My Nephew, the Skateboarder
11/15/2004 05:54 p.m.
My brother’s twenty-one year-old son is well-known on the skateboard circuit, is sponsored for trips for magazines and stars in videos and appears in publications on newsstands, for the sponsors. He lives on his boards like many of us live on our poetry pages and screens. The landings are tougher, sometimes, as I almost saw in one video that even captured his fall which resulted in a concussion, but I couldn’t watch when it showed that part and his head bleeding.

Of course he mostly has the successful feats on video, and he is amazing at this. Perhaps among the five top best in Canada I think. They’re not only masters of the precarious but artfully accomplished sport, he and his colleagues, but know the curves and processes of professional video production and performance, and the magazine industry to some degree, which takes them as far away as Miami and as close as downtown Ottawa.

He also chooses the music for his video clips, The House of the Rising Sun his selection for his Florida one.

Indoors and outdoors, over large series of concrete steps, and through the aisles of stores (with permission) they skate and jump, and fool around with the setting, but it’s all performance. And risk! Sometimes unhelmeted, unpadded, (not for the sponsors' videos)and most often making dramatic feats look smooth and natural as walking.

It’s hard for an aunt to watch, let alone his dad who showed them for us at his place last night. Don seems to be weathering it well, and his wife Debbie, though they get their phone calls that mean injuries again! It just comes with the territory. I hadn't yet looked seriously into the role of skateboarder that Trent has adopted, probably as it’s not something I’d be too comfortable with as parent or aunt, or advocate. But I have to admit he is very talented, hard-working, courageous and follows his passion, which has been prevalent for many years. And gains money, a name, and an education of a type, from the process.

Still, we all say our prayers even on taped demonstrations that are history now, or hold our breaths for the painful bloopers that ended up in calls from the hospital. He’s into snowboarding too, in the winter, which to me seems a little softer a landing, I don’t know.

Hopefully his joints and body parts and head won’t pay him back later in life. While as I say, I can’t put myself down as an advocate, I am very proud of his guts and talent. He could also be a model for magazines standing still, with his blond and blue-eyed good looks, but that isn’t something he’s interested in.

I know if I google his name, his prowess and reputation as a boarder shows up in many areas of this industry. He and his board mates (is that what they’re called) have had interesting encounters and adventures with the border officials to the States when they drive down in the van for a promotion.

I hope to write a poem about it when I learn more of the jargon, or perhaps after I interview him.
When he’s standing still long enough, and in town long enough! He’s a real sweetie, and I probably will never be able to watch in full those tries that didn’t make it, it goes against family nature. Or my nature to watch anyone crashing on their heads!

Keeping well, safe and healthy gets hard enough as we age, without looking for trouble. To ask why he does it would be like asking Evil Knieval,(is that how one spells that name) I guess - this lad's always liked to try the more risky angles, and divert from the traditional more "bookish" endeavours. But he is very bright and makes his own money, and has worked hard for years. Plus he's got a great, soft heart.
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