JTMR = Guest Editor new issue of Focus Skateboard Magazine.

The X- games, ah the X-games...I believe that I was at the first ever x-games because it was
walking distance from my house. I believe that it was in 1997 and at it was held at Mariner's
Point, which is the original home of the ESPN X-Games and the Bahia hotel in Mission Beach, San Diego, California. Somehow I wasn't in the contest but I have a vague recollection of my friend Willy Santos being in it and doing quite well. I think that they only had three disciplines back then, skateboarding, bmx, and roller blading. The latter discipline may be why the almighty X-games earned the moniker ," THE X-GAYMES." HA! Anyway, I only went one day of the three-day weekend because the contests didn't seem like such a big deal. But after that weekend, somehow I knew that the skateboard industry would never be the same.

Videos! Oh videos. Videos have made and killed many skateboard careers. I remember the days of the huge skateboard video premiers when nobody except the team riders, and the company heads knew what to expect. It was a big deal, like a Hollywood movie premier. All of the top skateboarders in the industry would be there, and you knew that something special was going to go down. Now, with the internet and all of the televised skateboarding and every TOM, DICK, JOE, and HARRY doing "Bangers" on the internet; those days of the huge skateboard video premiers are numbered, if not over. It seems like now all skateboard companies, even the big ones are just having their premiers at bars and skate shops. Which isn't bad but that and the internet takes away from some of the "magic" that skateboarding once had. On the other hand the internet is good cause after an event you can usually just Google the name of the event and see the best skateboarding from the event, which is good for old guys like me; just Google HALLOWEEN HELLRAISER 2010.

THPS aka Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, is genius, and the EA sports SKATE franchise is epic. Both of these video games have had a major impact on the way kids think and execute tricks on their skateboards. When I landed my first 360 flip I didn't really know how the board actually flipped because I never had seen anybody else do it. With the stellar graphics and superior design of these video games kids can now see the details of how every trick is executed. In turn, they see themselves do it as a character on the video game and then take the trick to real life on some crazy gnarley obstacle and actually do it!!! Hence, all of the bangin' skateboarding being uploaded onto websites, like The Berrics.

When I first came to my own on my skateboard the industry was purer, younger, and more naive. Then, skateboarding was underground, non-mainstream, and frowned upon by most of the establishment. Nowadays, it is more accepted. In fact, there are constantly new skate parks being built all over the world. While before, when I was first coming up skate parks like the Del Mar Skate Ranch were being closed down. Now the amount of skate parks and skateboarding seems comparable to the amount of sports fields and basketball courts in any given community. Furthermore, the influx of corporate sponsors, major shoe and drink deals are helping to build of all of these skate parks. I believe this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing for young talented skateboarders wallets, but a curse for the soul and the art of skateboarding.

All in all, to persevere in skateboarding and to become a modern professional skateboarder in the current state of the skateboard industry; I believe you have to be resilient, be able to adapt, be able to change with the times, and most of all be an all around good skateboarder.