Greatness begins with imagination
I recently watched the Bones Brigade documentary/autobiography that covers the explosion of skating in the 1980s and 1990s. If you haven’t seen it then do yourself a favour and see it, even if you were never into skateboarding.
There are several parts of the film where the skaters talk about how they went about inventing tricks. You see, learning a trick merely requires practice because you’ve already seen someone else do it so you know that it’s possible. Your mind already believes it.
Inventing a new trick, however, is an entirely different thing. The skaters described how they’d have to imagine the trick first, and then play it over and over in their mind convincing themselves that it was possible. Then they’d set about relentlessly attempting it until they pulled it off.
In a sport like skateboarding where the physical toll of failure is huge, this process requires immense courage. Tony Hawk speaks in awe of Mike McGill’s invention, the McTwist, (a 540° spin in the air out of the top of the half pipe), and mustering the courage to fling your body in the air 3-4 metres above the ground, spinning wildly and blindly, and hoping you land it? Fucking amazing.
And these kids were only in their early teens at the time.
The elite skaters of the Bones Brigade each left their legacy on skating by pushing each other to do new things; to not let themselves be outdone. It all begins with imagining something and convincing yourself it’s possible. The rest is just about practice.
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