Someone explain probability to the skateboarder

skaterhusseindave on April 5, 2010 - Reply

Call Kevin Day (978) 657-7746. Measure your legs above and below the knee. Ask him to make you some Pain CheatersTM…

Drunk Andy on April 6, 2010 - Reply

Good comic.

At 33 years old this is my philosophy.

Wood= go for it!

Crete= be careful, you’re an old man

curtis on April 6, 2010 - Reply

yea, pads and a helmet. even then you will beef it fom time to time.
I prefer glassy concrete for saftey reasons. for longevity I have decided smallish prefab ramps on concrete slabs are to be avoided.

Drunk Andy on April 8, 2010 - Reply

Pads are for the gays.

carvin marvin on April 8, 2010 - Reply

how about no pads and do the same tricks over and over for years? (30+ so far)

RH on April 8, 2010 - Reply

There is a much greater probability that you will go for it with a somewhat false sense of security with pads. Even the skatepark association of America (or something like that… there was an article in Parks & Recreation Magazine quoting them, that a righteous public skatepark employee showed me) has recognized for years that there is a somewhat greater rate of injury in parks that require pads. Even little kids can comprehend that getting ahead of themselves HURTS without pads, whereas with them, people get away with getting ahead of themselves for a while, and then fall on something unpadded with no imperative to roll. And their bones stick out at odd angles, which I for one have never seen without pads. On the “other” hand, there IS a much greater probability that you will go for it. So, so long as we recognize that doing something with pads doesn’t mean that you have it as locked down and/or are as courageous as doing it without pads would mean, and recognize that those wearing pads want to go farther faster, it just shouldn’t be an issue.

RH on April 8, 2010 - Reply

Except at parks where rate of injury is their sole concern, and there, pads should not be allowed.

Drunk Andy on April 8, 2010 - Reply

I agree RH.

Fitz on April 8, 2010 - Reply

Are you kidding me? Pads should not be allowed? Who gives a shit? Wear them or don’t. I’m 36, I don’t pad up though I probably should, and I could care less if somebody else does. It’s a matter of choice.

kc on April 8, 2010 - Reply

I wear pads occasionally. If I skate something over 10′ and I plan on doing airs and knee sliding, I pad up. Otherwise, If I have a bad swellbow i’lI put on a elbow pad. If I had a concussion within the last few weeks I throw on a helmet for a couple days, but I always buckle up when I’m driving.

Talentlessquitter on April 8, 2010 - Reply

Drunk Andy,what about Steel?

Welsh Pete on April 9, 2010 - Reply

‘Pads are dangerous.’ I’ve heard it all now.

Sh*t, now I know that cracking my skull open a couple of months back would have been far worse if I was wearing helmet. I should sue OHSU for questioning whether I was wearing a lid or not.

hey, you can always take them off when Thrasher asks you to be on the next cover.

Bevilacqua on April 9, 2010 - Reply

I always mount pads under my deck and above my trucks…

RH on April 9, 2010 - Reply

Distinctions, anyone? Did anybody SAY anything about helmets being dangerous? And did I say that there SHOULD be any parks “where rate of injury is their sole concern” (as opposed to performance as well)? But, when a guy who has a)dislocated his hip, has b)caught his board between his legs on a big, unsuccessful-for-a-change crail air (to the point that blood spontaneously geysered out of his sack at home), and who c)went on to have blood (and then cerebral spinal fluid for days) coming out of his ear from a hematoma in back and in front (where his brain ricocheted), all WHILE wearing pads, once informed me that he ain’t putting on pads at a session cuz he doesn’t want to get hurt before a little contest, and proceeded to not get hurt for a change, I listened. And it turns out that a skatepark association agrees with him, statistically, though OF COURSE it did not lead them to tell their members they should not allow pads. Though it sure as hell implies that they should not REQUIRE them, if they’re really concerned about rate of injury. Oh, plus, they give you cooties.

Drunk Andy on April 9, 2010 - Reply

I’m going to need to fully pad up for this vert ramp that’s going up in MN. I was just kidding about the gay comment. I just notice most of my injuries occur in places that aren’t typically padded anyway. Most of the time to me there’s no point to padding up if they feel constrictive and don’t help.

I need to learn how to knee-slide.

houseofneil on April 9, 2010 - Reply

Is this April Fools Day?

RH, I think you should tell Duane Peters (and every other vert pro older than 30) that he shouldn’t wear pads or a helmet anymore because “he will be safer without them”. I’m sure your opinion will mean much more than his 35 years of skating. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that he’s been doing it wrong all these years.

Fitz on April 9, 2010 - Reply

There’s just so many rules these days, and the uniform keeps changing… Man, I gotta hit the showers. These workouts are intense!

