The Beginner's Guide is a game about sincerity.
A long time ago (Nah chill, this wont take long) I was a grom in the City. I skated because there was nothing better to do. I got better at skateboarding because I didn't want to look stupid in front of my new friends.
I became obsessed with appearing to be a skateboarder. I learned only the tricks I knew other people liked, I wore only clothes I saw other skaters I looked up to wearing. I listened to music that I thought would make me seem "cool." I spent more time trying to live like a skater than actually skating. But I didn't realize that until much later.
I started riding right at the time skateboarding caught the new media wave. The Bones Brigade videos blew the lid off what was possible for marketing in action sports and skateboarding quickly became the soup du jour.
Skateboarding fit the video format perfectly, the musical accompaniments to the videos reinvigorated music sector purchases and reinvigorated whole music genres, and skateboard company logos were prominently displayed on the shirts boards trucks hats and shoes. Not to mention the personalities of the riders. You would watch your favorite riders video part and want to skate like him, dress like him, live like him.
It was only a matter of time before larger companies took notice, and oddly enough one of the first organizations to put money in the pot was the children programming station Nickelodeon who launched a show called Sk8TV, it was sort of a variety show that aired skate parts, rider check outs, and interviews with top pros.
The host was a guy called Skatemaster Tate, and at the time to me Skatemaster tate defined the version of cool I was chasing.
Skateboarding the 90's was also very weird. It was letting pretty much anybody in, so it wasn't weird to have reggae dudes vibing with punkers who in turn would skate with guys with black power medallions and asymmetrical flattops.
It was a style meritocracy where yeah, image was important but if it wasn't backed up with tricks, and the all important footy then style was worthless. Skatemaster Tate and his co host, ak.a. the guy from Starship Troopers helmed the "Yo MTV Raps" of skateboarding, and guided the skateboarding ship for a generation of youngsters desperate to define themselves through a shared past time.
I bring this up because Skatemaster Tate recently passed away due to Cancer. He skated every day of his life, he walked the community known as a stand up guy in every sense of the word. He gave back. He was loved, and now he is gone. I just felt it important to remind people he was one of the best of us, and what he made helped. That's it.
I had a story about The Beginners Guide, and I had a story about myself to tie into the theme of the Beginners Guide but said fuck it. Here is what you need to know about the game: It is one of the best video games I have ever played. I suggest you take the time to play it, you will not be sorry. That's the truth. Ok, done. Also JERBZ.
The Protoculture Mixtape : Issue : People : Thrash
