Little Wayne, the famous successful rapper-producer-musician, has decided to take a break from music to skateboard full time. This fact is taking up a lot of the current news online for skateboarding, people seem to care in the creepy celebrity chasing type of way. I’ve read up on this, and will write up my opinion that I think is unique because I see the positive in it. Some articles state that his bodyguards have beaten people up, and documented or rumored questionable morals for the rapper. But I’m not going to focus on any of that but concentrate on his decision to skate full time.
One thing I don’t like about this coverage of Little Wayne is that numerous posts focus on that he is not good at skating, and because of that he is wasting his time. First of all rating the skill level of skaters is difficult. I can’t skate transition that well at all, if someone saw me trying that type of skating they would assume I was a beginner or wasting my time. But with flip tricks and tech skating I’m decent. There might be someone that can rage on pools or ramps, but can’t do a kickflip. Also for street skating, not everyone throws themselves down ten stairs like in pro competitions or videos. To someone not acquainted with skating, they could view people skating flatland as skaters with no skill. When in reality, that can be as time consuming to learn as other types of skating. Also with skill levels of skating or anything, why do people have to be good at what they do for fun or a hobby? If you’re not sponsored or getting paid for it, being good is relative, and the main focus is the enjoyment you get from the activity.
From the footage I’ve seen online, I can tell that Little Wayne is having fun while skating. You can’t fake excitement or energy in my opinion. If he didn’t enjoy it, I don’t think he’d bother doing it. Having a celebrity like Little Wayne take skating seriously may be a positive thing for his fans, that he is promoting an active lifestyle. In an age were so many teens sit at home and play video games any promotion for teens to get out and be active is good, even if it’s coming from someone considered to be a bad role model.
Talking of celebrities and their endless money, I remember when Jay Z and Beyonce got married and there was an online uproar that they spent three million on their wedding. A conservative friend of mine stated something like, ‘it’s their money, they earned it, and they can spend it how they want to.’ With that mindset, Little Wayne, is worth so much. He made it from his own music and producing other musicians. For people that do not have any worries money wise, they probably should pursue what they want. There all a lot more negative things he could be doing than skateboarding, like diving into more excess, and there are more positive things he could be doing like setting up charities. I think skating could occupy his time for decades as it never gets boring, there is always something to work on. And guess what to all the people that think he’s wasting his time in two years he will be good. Doing anything full time makes one good. If I were wealthy enough that I never had to worry about getting my next paycheck, I would skate full time too. I would never expect to be sponsored or super good, but I’d enjoy being able to skate everyday.
Lastly, one thing that irks me is that he’s made a skate clothing line, and seems to be embracing the publicity of his decision to skate. But I think that is simply from being a star for so long, it’s hard to step out of the limelight. So hopefully he’s committed to skating, and over time can help skater celebrities like Rob Drydek, Ryan Sheckler, Tony Hawk, Justin Bieber, and others promote the sport.
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