Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Signature.


It's pretty much a fact of science that no two signatures are exactly alike.  One can attempt to copy a signature and come strikingly close, maybe... but identical, never.   The same is true for rollerskating.  In a recent interview between myself and Kate Hickey, a good friend who for the past year has documented the Venice Beach rollerskating world and its influence in the creation of Rollerstar, she asked me point blank what my signature rollerskating move was and I became uncharacteristically silent.  A voice inside my head piped in immediately...."Dude, what's your signature move?"  I had no idea what my signature move was, though I could rattle off one or two potentials to save face.  But I decided after some thought to come clean and just admit that I was not sure I had a signature move.  After all, it would not be my style to commit to any of the regular standbys in my present rotation.  Why?  Because to claim one of the obvious would be like trying to copy someone else's signature.  Impossible.  For example.  My spins.  Never could they be considered signature when compared with those of someone like Nelson.  My splits.  I only started doing those after I saw how cool Jeffrey did them... with a tiny tweak to save my knees, I manage to pull them off.  But they aren't legendary in Germany or anything.  Crazy legs.  Someone has permission to knock me over the head with a bottle if I claim that crazy legs is my signature move.  Preferably someone who has been doing crazy legs since '79.  Anyway, you get the point.  The list could go on, but for time's sake, I'll make this quick.  If I absolutely positively had to come up with a signature move this very moment, I would elect as the closest thing the move I do where I tell a person "Fuck off" while kicking my skate within an inch of their face... I've never seen THAT one done before by anyone.   So there we go... voila! Now all that is left once I've put my signature move out there in the public domain is to name it.  Before someone else does.  And not so cleverly.  So I've taken the liberty of stamping mine:  "Shock and Awe".  I think it suits me. 

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