation has to put it down and say, ‘Oh that’s not good, they’re a bunch of criminals.’ There’s a criminal element in every single thing that we do. There are criminal elements in Congress. It’s a bad stereotype; it needs to be combatted for the kids’ sakes. That’s no reason to squash what they want to do. How many Americans are obese? The one thing that they want to do is being taken away from them. Not a good idea. It’s a bad argument; they have a lot of bad arguments. Stereotypes and the ever popular waver, that you squash just like that.
The other thing about stereotypes is, I’m a biker. I drive a Harley; I have a tattoo. Yet I’m a big homework mom; I know it’s not something that you see. When I’m dressed in gear, when I’m riding, people have stereotypes about me. I’ve lived the stereotype thing, and I understand that it doesn’t work. A lot of these kids are great kids and a lot of these kids that are at risk, give them something to do, so that they don’t turn into thugs and take over mall sidewalks and whatnot. I’d definitely support it.