Me: How long have you been longboarding? Do you consider it a hobby, lifestyle, sport etc.? Do you identify with the longboarding community or subculture?
Jamie: I have been longboarding for over 2 years and a half. It all started when a good friend of mine bought himself a longboard before going to college. He talked to me about the benefits of riding on campus & after trying his out for a couple hours, I was convinced. At first, longboarding was a convenience: I was able to go from one class to another without having to worry about being late & I could stop by & talk to friends on the way to class without worrying about having to walk to the other side of campus And being late to class. Then after a time it slowly became a hobby, I began making friends who were interested in longboarding & brought a couple of my friends on board & we would make day trips where we would get on a bus taking us to the top of tramway & we would ride through the city til we reached downtown all on our longboards. However, once school started to get much more serious, I calmed down on the whole day trip adventures & now I just use my longboard for efficiency.
Me: What type of longboarding do you do? (Dancing, sliding, bombing, cruising, etc.)
Jamie: Like mentioned before, I mainly use my board for efficiently commuting between place to place. When I first got my board I was really into learning how to slide & dance & through seeing others, but now it's mainly used for cruising.
Me: Do you think longboarding could be considered an art?
Jamie: I without a doubt believe that longboarding can be considered an art. Like a lot of hobbies it's a form of expression i believe it to be an extension of yourself. Whether that be the set up your ride, the clothes you wear when riding or the style of ride the movements you make when riding... These are all aspect of longboarding which can be thought of as artistic & modified to an individual's beliefs, perceptions, and tendencies in creating a unique personality.
Me: What do you think about longboarding in public spaces, or more specifically at UNM? How do people react to your longboarding and have you ever had any interesting experiences with public opinion about it?
Jamie: I believe that longboarding is a great form of transportation&you see the use of that on campus all the time. I feel as though longboarding is very accepted on campus. However, I have heard some negativity towards it from some friends saying... "This longboard cut me off today I hate them so much!" and variations of that, but for the most part it seems as though people are accepting to having longboards zooming past them left & right. I've had quite a few experiences concerning the general public. I always get asked about my longboard small talk antics asking what kind of board is that, how much did you pay for it, what's the difference between the short ones & the long ones. I'm always more than happy to inform people.
Me: The idea of my project was to capture the movements of longboarding in a way that they could be interpreted as art. I did so by attaching chalk to the bottom of my board and drawing on one of the floors of the parking garage in order to capture the fluid-like movements of longboarding. Do you feel as though this could be a good way to express what longboarding is as art? What do you think could be done with this idea (or something different) in order to encompass what you think of as longboarding culture (more specifically, how could you use art to capture what longboarding is and the issues surrounding its place in public spaces?)
Jamie: I think that you have a good idea going here with the chalk, & you can take that far as in elaborating of fluidity of this hobby. However, I think that longboarding is more closely related to dancing and movements in that sense. You get what I mean? You can dance & have it look plain & boring or you can dance & bring your own personality your own being into the way you dance! Feel me? I believe that you just have to focus on the individual and how they use a longboarding as a form of expression. Not so much what the longboard itself is doing. If it weren't for us there would be no longboard.
Me: Do you think there are any places that could be considered site-specific to longboarding (where it is allowed or not allowed and is still used even?) i.e (parking garages warehouses plazas etc.) How do you think a piece of public art could raise awareness and cause discussion about these issues? How do you think such a piece would be interpreted or accepted by the public community? Do you think a public piece about longboarding would cause anything to change or help people to understand what longboarding means to the people who do it or see it as an art form?
Jamie: I believe that longboarding is a form of expression where an individuals do what he believes and makes it his own. To me longboarding is an art form in the sense of how the individuals carries him/herself! It has nothing to do with the board itself, but how the individual uses that board to express him/herself. I think the best way to raise awareness about this new age culture is to embrace it & be proud of it. Telling your friends about it & spreading the word out about it. I always see people in the plaza skating collectively & asking others if they want to join; it has been done to me & I have done it as well. That just goes to show the brotherhood which is developed through this new-age sub culture.
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