Bevilacqua on April 9, 2010 - Reply

I wear a padded short under my trendy army bermuda, as well as a ninja turtle outfit (how do you call these back armor ?) under my flashy trendy Tshirt.
And I never forget my gloves.
And I wear a helmet when I am out skating with the kids.
And I am thinking of buying a helm instead – I mean frontal teeth protection of course, nohing medieval.
Am I a lawful good skater ?

Fitz on April 9, 2010 - Reply

I say go for it! I know a certain looney Christian guy who rocks a full-face helmet. There’s not a lot of love lost between us, but in retrospect, he’s the punkest guy out there. While everyone else covertly obsesses over the style du jour and overtly avers to be “so over it, bro,” this bible-bashing nut pads himself up in all manner of safety gear, straps on some heinous b-ball hi-tops, and does one-footed over-vert carve grinds. And I’ll bet he doesn’t give a single, solitary fuck what anyone thinks of him.

We should all be that guy in our own way.

Fitz on April 9, 2010 - Reply

…sans the zealous belief in an antiquated societal control mechanism.

RH on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Neil, why be a fool all April? Where… did… I… say… HELMETS… are… dangerous? And, did I say DP shouldn’t pad up if he wants to skate like that? Thing is, he’s not going to skate like that if he does not pad up, and so of course, wanting to skate like that, he pads up. And gets hurt. Like my damaged friend (who Duane bailed out of jail once, not the other way around). And parks should not ban the padded-up insanity, unless their sole concern is reducing the rate of injury. Jeez, no wonder most parks down here don’t figure out that it’s a joke to require pads for safety reasons, when skaters themselves are so defensive about wearing them or about skating less recklessly without them.

Fitz on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Dude, you’re losing this one. Let it go. The notion that pads cause reckless skateboarding is almost unquantifiable. This so-called article you reference amounts to nothing more than hearsay.

As far as the pads/no pads debate is concerned, not wearing them is part of the tough-guy super-core uniform, and clowning those who choose to pad up is a reinforcement of one’s status in the cool guy club.

That’s why we all do it.

It’s over. The jocks won.

Now, let’s go skateboarding. Bring your pads or don’t. Whatever.

conahan on April 10, 2010 - Reply

There is an appeal to showing up to a spot with just your skateboard but as a guy who’s going to wear a helmet, I might as well pack the bag.

houseofneil on April 10, 2010 - Reply

what you say makes NO logical sense as has been pointed out to you by numerous people, and yet you continue your nonsensical tirade. Seriously, give it up already.

And Duane is Duane. he only knows one way to skate and that is balls out, pads or no pads.

snatch77 on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Whats up with the pig nose?

RH on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Neil, just cuz numerous pinheads cannot fit on the head of a pin doesn’t make them logical, just numerous… and does not make you a pinhead, just logic-challenged. Logically, if a skatepark’s SOLE concern WAS reducing the rate of injury, it would not allow SKATING… so that just may have been rhetorical. And fer crissakes, I WEAR pads half the time. But I skate two parks where pads used to be required for years and now haven’t been for years… and the injury rate went WAY down, but the performance level went down as well, at least on the transition stuff. But I guess that was just some sort of miracle; thanks for setting me straight.

conahan on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Skaters with pig noses tend to try harder so they eat it more often.

Fitz on April 10, 2010 - Reply

Sure thing, RH. Clever analogy. Makes as much sense as your prior argument.

And now you wear pads half the time. Convenient.

Why don’t you just own the fact you want to be a cool-guy? Dickies, Vans, and mesh hats are pimp. Not as functional as pads and hi-tops, but come on bro, how much of this is really about actual skateboarding?

Gnarles Copinghagen on April 11, 2010 - Reply

I go one speed, pads or no pads. That speed is as fast as possible. And I can tell you a FACT. I’ve fallen with pads on and been ok in a situation that without pads I’d be ruined. That’s common sense. It’s logical. I don’t always wear pads. On something smaller that I’m really solid on sometimes I’ll go without. Whatever. Who cares. Get hurt early and lose your skate ability. I don’t care. It leaves more space at the park for me to skate. One less dude in my way. Wait, maybe I do care in a way. DON’T WEAR YOUR PADS! I’ve got a lot more runs to make.

michael on April 11, 2010 - Reply

I think I would rather go for it at say battleground than that slippery vert ramp at The Skate Barn. O ya what the hell am I doing in this mall in portland on a bright sunny day?(Drinking coffee!). It might be time to go to Battleground for part two of skateboarding today though.

snatch77 on April 12, 2010 - Reply

Thats pretty funny and accurate. I have known a couple pig nose skaters….I also think pig nose hotties try harder too..I am down with a good pig nose

michael on April 12, 2010 - Reply

Scoot and Destroy! I saw a shirt that had that message on it at “The Skate Barn” in renton washington. haha. O shit my little gravitar guy is wearing some “Pro Designed” knee pads and he is only doing a fs slash grind. That guy is not very cool.