Down With Ghetto Steez! (an essay on three points)

Few things piss me off more than seeing fifty white kids in the park decked out in their attemptive ghetto-ass-ness, making total retards of themselves. We all need to establish one crucial fact, SKIING IS NOT GHETTO. I have nothing against people who are from poor parts of town, people who are from poor parts of town who ski, or the FEW skiers who can rock the ghetto steez (Tanner, Mikael Deschenaux). I am angry at the kids who, despite their whiteness, despite their non-poorness, and despite the very background of the mountain culture, wear pants down to their knees while wrapping themselves up like the Taliban in do-rags. Skiing is an expensive sport, and therefore if you want to border on the preppy side, maybe throw on a Spyder race one piece or maybe a little Bogner number, that's fine by me (it's not my style, but you're being true to the roots of skiing). Also, Skiing's heros dont come from Compton, they come from Colorado, Utah, Canada, and Europe. Because of this, I am totally fine with a skier pulling into the parking lot blasting a little Iron Maiden, or some Rancid, some Rolling Stones, or any other non-rap music (that's gangsta rap, not hip-hop such as Swollen Members, because they have actual musical talent). The posessor of this steez can wear a trucker hat, some North Face gear, plenty of duct tape, etc. Another acceptable style is that of functionality. The most hardcore and innovative skiers know that the past as well as the future of skiing lies in the big mountain arena. A triple ply Gore Tex jacket is designed for skiing by people who ski, unlike the ghetto phabulous Fubu puffy jacket that makes you look like the michelin man. The ski pants worn by this skier aren't baggy because this skier doesn't need pants that hide shaky knees and sloppy style, because he has it already; and besides, it's hard to hike to the top of that cliff band when you can't separate your legs more than five inches. Above all, don't be a poser, leave the bling at home when you ski, wear your hat in a way that won't get you shot on the south-side, and be true to your sport. Skiing is unique among other sports because it has such a rich culture surrounding it. I am not saying that we should keep our heads up our asses as to the progression of skiing, but rather we should not hide the most progressive members of our sport under the disguise of snowboarders, who started this whole mess. Instead, root yourself in the part of our sport that is truly our own, the big mountain ripping; and the functionality based style that real skiers rock.