I think I remember my first picture, serious picture, without a helmet while doing a slide—it was a black & white Caliber photo my homie Dustin Damron shot and I was wearing an A’s hat. I had seen people complain about the lack of helmets in downhill before, so I was expecting some backlash, but I was completely blown away at the hate that followed and hasn’t really stopped since.
It’s pretty funny to me how controversial the whole “no helmet” thing has become in downhill skating, whereas in street skating it is the complete opposite. The only people complaining about helmets, at let’s say a skate park, are the cops or scooter moms hollering at their kids from the car to keep it on. Other than that people roll around, get shreddy, and nobody is crying about the lack of head protection. Or what about gaps and handrails for example? Go check out Thrasher’s “Hall of Meat” video clips on YouTube. These dudes are going huge, eating it, and none of them are wearing helmets. So what makes downhill so different and helmet-mandatory? I think the way vert or mega ramp dudes do it best relates to how I feel. They self-police, throwing on a lid when shits about to get gnarly, but skate without one when they’re just chilling.
The only point I’ve heard that makes some sense from the pro-helmet people is “I don’t give a fuck about Liam’s safety, but what about the groms that he may be influencing to do the same?” or something along those lines. They have a point, but I think my best skating is shown in video form. In a video is when I charge the hardest, get sketchy, and sometimes eat shit. You’ll always see me wearing a lid when I’m pushing my limits. On the other hand, a photo to me is about capturing the style of skating, a time of day, a location, or a view. I’m rarely pushing my limits in a photo and that’s why I choose not to wear one all of the time.
When it comes down to it, do I think helmets are a good idea? Yes. Do I think kids should wear them? Absolutely. Do they make a photo look bad? Sometimes. Am I aware I could fall taking a photo and die? Of course. Do we all risk injury or death every minute we’re alive? Oh yeah. The reality is that when anyone hits the ground at high speed without a helmet on the chance of severe injury or death is pretty big. So always ride within your limits, and don’t do me, do you.
-Liam Morgan
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GENERAL DISCLIAMER: The statements, comments, and opinions expressed by Liam Morgan through Notes of a Greasy Young Man are those of “Mr. Greasy” himself, who is solely responsible for them, and they do not necessarily represent the views of Wheelbase LLC. Questions or comments regarding any information listed in this particular column can be addressed by contacting aliens, or channeling the spirit of Isaac Hayes.
Wheelbase Management
I totally agree with what Liam say and express what I’m thinking.Don’t hate him just for this !!
“Don’t do me. Do you.” I halfway agree with most of what is said here and fully agree with the quoted comment.
I almost always wear my lid because most of my riding is commuting or downhill. A lot of drivers are stupid and aggressive and I also don’t want to fall going fast without a lid. I could give a rat’s ass about my style in either of these situations. But the man has a point. The hate bandwagon is out of hand, and note that all of the beef is over staged photos well within comfort zone for the purpose of showing off style. Which is the essence of skateboarding! Don’t try to ruin it with your rules. Set them for yourself, do what makes you feels safe, and don’t skate with people that are a liability. If you think Liam needs a helmet and he’s not wearing one, don’t skate with him.
Rad article, Wheelbase! Keep that insider content flowing.
Hell yea man, don’t give in to the helmet pussies. So long as you’re not seriously pushin your limits what does it matter if you’re not wearing a helmet. Fools will always have shit to complain about.
I’ve been downhill skating for 7 years, right before the industry really took off. The one thing that I felt was prominent about the downhill skateboarding community culture was the advocated use of helmets. Image and helmets go hand in hand when you consider the repercussions of certain communities that do not like skaters. Putting on a helmet reassures the public of our control and responsibility as skaters. No one gives a fuck about your safety but people do give a fuck about our public perception as a whole. At the end of the day it’s a helmet, and it sits on your head.
Does wearing a helmet really hinder your ability to have a “chill” session? Most likely not, and that’s why I have a hard time believing this isn’t choice fueled by your style/fashion. Most street skaters openly admit to not wearing helmets because of the “kooky” image it dawns on them. Besides most professional street skaters have far better balance and control on a board than most longboarders.
