Let’s get one thing clear: I am terribly uncoordinated. However, the opening of the Oakley In Residence spot in Los Angeles has given hope to all my fellow uncoordinated brothers and sisters that they too can be involved in the skateboarding world.
Our local LWA party-starter Jack Bennett recently flew over to the West Side to check out Oakley’s new space, which aims to promote not only skateboarding itself – but bridging the links between board-riding and the arts at large.
Indeed, anybody who owned skating videogames as a kid will know that they exposed our generation to countless punk and metal bands (especially this song), while wallet chains and three-quarter shorts dominated my junior school years. To this day, skate brands are still omnipresent in streetwear and fashion circles.
Skateboarding has grown from four wheels to become an underground culture monolith, and this is something that Oakley is helping develop with their In Residence space. Offering workshops with industry OGs, exhibitions, a hang-out space and a skate park itself, it’s a shining display of all the doors that skateboarding opens for creatives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrzfgCBNyso
“What’s cool about it is that kids can leave here and get the feeling that they can be involved in skateboarding in more ways than just skating… there’s a lot of different places to fit in skateboarding,” graphic designer Andy Jenkins says.
Part of the In Residence experience saw the aforementioned Andy Jenkins join veteran skater Eric Koston and photographer Atiba Jefferson for a panel to discuss ‘One Obsession’ – a new campaign which sees Oakley encourage youths to pursue their calling through their In Residence space.
As a fellow photographer, Atiba Jefferson has lived through some of our longtime #LIFEGOALS – he’s shot Tony Hawk, LeBron James and His Airness himself, Michael Jordan. His photography obsession is evident throughout his persistence, opportunist attitude and attention to detail – hustling his way from an intern at Transworld Magazine to one of the industry’s most respected figures.
“Obsession is the way that I think. I constantly have a camera… It’s just what I do. It’s second nature. To me, that’s a true obsession – Something that you don’t think about, you just do. That’s what photography is to me,” he says.
Still, being a skateboarder at heart has shaped his approach to the camera – and the two are more similar than some might think. “For me, skateboarding has always been no rules, do what I want, self-expression – and to me, that’s what art is.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEpafHe_CLs&feature=youtu.be
Similarly, Eric Koston’s obsession with skateboarding has seen him not only become a champion of the sport, but also start his own clothing company in FourStar. As Koston hits 40 years of age on the day he speaks to us, it’s clear that become an adult has changed his perceptions on priority. However, skateboarding is still his obsession – with some conditions thrown in.
When asked if he’s more obsessed with anything other than skateboarding, he mentioned “Family. That has changed my perspective, but it’s also made me love skateboarding even more, because it’s harder to find time to do it.”
For Andy Jenkins, obsession stemmed from a natural talent that might even have something to do with genetics. “From a really early age, I knew that was what I wanted to do. It just came naturally,” he says.
Still, while skateboarding is a vehicle for his obsession, it’s art that’s at the core of his spirit. “It’s something that I would do, no matter what – if I was involved in the skate industry or not, I would be involved in art in some capacity. I’m just lucky to keep doing it in skateboarding,” he continues.
Hopefully, Oakley’s In Residence can continue to encourage obsessions in the realms of art and sport, while connecting the dots between the two. “I would hope that people take what was done here and do that in more skate parks. I think what they’re doing is pretty forward-thinking,” Jefferson says.
