The city and the subculture career

Professional street skateboarding in LA

Bibliographic Data

ID2402402
AuthorsGregory J Snyder (City University of New York), Gregory Snyder (City University of New York, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume13
Issue3
Pages306-329
Publication date2012-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1466-1381 • E-ISSN: 1741-2714
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1466138111413501
OpenAlexW2057808313
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited28

This article provides a detailed ethnographic description of skateboarding's main career opportunities and contributes to arguments about subculture theory and the impact of specific subcultures on cities. Professional street skateboarders perform tricks on obstacles in the urban environment and publish these tricks in magazines and videos to share with other members of the subculture. This need for documentation and dissemination of skateboard tricks, as well as the need to design and distribute subculture media, skateboards and skateboarding products, makes skateboarding a self-sustaining industry and provides skaters with an opportunity for subculture careers. These careers are in skating and also the ancillary careers necessary to support this industry. These subculture careers have a positive impact on individual skaters by providing opportunities, in many cases where none existed, and also upon the urban centers where this industry is most prominent by drawing creative, talented people to the city to participate in the subculture and quite possibly even make a career

Documentation · Ethnography · Media studies · Sociology · Subculture (biology · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Anthropology · Outdoor and Experiential Education · Sports, Gender, and Society

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