Your last comment is the reason I am often ashamed to be called a “longboarder.” Like Liam said, skate within your limits. If you can’t handle yourself in a chill session, throw a lid on.
-Tom Leary
Hell yes. Someone finally says it!
Why anyone should care so passionately about you wearing or not wearing a helmet is beyond me.
One has to be an idiot to think that you, or JM, or anyone else for that matter, are pushing yourself in a photo shoot with no gloves or helmet on, flash in your face and a guy with a big-ass camera pointing at you behind it. People rarely do in photo shoots, and when they do you can bet your ass they’re doing what they feel is safe for them.
The Caliber photos are sick, great job both to you and Damron. Absolutely killing it. You guys are taking longboarding in the direction it needs to go.
There is no possible way that you can think kids don’t see picture of guys skating without helmets and get the impression that that’s the way they should be doing it too, though. I don’t mean that one single guy is responsible for All of America’s Youth or whatever, but when they’re seeing person after person doing it, that’s how it comes out.
You’re right we don’t think that. What. . .? And no, we do not think Liam is responsible for dumb behavior. Also, we’re not sure you just said what you meant to say?
Im a 14 year old grom and seeing 1 of liams photos didnt change my opinion at all about wearing my helmet. Fuck the pictures look sick and who gives a damn about a couple photos without a helmet? Grow up guys
“Grow up guys”
-Milf Slayer
I’m a noob in the UK. I’ve already got a brain injury from playing a contact sport, rugby union, and I’m a breadwinner, so having taken up longboarding late in life, at age 52, I wouldn’t dream of riding without a lid on.
But if you don’t want to wear one at certain times, especially when you are riding well within your own limits, no one has the right to suggest you must do otherwise. Even for the sake of the ‘groms’. They ain’t sheep and shouldn’t mindlessly follow another’s example imo.
But I do think it is a little naive to think that I have enough control over the environment I skate in as to not benefit from protection. Kit breaks, poor setup causes stacks, cars come out of nowhere, pedestrians and cyclists abound, other longboarders come and go, kids play soccer in the street or ride their pesky scooters and any of them can cause me to crash even when riding within my own limits. Shoot, I can stack without even trying.
That said, I’m not sure how much real protection the average lid actually affords at speed. Hope I never get to find out the hard way though.
“So what makes downhill so different and helmet-mandatory?”
Speed and the many things that are beyond your control when you’re on the road.
Hit a patch of sand at the skatepark and you might break your wrists or get a hipper. Hit a patch of sand on the road and you can shatter your spine on a guardrail.
Eat shit on the Hollywood 16 and you might break your ankle and get a concussion. Eat shit on a mountain pass and you can easily fall off a cliff and die.
You go about 45mph on the mega ramp, but there aren’t any cars coming up the drop-in ramp.
I don’t mean to sound like your mom or some clueless longboard guy talking about “progression,” but skateboarding down mountains is actually way more dangerous than jumping down handrails or riding ramps. You can die pretty easily.
Also, “a photo to me is about capturing the style of skating, a time of day, a location, or a view. I’m rarely pushing my limits in a photo and that’s why I choose not to wear one all of the time.”
Aren’t you always complaining about people saying your photos are staged?
Got em coach!
What?
Also, according to Skaters for Public Skateparks, of the 30 people who died skateboarding in 2012, 24 were hit by cars and the other 6 fell bombing hills without helmets.
Fo Rilla
Seems to me like people are focusing to much on looking good.
