Skaters’ Responses to Video (Translation Included)

Hundreds of you came to my blog yesterday to check out the incredible downhill skateboarding video, “Claremont” (after the canyon in Berkeley, California where the ride took place). For details on who these maniacs are riding longboards at 60 MPH, and who made the film, check out yesterday’s post.

I’ve probably watched it five times now, and it puts me in a good mood with every viewing. I’m not sure why that is; my interest and experience in skateboarding is exactly zero. But there’s just something about watching these dudes take this death-defying ride (and laughing about it all the way) that just seemed the perfect antidote to this week of gloomy news. Not to mention that it’s a demonstration of incredible athletic skill. Read more after the jump.

As promised, I wanted to share with you some of the many responses people have written to various websites where they watched the video, starting with a few of you who posted your comments here. I think it’s safe to assume that most of these responses came from other skateboarders.

“yooo Jimmy, Dis is SICK!!”

“crazy!”

“Madness, Jim!”

Let me mention at this point that skater lingo is a slang all its own, kind of a cross between 21st Century Valley Boy and ‘50’s beatnik. Here are some other comments I found on the web about the video, with translation.

“Wacked!” (Insanely insane)

“NASTYY” (Nasty)

“That is how to bomb a hill!” (Meaning go down the hill at very fast speeds. They didn’t really bomb it.)

“I just wet myself” (Meaning he found the video electrifying and gripping. He didn’t really wet himself, probably.”)

“My palms melted.” (MUCH more creative than just saying it made his palms sweat)

“mad props!” (The deepest respect for your efforts)

“Respect!” (See “mad props”)

“man, this is totally dudicle” (Dudicle: supreme effort, conceived of and performed by true Dudes.)

“gotta love dem crazy foos” (Them crazy fools)

“holy ----, these guys are gnarr!” (Short for “gnarly,” I’m pretty sure)

“hoshy lit!” (I have no idea what this means)

So that concludes my little visit to the subculture of longboarding. I had a blast! Now back to hurricane cleanups and the end of capitalism as we know it. But, if it brings me down, I guarantee I’ll be watching those crazy foos bomb that hill again.

***UPDATE: I’m now told by my much younger web editor that “hoshy lit” is blog-speak for a common barnyard expression, one that on an earlier comment I’d written as “holy ----.” (Barnyard expression. That’s funny!) Naughty word filters apparently won’t pick up on “hoshy lit” the way they will on “holy ----“) This is what happens when men of a certain age like moi try to act all hip, and ----.