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Was skiing really seen as "lame" by youth in the 80s and 90s?
My grown blader friends tell me that the reason so many bladers snowboard is because that back in the 90s when they were kids getting into action sports, skiing was seen as really lame, at least to them and their crowd of peers. Is it really true that skiing was seen as the preppy nerd sport and snowboarding was seen as the cool rad sport among youth back then? That doesn't quite make a ton of sense to me considering that freeride/mogul/"hot dog" skiing was popular at that time and had been a popular thing for decades before then. @everyone who knows freeskiing history better than me, what was the actual consensus on skiing's cool factor before twintips existed?
Snowboarding's foundation and popularity was based around rad shit like catching air and doing spins and flips and shit. Skiing at the time was just how well you carved or skied the bumps. It was lame as fuck. And the only time skiers did catch air, they did super stiff 'tricks' that were too structured to appeal to a kid who wanted to bmx like dave mirra and skateboard like chad muska. Even terrain parks in the day were 'snowboard parks' were the skiers didn't ski. I'd ski all day then go home and play 1080 on the n64 and watch johnny tsunami. My parents were crusty locals who had a chip on their shoulder about snowboarding so I never had a choice to try it. I just wanted to go off jumps but I'd get forced down bump runs and 'black diamonds' because the terrain park 'wasn't real skiing'.
Thankfully, because of snowboarding the newschool came around and saved skiing from being corny af. By the time I tried snowboarding myself, skiing was cool again. And while boarding was fun, I already had a very solid skiing foundation that was hard to let go when learning a new discipline, so I stuck with 2 planks.
Yep skiing was seen as something your parents did, snowboarding was new and pushing the boundaries of what could happen on snow - whereas skiing was about perfecting a turn. Then the new Canadian Air Force and 1080’s came along and everything started to change
Skiing back in the 80s, early 90s was all about tight ski pants, puffy coats, head bands with your sunglasses and the rear entry ski boot. It was even cool to ski in your Levis, ugh, makes me laugh just thinking about what we wore back then. The skis were straight and narrow, longer the better, it was still common to see bindings with the leashes(no brakes, just a strap wrapped around your leg to prevent it from sliding down the hill after ejection). Skiing wasnt progressing well in this era, yeah there was mogul skiing/hot dogging but again the sport was not going anywhere. Snowboarding showed up in the mid 90's and lots of new people showed up to the mountains bringing a whole different perspective to things. Hence the parks, then skis started to change shapes, tips were added onto the tails and bindings started to get center mounted and just a whole new attitude was brought into skiing making it what it is today. Its great to see some of the old trends but I am glad we are where we are today with the sport.
Yup and it carried on into the early 2000s - maybe until 2005ish? All my friends switched to snowboarding. Everyone, even teachers at school, would act shocked and ask why I didn't snowboard when they found out I skied. I felt like I had to defend myself or make excuses for why I skied regularly.
skiguy04Rollerbladers wanted to do tricks on snow then twin tip was invented
While it's true that aggressive inline and freestyle skiing blew up at about the same time, had similar aesthetics, and require similar muscle memory, neither sport's progression was influenced by the other. It was not like how snowboarders closely identified with surfers and skateboarders. Bladers generally didn't care about skiing and vice versa
FruitBootProWhile it's true that aggressive inline and freestyle skiing blew up at about the same time, had similar aesthetics, and require similar muscle memory, neither sport's progression was influenced by the other. It was not like how snowboarders closely identified with surfers and skateboarders. Bladers generally didn't care about skiing and vice versa
Rollerblading qas huge in the 90s. Like early to mid especially. Freeskiing really seemed to blow up early to mid 2000s. Honestly was probably closer to 2005 when everyone really started getting into it. Similar to the way snowboarding boomed in the end of the 90s to early 2k.
Were snow blades ever popular enough back in the day that people would switch from snowboarding to snow blades as the main item in their quiver? Or were they always just seen/used as an occasional toy?
deathcookieYeah, I think its seen as a kind of lame activity for rich people, like sailing.
I can't tell if people who think skiing is still significantly lamer than snowboarding are just ignorant dudebros/skater boys at this point, or if it's still most young people who aren't familiar with actual snowsports culture.
Chris.BWere snow blades ever popular enough back in the day that people would switch from snowboarding to snow blades as the main item in their quiver? Or were they always just seen/used as an occasional toy?
I rode snowblades back from like 1999-2005 cuz I didn't know twin-tips were a thing/they weren't widely available. I wanted to ride switch and they allowed me to do it. Also having lots of seasons on em made me a pretty centered skier
FruitBootProWhile it's true that aggressive inline and freestyle skiing blew up at about the same time, had similar aesthetics, and require similar muscle memory, neither sport's progression was influenced by the other.
I think this is true when considering where the inspiration to change the hardware originated. Bladers were lifting design elements from skateboards, and skiers were doing the same from snowboards.....neither was paying much attention to the other.