Thanks for your feedback Max,
Fully agree with you that downhill is gnarly——but as you stated——in a different way than other forms. Remember, having this many skaters riding down hills on their skateboards has never happened in history. Due to this new development these types of safety discussions are exactly the thing we need to foster in order to better understand the risks involved. I’ll also say this, if you personally (Max) tried (really tried) to backside lipslide El Toro rail (23+ stairs) the likelihood that you’d literally die is very high! What I’m getting at (this is Marcus, BTW) is that if you do not know the risks or have the skills, you can kill yourself doing just about anything on a skateboard. Who’s fault it that, Andrew Reynolds? Liam Morgan? No. Wearing a helmet (great idea, btw) is only half of the solution to being safe. Which brings me back to downhill, specifically. there are some skaters riding downhill who do not know how to ride a skateboard very well in the general sense. This is a problem. Please do not confuse or mince my words here, but many downhillers pick up a board and bomb hills without even knowing the basics of board control (this is a big issue). Simply telling such noobs to “wear your helmet!” alone is not a complete solution to skaters getting hurt or dying. In fact, the “open to everyone” policy of “Longboarding”, although made of good intentions, is a serious issue in regards to safety in downhill, because, honestly, not all types of skateboarding are for everyone, and that’s okay. Doing footwork on the boardwalk, although just as fun, is def nowhere close to as dangerous as downhill or vert. Can most skaters learn to downhill safely? Of course. But wearing a helmet is not the only thing that makes you safe——you actually have to learn the skills and techniques to actually riding. It has to do with knowing the risks, knowing how to control your board, riding with others that ride safe, and of course wearing safety gear when appropriate (which Liam’s agrees with). People die all the time wearing helmets downhill. Glena (RIP), from Canada, was wearing her helmet when she died——as you know, she was hit by a car. Downhilling is fucking dangerous, but helmets alone are not always the answer——it must be matched with skill, awareness, safe practices, and understanding of the true risks involved. In fact, you can include all types of skating in this scenario.
Anyway, I don’t personally agree with Liam saying he does “not push it in photos”. I think if you have the opportunity to showcase your skateboarding and get paid for it, you better push it hard each and every chance you get (Live-in-person, in photos, or video). If not for yourself and your sponsors, do it for all the skaters who would kill to have the opportunity to be a pro skater.
In closing, and in all reality, helmets are not mandatory (not in this country at least), but rather they are a choice. Are they the best choice when riding fast downhill? Yes they are!
Thanks for the feed back dude. let’s keep the safety discussion rolling onward. See you Saturday at Skatehouse.
RE: el toro, point taken. I’d say it’s much easier to get in over your head on hills.
Kids don’t go to El Toro a week after they ollie down their first three-stair, but kids who can’t slide toeside will show up in Malibu and try to bomb hills.
Anyway, more thoughts about this stuff on Skatehouse tomorrow.
Always love reading your writing and thoughts about downhill. Looking forward to it dude!
Wheelbase Mag vs. Skate Slate/Skate House. Max vs. Marcus. Liam vs. Zak. The great helmet war of Fall 2013 has officially begun!
Wheelbase is for skateboarding. We are not “vs.” anyone. Internet bullying is stoops.
I don’t buy the style thing, riding a longboard without a helmet looks lame as fuck, it’s a cultural thing. In street if youre wearing a helmet youre a noob, in dh if youre not wearing one, youre a noob. As much as you guys play the skating is skating card, dh definitely has its own set of standards and norms separate from the street scene.
Also, staged photos are lame. Set an example, both in the sense of being as safe as you can be and by taking the “pro skater” thing seriously enough to not half ass your shit.
This article is total bs in my humble opinion.
These comments crack me up! Internet skating bs rules. My balls wear a helmet while I do but board slappys!
“Skate within your limits”. Good advice. As far as DH goes, my homie, Mike Ryan at Longboard Loft always tells riders, you gotta learn how to shut down, i.e. stop, before you start bombing hills. Learn and practice puck slides and checks to shave speed. Control is what builds confidence, and real confidence based on skill is the real key to style. That’s why riders like Liam and Max look so steezy. A helmet won’t save you from the Mack truck in the intersection, and man, there’s nothing uglier then getting hit by one.
