The skateboarding subculture has boasted about its existence among gritty environments since the early days. At face value that feels right, but Pat Fisher questioned this premise and had different conclusions. By comparing the historical rise of skating and BMX with economics and other factors Pat began to see a different story.
Pat’s main medium is BMX and he has been skateboarding for several years. I love talking/arguing with him about the minutiae of skating and other related activities. At first I disagreed with many of Pat’s points when he described this short-film before its completion, but after viewing my opinions changed and I have a new perspective on the history of skateboarding. Pat asked for my help in this project to add some skateboarding knowledge and footage and I’m stoked I got to contribute. I had a lot of fun working on this even though some of my footage sucks. It was all worth it just to bomb a hill catamaran style (if you haven’t done a catamaran, you should).
This is a skateboarding website and there is a lot of BMX in this video, but we can’t deny the fact that our worlds are interconnected. Beyond that, this short-film makes me appreciate the important connection between skating and the rest of the world. Skaters may think they are a unique subculture feeding off of the forgotten elements in our space, but we are intertwined with the world around us in ways we can rarely comprehend. Pat’s last bit about breaking away from the concepts that hold us back is important, and I look forward to seeing the unpredictable evolution of skateboarding.
Check out Pat’s website Building Gnarnia!
So What is Skateboarding? 
Pat Fisher is an amazing athlete, and an even more amazing thinker. I see Pat’s short film as a piece of art and thoughtful writing that succeeds in connecting (rather than disconnecting) not only skateboarding and bmx, but also the philosophies of physical art with the societal and physical surroundings in which those art forms are expressed. Bravo! Bud’s skating, and way of viewing skating, is a fitting and excellent inclusion!