As is known to us all, skateboarding is usually regarded as the most creative and free sport in the world, since there is no rule, no restrictions, you could do whatever tricks you want with your board. To be more specific, it is videos that play very important roles in constituting the creativity element of skateboarding, there are multiple forms of videos of the skateboarding theme, such as dramas, trick-tips, documentaries, and so on, undoubtedly they record skateboarding history as well as connecting the skateboarding community across the world.
Through more than sixty years’ development, skateboarding nowadays is popular all over the world, especially in theUnited States, where skateboarding industry steps into a mature stage. Compared to theUnited States,China, whose skateboarding history is only around 20 years, still has a long way to go. However, we could clearly see the progress that Chinese skateboarding has made during the years, the expansion of Chinese skateboarding community is accelerating after the boom of the digital age, due to the advent of related websites and communication tools, where they could communicate more quickly and share videos more frequently.
There are several distinguished characters of the Chinese skateboarding community, firstly, due to the fact that skateboarding is kind of reversing Chinese traditions, too excited and adventurous, there are not so many people who know about this sport, so there are not so many people participating in it, and most of them live in the big cities, while only a small proportion live in small towns, they are relatively scattered and loose. Secondly, skaters in the Chinese skateboarding community age from fifteen to twenty-five mainly, which means they are really young, like to try new things, show off themselves, and share life stories with each other. Thirdly, unlike theUnited States, skateboarding is not a sport recognized by mainstream inChina, so there are not so many skateboarding companies, skate parks, or shops, let alone getting supports from theChinagovernment, which concentrates developing sports belonging to the Olympic Games’ list. Thus Chinese skateboarding community still positions in a stage of imitating, they have to wear American brands such as Vans, DC, and so on, also they watch videos from the western world to learn tricks and feel the dense atmosphere of skateboarding.
Here is a documentary film about Chinese skateboarding community, helping you have a more direct perception towards the community
Digital Storytelling in Chinese Skateboarding Community 