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Newschool is a state of mind

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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Someone (can't remember right now) had this quote in their signature:

"newschool is a state of mind, not a style of skiing.
-hendrik. '05"

I have now added it to mine as well (thank you) - but god damn, is that a perfect quote about what Newschoolers is all about. Most people think that Newschoolers is just about 12 year old park rats... but this is flawed because the site is 13 years old. So law of ages is that even extremely young people at the start of the 'newschool' movement, are now 25 years old. Guys like me are now almost 33... but if you asked me what kind of a skier I was I'd say Newschool.

Its funny though, because I don't hit the park as much as I used to. Shit, most weekends when I'm skiing I'm just out carving with my wife. My buddies and I seek powder and tree skiing when we go on trips.

But.. I still call myself Newschool. I don't identify with pure big mountain shredding, there is always an element of playfulness that I'm looking for - even if its big mountain gnar that I'm after. I'd want to watch someone slay a huge line and then 180 the cliff at the bottom, instead of just arm flail to land straight.

I barely even can put a finger on what I know the difference is, but now I think I can. Its simply a state of mind of looking at skiing differently. Its looking at a more playful way to approach the mountain, no matter what you do or how you do it.

Maybe really in the end its all just skiing... and traditional skiing got lost in the competition stream and Newschool brought back the fun. Shit, maybe even we're going through that right now...

OK ranting now. Ending it, but damn that is a good quote. Anyone know the source?



Feb 14 2012 9:52AM
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Dr.Gonzo
Posts: 2552 - Karma: 87
couldn't agree more
Feb 14 2012 9:56AM
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ChocolateMilk.
Posts: 1129 - Karma: 220
Well said. I'm enjoying seeing how many emotional threads your gonna make about ns they always make me feel all warm inside.
Feb 14 2012 9:58AM
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DUKES
Posts: 5150 - Karma: 691
when ever i say to my parents that i am a newschool skier they ?wut? then i say freestyle then they say ?moguls? it hurts me
Feb 14 2012 10:02AM
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Blurst
Posts: 13577 - Karma: 10,169
sweet post bishop
Feb 14 2012 10:12AM
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mountainviper
Posts: 1931 - Karma: -3
That's me brotha. 37. Still lap the park, slay big mountain lines, and even jibbin around on blues with the wifey. State of mind. No doubt!
Feb 14 2012 10:13AM
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ForeverYung
Posts: 8385 - Karma: 2,060
so true. you guys should make a shirt that say i am a newschooler
Feb 14 2012 10:14AM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
i got that newschool state of mind
Feb 14 2012 10:18AM
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jmasterp
Posts: 1976 - Karma: 233
Well put.
Feb 14 2012 10:21AM
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tbayskier
Posts: 1138 - Karma: 1,642
i hope that one day i will be able to tell a gaper i'm a newschool skier, and they'll know what i'm talking about
Feb 14 2012 10:54AM
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
truth.  been a solid community over the years. 
Feb 14 2012 11:05AM
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84891jnf92048
Posts: 11552 - Karma: 2,550
Truth.

And then there are all sorts of newschool subcultures, but that just gets weird and confusing.
Feb 14 2012 11:16AM
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rareison
Posts: 10263 - Karma: 219
so true
Feb 14 2012 11:22AM
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JeremyB
Posts: 629 - Karma: 30
Well said Mister B.
Feb 14 2012 11:34AM
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king.tubby
Posts: 2865 - Karma: 122
awesomeness. this explains why ive been on this site for 6 years even though i hardly ski park. like at all. the playfulness. the progression. the "just jibbin around." the not taking shit too seriously
Feb 14 2012 11:35AM
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The_Hannes
Posts: 285 - Karma: 63
yes please!
Feb 14 2012 11:38AM
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I.B
Posts: 8137 - Karma: 24,353
Fuck yeah.
Feb 14 2012 11:43AM
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Dan-Man
Posts: 7488 - Karma: 3,621

TAYLOR GANG or die bitchez.

Feb 14 2012 11:43AM
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PKchu
Posts: 1158 - Karma: 5,943
We could make a song....
Feb 14 2012 11:44AM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
been here from the beginning, its definitely a state of mind. dats for sure.

Feb 14 2012 11:46AM
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Errl
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 451
damnit, you beat me to it..
Feb 14 2012 11:48AM
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Mules
Posts: 595 - Karma: 97
We should get jay-z to make us a song and it can play every time you gain 1,000 karma points
Feb 14 2012 11:57AM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
YES. THIS HAS BEEN MY SIG FOR YEARS!
Feb 14 2012 12:04PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
/claim
Feb 14 2012 12:05PM
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BCASSASSIN
Posts: 1330 - Karma: 37
Another insightful thread by bishop, I enjoy these.
Feb 14 2012 12:07PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
It's about making skiing what you want it to be. Skiing is freedom
Feb 14 2012 12:09PM
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majora
Posts: 860 - Karma: 157
threadsthreads let us all soak in each others' smugness
Feb 14 2012 12:35PM
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TheHamburglar
Posts: 3895 - Karma: 3,315
all about hittin shit in your own way, not a way that gets you the highest score

from front cover of the march transworld snowboarding; "snowboarding isn't something you do to get a medal."

that's the newschool state of mind right there
Feb 14 2012 1:14PM
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artrud
Posts: 598 - Karma: 1,471

Click for larger image

Couldn't agree more

Feb 14 2012 1:24PM
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Drail
Posts: 14012 - Karma: 10,011
getting defensive are we there Doug?

"newschool skiing" and "newschoolers.com" are two separate things - both are in a very confusing period in their lives right now. Maybe I'm tainted and can't see the reality of the skiing world anymore due to living in the Kootenays, but from where I stand, segregation in the sport is almost non-existent.