The way JLev tells his story, rollerblades didn't have as much influence on his skiboard design as it may seem.
FruitBootProI can't tell if people who think skiing is still significantly lamer than snowboarding are just ignorant dudebros/skater boys at this point, or if it's still most young people who aren't familiar with actual snowsports culture.
IMO where you’re at in the country makes a huge difference.. like out in Cali where everyone is super big into board sports snowboarding is definitely bigger at least among the casual, couple times a year set. The amount of times I had to explain myself to Cali kids who looked at me like like I was super lame for skiing not boarding was insane.
CENTOREIMO where you’re at in the country makes a huge difference.. like out in Cali where everyone is super big into board sports snowboarding is definitely bigger at least among the casual, couple times a year set. The amount of times I had to explain myself to Cali kids who looked at me like like I was super lame for skiing not boarding was insane.
If the movie Frozen, which was set in NY, is accurate, then the east coast view of snowboarding is that its "too emo for me."
jakeordieI think this is true when considering where the inspiration to change the hardware originated. Bladers were lifting design elements from skateboards, and skiers were doing the same from snowboards.....neither was paying much attention to the other.
The way JLev tells his story, rollerblades didn't have as much influence on his skiboard design as it may seem.
yeah it's so funny bc the first dedicated aggressive inline skate was released maybe a year or two before the first twintip ski (salomon teneighty)...and before that, both skiers and bladers had to make makeshift twintips/aggressive skates with aftermarket parts...and they both had baggy clothes-gangsta rap type styles...but neither sport directly influenced the other.
It's also kinda funny to me how skiers in the mid 90s didn't look at bladers grinding rails and think "hey we could do that lol", it took them a little longer to reach that point
Remembering lift lines in Quebec city from the 90’s, 2000s and 2010. skiing was super popular in the 90s. The lift lines were always full.
in the 2000s, park slowly picked up a following, owning twintips was a sure sign your were devoted to the park. In late 2000s, the lift lines were empty quite a bit.
On the skier vs snowboarder, it wasnt friendly. But over time, we got along and the split was 50/50. Our resort permitted snowboarding since the beggining and snowbording overtook skiing in the 90’s, by like 3:1. Skiing overtook snowbording in 2000’s with a huge change in technology and structured eductional lobby groups.
freestyler540Remembering lift lines in Quebec city from the 90’s, 2000s and 2010. skiing was super popular in the 90s. The lift lines were always full.
in the 2000s, park slowly picked up a following, owning twintips was a sure sign your were devoted to the park. In late 2000s, the lift lines were empty quite a bit.
On the skier vs snowboarder, it wasnt friendly. But over time, we got along and the split was 50/50. Our resort permitted snowboarding since the beggining and snowbording overtook skiing in the 90’s, by like 3:1. Skiing overtook snowbording in 2000’s with a huge change in technology and structured eductional lobby groups.
In the kootenays, no one cares.
I wonder what happens if you plot uphill capacity with your experience of busyness? 80's early 90's the detachable high speed lifts were just coming into common usage significantly increasing uphill capacity over an old fixed double or triple.
I don't think skiing was not popular in recent history but it certainly wasn't the coolest compared to boarding or blading.
Chris.BWere snow blades ever popular enough back in the day that people would switch from snowboarding to snow blades as the main item in their quiver? Or were they always just seen/used as an occasional toy?
Somewhere around '92-'93 I only had snow blades and a way too small hand me down pair of old rossis. I didn't get around to switching to snowboarding until ~2000 or so when a bunch of friends were renting a cabin and learning to board. The group was from various parts of the country and most had not grown up skiing/boarding.
As an 80s child I can definitely testify that skiing was NOT cool at all until pretty much Moseley did a mute grab in the Olympics and I went to Jr High the next day and confronted all my poser snowboarder friends like SEE?! This is wtf I’ve been talking about I told you this shit was cool!!
after hotdog skiing died in the mid 70s basically nothing cool happened in skiing until blizzard of aaaahs, and even then that didnt really translate to general skiing culture for like half a decade.
Great post OP. Love reading all the comments. I’m a 70’s child but took sometime off for other sports until the early 2000’s it was kinda weird how huge snowboarding became and I’m so glad the twin tip was finally evented
Having been a skiing youth in the 70s I'll have a shot at this one. The only sport that has ever been genuinely cool is street skating, mainly because you can skate with a durrie hanging off your lip.
Full confession I was a die hard "snowblader" from 1997 to 2000.. nothing else ......yup that was me.
Chris.BWere snow blades ever popular enough back in the day that people would switch from snowboarding to snow blades as the main item in their quiver? Or were they always just seen/used as an occasional toy?
