The Skategeezer Manifesto: Intro

Chances are you’re reading this on the website or social media of a skateboard shop - a shop that promotes balance and freedom is surrounded by a world that seems to be becoming more unhinged by the day. How ironic.

How I view it, our world teeters between extremes—politically polarized, economically uncertain, and socially fractured — finding balance has never been more crucial or elusive. I sincerely believe that the skateboard, that deceptively simple wooden plank on four wheels, offers us a profound metaphor for navigating these turbulent times.

My name is Michael Brooke, and I have been skateboarding for 50 years. I started in 1975. I was eleven. For fifty years, I've discovered that skateboarding isn't merely a sport; it's a philosophy of perpetual equilibrium, a constant negotiation between gravity and momentum, control and abandon. Whether you're sixteen or sixty, liberal or conservative, the principles of keeping a skater upright on a moving board are the skills needed to maintain sanity in our Fourth Turning — that historical moment when established institutions crumble, and something new emerges from the chaos.

This book isn't about kickflips or halfpipes; it's about how skateboarding's fundamental lessons of balance, resilience, and community can provide you with unexpected perspectives to face today's monumental challenges, reduce anxiety, and find harmony amidst the noise of opposing extremes.

The truth: the wisdom was under our feet all along.

In December of 1994, I wound up exploring the World Wide Web for the first time. I was immediately hooked and discovered The Dansworld Website. I contributed a story to the site that still exists to this day. Unfortunately, I got the year wrong in the title, but everything else holds up.

You can see the piece I wrote 30 years ago here:
https://dansworld.com/michael.html

My story seemed to hit a nerve, and I received emails from skateboarders worldwide. This was well before the days of social media and spam. Getting an email was a big deal.

After seeing quite a lot of interest, I decided (with the help of my brother Andrew) to create something called The Skategeezer Homepage. While the layout is about 30 years outdated, my stoke for skateboarding comes through pretty clearly. By some miracle, the website still exists.

If you’d like to see what my first taste of skateboarding publishing was like, have a peek here:
http://www.interlog.com/~mbrooke/skategeezer.html

This website led to several unique things, including two books, feature films, a 52-part television series and a career in publishing/writing for over 20 years. I will explain all this in greater detail in the upcoming weeks and months. All you need to know is that the little Dansworld website lit a fuse that continues to burn.

So, what’s the deal with this quasi-Substack/book excerpt each week? The truth is I am not interested in Substack. I am interested in my fellow skaters. This is why I contacted my local skateshop and offered them the idea of sharing content each week. I felt their website would be perfect for getting things rolling. If other skate shops want to be part of this, we welcome them. But the only way you can read my writing is via this website.

My task is to weave several concepts together in pithy and engaging 1,000-word essays each week. I know I can do this because the words flow from my mind to my fingers. It’s good to be back in the saddle creating something.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way let me explain a little bit more about what I am trying to do here:

My goal in creating this work is to combine my love of skateboarding with an opportunity to share some of its more arcane but fascinating history. In addition, I want to be able to add insights into how skateboarders can best navigate life, no matter their age or what they are dealing with. As I write this, the world seems poised for either economic meltdown, nuclear annihilation or a 2-for-1 combo. Ugh - it’s getting turbulent out there. It's a good thing spring is on its way - I am anxious to start skateboarding!

WARNING - this is not a self-help book. Only you can help you. But what I am hoping to deliver are some insights. Some of these pearls of wisdom come from the school of getting the crap kicked out of you (metaphorically speaking) and a book that was released in 1997 called The Fourth Turning.

Chances you’ve never heard of this book, and there’s probably a reasonable probability you won’t read it. So, I’ve read it (along with its updated version called The Fourth Turning Is Here.)

William Strauss and Neil Howe originally wrote The Fourth Turning. It presents a cyclical theory of history that suggests society moves through four distinct generational periods, each lasting about 20-25 years. It’s very US-biased, but much of what happens in America happens to Canadians, too.

I was initially drawn to the book because it offers an interesting historical perspective. It’s all about cycles merging with demographics. Why do I find this fascinating? Probably because I love history. It was the only subject in high school I was any good at. As Mark Twain once quipped: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes".

As Strauss and Howe view things, four turnings or cycles keep repeating through time. For this book, we’ll start from 1946.

1. First Turning (High): An era of strong institutions and weak individualism following a crisis. Society focuses on building and feeling content about the future.
1946 - 1964

2. Second Turning (Awakening): Institutions are questioned as people seek personal authenticity and spiritual meaning.
1964 - 1984

3. Third Turning (Unravelling): Individualism thrives while institutions weaken. Cynicism about public affairs grows alongside personal indulgence.
1984 - 2008

4. Fourth Turning (Crisis): A decisive era of upheaval when institutional life is destroyed and rebuilt in response to perceived threats to the nation's survival
2008 to 203..?

The authors argue that society entered a Fourth Turning around in 2008 with the financial crisis and predicted major crises would force institutional transformation. The book was prescient because it mentioned the possibility of both a significant terror attack and a pandemic. As the authors note, Fourth Turnings, society faces its greatest dangers but also opportunities for renewal.

I definitely feel we are living through a Fourth Turning. The big question is, “What will you do about it?”

The authors suggest that your frame of mind might be driven by where you are on the general archetype map.

The book suggests these cycles are driven by generational archetypes that repeat through history. They call them artists, prophets, nomads and heroes.

1928 - 1945 Artist generation (Silent Generation)
1946 - 1964 Prophet generation (Baby Boomers)
1965 - 1980 Nomad generation (Generation X)
1981 - 1996 Hero generation (Millennials)
1997 - 2012 Artist generation (Generation Z)

Each generation shapes and is shaped by the turning they experience in their formative years, creating a predictable historical rhythm. The authors argue that understanding these patterns helps prepare for future challenges and transformations.

My intention is to present a guidebook using the prism of the Fourth Turning to help skaters navigate what are very challenging times. But I also want to mix in some curious things about skateboarding that you may never have known along with some personal stories that I hope you find amusing.

So here comes a rather curious fact: Although Dansworld was on the internet back in 1994, the truth is that Thrasher Magazine can lay claim to being part of the digital revolution long before that. Back in 1985, the magazine set up a Bulletin Board System (BBS) that allowed skaters worldwide to message each other between the hours of 4:30 pm to 8:30 am.

Skateboarders have always been early adopters, finding innovative ways to share wisdom and build community across distances. In the midst of our Fourth Turning, this blend of technological advancement and timeless physical practice offers not just an escape, but a philosophy of resilience.

That wooden deck beneath your feet teaches more than tricks; it instructs in the art of maintaining equilibrium when everything around you threatens to spin out of control.