Liam’s point is his own style and what not which let’s all face it, it’s his style and we can’t bash on him for it. But since he is a sponsored longboarder and is highly recognized everywhere he is setting an example. Maybe he’s not pushing his limits for the photos it’s his actions that lead to kids who look up to him or admire him to want to be like him IE. skate without a helmet. Since not everyone is up to Liam’s skill level they might not have the competency to actually hold their own ground even when they’re not pushing their own personal limits. I’ve been in situations where some friends of mine wasn’t even going more than 15mph and doing toesides, highsided and got knocked out for a bit. Nothing serious happened but shit like that happens and let’s face it, we wear helmets not to just be safe that “one” time. We’re always taking a risk when we do shit like that and it’s always just better for everyone to just put on the good old brain bucket.
Both Max And Liam have valid points. Everyone really just needs to calm themselves. Wear your helmet, don’t wear your helmet, whatever. There’s absolutely no doubt that whatever the style and setting a helmet is going to improve your chances of surviving a fall. Fuck yes downhill is more dangerous and you should always wear a lid. But at the end of the day it is still a choice. Albeit one that should be taken very seriously.
Liam’s just too goddamned pretty. That’s my only beef with the dude. I’m sure he’s stealing my receding youth somehow.
Guess I’m glad all my big, helmetless adds were waaaaaaaaaaay back {sarcasm} around 06-07, because my response to the “think of the groms” people would be much less amicable. But I don’t skateboard down hills to make friends, or be a role model. Thank fuck for that (you don’t want me as either if your panties are easily bunched). I skateboard because I have to skateboard, wherever and whenever I can. Anyone that does the same, gets props, and doesn’t care what other people are doing. The “won’t be skating when it’s not popular” crew can suck it.
Get off my lawn.
~WillJ
riding big fucking skateboards since ’96
jm duran doesnt use helm & no one cares.
The established expectation of helmet use in downhill skating is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of this genre of skating. It’s got to the point where you will get disqualified from slide jams if you don’t have a bucket on. But that’s just at events where it’s enforced. Photos and videos need to have the same amount of helmet usage as events do. (Nevermind skating 100% in photos AND videos, like you would at events).
There’s an awesome clip of Andy Mac showing his helmet to a fellow bowl skater who hung up and whiplashed his head at the bottom of the bowl, and he has the most confused look on his face as to why he wasn’t wearing one. You can screw up during chill sessions, sometimes that’s when the stupidest falls happen actually.
Mainly my two cents on this, if anybody wishes to hear it, is that helmets are rad and the fact that the downhill scene has come to expect it so highly of each rider is fantastic. Who knows, if it wasn’t for this expectation maybe some of the top dudes wouldn’t be here to shred and inspire.
Stay awesome Wheelbase!
Thanks for the feedback and for the insight. appreciated.
I think Downhill is missing the I don’t give a fuck attitude street skating has. Thats why we don’t get the respect in the skateboarding world we should be getting. Im not just talking about helmets, im talking about drug use and shenanigans too. I hate how Longboarding is full of squares policing each other. Lets try keep it real more.
Yo, thanks for the comments. It’s always rad to hear other perspectives.
I’m so glad they didn’t have forums when I was growing up. How do you guys have time to skate with all the policing of the interwebs? Anyone who has chimed in on this (for or against) is a tool with too much time on their hands (including myself but I’m old and don’t give a fuck). The only time we yelled at another skater was to his face. This is a ridiculous waste of your life caring about what doesn’t effect you. Just because you have a keyboard doesn’t mean you should use it. Well I’m done taking a shit, gotta wipe and go do something productive.
Keep fighting amongst yourselves and see how far it gets you.
The Big Shabonie
am i the only one who notices his hair is always perfect in EVERY photo?
[...] Caliber - Volante - BloodOrange, no vamos a negar que tienen algún vídeos o anuncios dando bastante mal ejemplo y con contenido sexual. Sobretodo vídeos con Liam Morgan que si eres un poco freak como yo, habrás leído este post de WheelbaseMagazine donde Liam habla de esta polémica de los cascos. Notes of a Greasy Young Man - Helmets [...]
Do you use a helmet while driving? No!. Pilots use helmets on their races, pretty much the same idea and you can die from a car accident too…