So pretty FUCKING cool
**This post was edited on Dec 8th 2020 at 1:01:05am
I stopped skating in 7th-8th grade Bc the new private school I was at, those rich kids thought skating was super lame and not cool
im 22 now and since reality hit a few years ago, I’ve realized that anything you think is cool is cool. Anyone else in the way is either jealous or just lame themselves.
theabortionatorSnowblading skiboarding whatever in xgames was pretty dope. Somebody needs to throw a contest for those things again.
Ironically I think skiboarding looks really dumb. I hate how so many of my blader friends are super excited about those weird Sled Dogs mini-skis. So skiing is too weird for you but this shit isn't?
I got lucky because I came of age right around when you could find 1 or 2 pairs of twin tips in Stores and e-commerce took off (2000-2010). Had it been 5 years earlier, it would have been more of a struggle and I could have been solely a snowboarder. I can still remember seeing a twin tip pro model ski for the first time and being amped.
My family took a couple years break from skiing then I learned to snowboard at PC when I was 10ish in 2002. That was when I caught the bug. About a year later, I asked for a snowboard for Christmas. I woke up to a pair of blue and orange Salomon snowblades. I was like “wtf is this shit??”
It was my dad’s plan all along to get me on snowblades and then skis. Luckily, I was a bit of a blader at the time and it worked. I slowly found myself drifting to park skiing until I was fully in it.
Just from my own experience, I could definitely see why people in 90s and 80s would go for snowboarding. I can still remember being 1 of 2 or 3 kids in the park with twin tips. Then one day, everyone had them. Seems like it happened overnight, but I’m glad. It’s a fun sport.
I first did alpine and I skied thoose supershort skis (not blades) in the 90s and telemark, then telemarked until like 2008-2009? when I switched back to alpine.
I did both skate en do inline, but mostly skated, also started wakeboarding sometime late 90s early 00's but... never found snowboarding to be that fun.
FruitBootProIronically I think skiboarding looks really dumb. I hate how so many of my blader friends are super excited about those weird Sled Dogs mini-skis. So skiing is too weird for you but this shit isn't?
The reputation that skiing gained in the 80s and 90s was the worst thing to ever happen to the sport short of climate change. We’re still trying to shed that reputation. The average person who doesn’t ski/snowboard thinks of that kid from Johnny Tsunami when you tell them you ski. Skiing is such a weird fucking sport. We’re not a board sport, but it’s not exactly accurate to call us rollerbladers on snow
When I was instructing on twin tips, I used to explain to a lot of people (that were interested) that my skis have a lot more in common with a snowboard than what one thinks of as a traditional/conventional ski.
270on420outThe reputation that skiing gained in the 80s and 90s was the worst thing to ever happen to the sport short of climate change. We’re still trying to shed that reputation. The average person who doesn’t ski/snowboard thinks of that kid from Johnny Tsunami when you tell them you ski. Skiing is such a weird fucking sport. We’re not a board sport, but it’s not exactly accurate to call us rollerbladers on snow
270on420outThe reputation that skiing gained in the 80s and 90s was the worst thing to ever happen to the sport short of climate change. We’re still trying to shed that reputation. The average person who doesn’t ski/snowboard thinks of that kid from Johnny Tsunami when you tell them you ski. Skiing is such a weird fucking sport. We’re not a board sport, but it’s not exactly accurate to call us rollerbladers on snow
It’s an old sport with a lot of big money country club types that do it. Whatcha gonna do?
270on420outThe reputation that skiing gained in the 80s and 90s was the worst thing to ever happen to the sport short of climate change. We’re still trying to shed that reputation. The average person who doesn’t ski/snowboard thinks of that kid from Johnny Tsunami when you tell them you ski. Skiing is such a weird fucking sport. We’re not a board sport, but it’s not exactly accurate to call us rollerbladers on snow
how are you going to talk about the 80s and 90s then reference a movie that most people probably saw in the early 2000s on fucking disney channel?
driftshow are you going to talk about the 80s and 90s then reference a movie that most people probably saw in the early 2000s on fucking disney channel?
If you want to see skiing in the 1990s you have to go to Aspen Extreme. Skiing was quiky and lame but still had an extreme edge that helped push it through to the newschool movement. At the end of the day, we owe everything to Warren Miller. If he didnt film skiing in a cool way we never would have any of what skiing is today. That and Glenn Plake, he was a pioneer for sure.
The 3 Phil's were from a rollerblade background, were they not? They had a pretty big influence on what park skiing became.
FruitBootProWhile it's true that aggressive inline and freestyle skiing blew up at about the same time, had similar aesthetics, and require similar muscle memory, neither sport's progression was influenced by the other. It was not like how snowboarders closely identified with surfers and skateboarders. Bladers generally didn't care about skiing and vice versa
DrailThe 3 Phil's were from a rollerblade background, were they not? They had a pretty big influence on what park skiing became.
No, they were mogul athletes back in the day. All 3 used to be athlete at Le Relais Acrobatic team. They would skip training and botch their mogul runs, but always nailed their airs. They also had access to the old water ramps Yves Laroche built in the Beauport Lake too