I've said it many times on this site, and nothing has changed. I think we should drop the "newschool" from our skiing. Sure, there is a difference between the core skier and the clueless city tourist... but that's always been the case. For those that are passionate about the sport, whichever genre you choose to fulfill your urge doesn't really matter. Maybe it is a state of mind... but isn't that what skiing has been for decades? "skiing isn't a sport, it's a lifestyle" is there really a difference between the two quotes?

and as far as newschoolers.com. well, you're going to have to face it. People look at this site and see what they see. I personally agree with this place being "humorous"... and even though the age demographic is constantly getting older, the assumption of age in the forums keeps lowering. I remember years ago it used to be "all the 16 year olds" and now it's gone down to 12 year olds. Give it a decade and everyone will be assumed to be in kindergarden. There is a BIG difference between what goes on out on the hill and what goes on here in the forums of NS. If anything, it's because of this website as to why the segregation in the sport ("newschool" vs "whatever you want to call it") still exists.
Feb 14 2012 1:31PM
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TheBlueMtSkier
Posts: 909 - Karma: 42
Lol'd
Feb 14 2012 1:37PM
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midwestpowhunter
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 189
i feel exactly the same every year i get older and i ride less park. every year i have more fun. Its all about playfulness, positive attitude, and making the mountain your piece of heaven no matter how big or small ima shred it!
Feb 14 2012 1:58PM
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Orrin
Posts: 1757 - Karma: 1,114
Agreed. Well said.
Feb 14 2012 2:07PM
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*geezer*
Posts: 645 - Karma: 301
me gusta
Feb 14 2012 6:27PM
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hendrik.
Posts: 6715 - Karma: 267
i feel so proud.

also, first post in a whiiiiile.
Feb 16 2012 4:45PM
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562056961108
Posts: 0 - Karma: 575
I've been on NS for a while now... Joined when I was ~13, now I'm closing in on 23 (wow). I fit this demographic, older, still on NS (at work, instead of school now though :))

I know that eventually my back or knees or legs will give out and I won't be able to shred park as much as I want, but I agree Bishop, its a mind set. I hope I'll be 50 and tail tapping trees and logs and doing hand drags all the time, maybe with my kids!

I'm a newschooler. Have been for a while, always will be. Cheers to you all.

Also related: met a ~45 year old science teacher tossing gigantic 3's in Winter Park's dark territory the other weekend. I want to be doing that when I'm 45. Dude balls hard.
Feb 16 2012 4:57PM
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HamFaceGirl
Posts: 5242 - Karma: 2,676
thats also what i love about skiing, it alows you to be more creative than other sports. some people take it more serious than others, but ive learned ti kuat have fun out there. and sorry if i made any spelling errors, im on my phone
Feb 16 2012 5:11PM
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mountainviper
Posts: 1931 - Karma: -3
Addendum: wifey just got 172 bacs and was slayin big mountain lines this week with the big boys but yeah, still state of mind. Haha
Feb 18 2012 5:35PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
lolll my brother, what a dick
Nov 21 2013 9:51AM
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HWW
Posts: 3084 - Karma: 3,436
Nice bump.
Nov 21 2013 9:53AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,633
Funny enough on this bump (and yes I'm over sensitive but deal with it) -

Just yesterday we pulled all the stats for active, contributing accounts on the site. Funny thing came out of it... there are only 104 active 13 year olds, and only 22% of the active members are ages 13-17.

Active, contributing accounts on the site look like this:

13-17 - 22.92%
18-24 - 50.41%
25-34 - 18%
35-44 - 2.14%
45-54 - 0.73%
55+ - 0.84%

Average age of an active Newschoolers member?

21.

If you look at people visiting the site and not necessarily logging in its like this:

3-17 - 8.10%
18-24 - 46.02%
25-34 - 38.26%
35-44 - 4.74%
45-54 - 1.38%
55-64 - 0.79%
65+ - .58%

Average age of someone who visits Newschoolers?

25.

I think its a real problem with how we all view each other. Sure, I'm totally down with the "Its just skiing." mentality... I even think thats great.

I just think we need to be more realistic with how many awesome people we have gathering here. Stop calling each other 13 and actually engage in a conversation... you might meet a new friend to go shred with.
Nov 21 2013 11:45AM
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mooseman077
Posts: 300 - Karma: 359
Could it be that the internet just inspires everyone to act like a 13 year old because you can hide behind the anonymity of a screen name? And in our culture today, a lot of people just think its funny to troll or be a dick online. A few bad apples can feel like a majority when you keep seeing them every day. I've seen this site come a long way. My first name, cactus077(I really wish I could get this name back), was member #10000 or something like that, and back then it was just us coming together talking about skiing. There was no hate because we had never seen anything like this before and we were stoked just to have a spot online for us. Now, Newschoolers isnt new, its an established, integral part of newschool skiing today. So kids have fun by being dicks on here instead of just being stoked on skiing. Newschoolers will always have a younger average user and it should be that way. We need to keep getting young kids stoked on skiing every day. I worked in kids ski school in Keystone the past few years and skiing is taking over snowboarding again for the youngest age groups.
Nov 21 2013 1:07PM
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HWW
Posts: 3084 - Karma: 3,436
We have such an awesome community here, let's try to remember that more often!
Nov 21 2013 3:15PM
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Turkelton
Posts: 2829 - Karma: 8,558
Where do you get those numbers?
Nov 21 2013 3:24PM
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eliaswhite89
Posts: 29 - Karma: 67
we do not forget , we are a legion , we are newschoolers.
Nov 21 2013 3:27PM
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MLJ
Posts: 1849 - Karma: 3,649
What idiot upvoted every single post!?
Nov 21 2013 3:31PM
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