In a weird way I actually went backwards from finger boarding to skateboarding. I never actually had an urge to skate until I began to fingerboard. I think this was due to my own plain ignorance of what a beautiful sport skateboarding really was. Fingerboarding actually exhibited to me the endless possibilities of something with four wheels that could be ridden on two legs or fingers in my case. Another cool thing about fingerboarding at the time was that everyone was doing it. In wood shop kids were building rails, halfpipes and various other obstacles in the 90’s. So basically it was a fad in a sense but like all fads some people never really grow out of them including me. Another thing that impressed me was the simplicity and beauty of doing a trick on a FB anywhere, it just seemed pure and destined, almost like drawing with a pencil another one of my crafts. It’s one of those small pleasures in life that no one can take from you no matter what, and if they did who cares it’s probably on video somewhere. What I am trying to say is that I see FB as an active art form like skate boarding, break dancing, graffiti, meditation, and studying for classes (yes studying!).
It does take time to perfect your own style and develop tricks and technique but it’s the journey not the destination that is important. For me I feel blessed to have been able to learn to do something that didn’t cost much money to learn and be introduced to many cultures it’s wonderful people, and new techniques for expressing myself through media. When I began fingerboarding it was to escape the fishbowl of high school and now I continue in order to escaping the rat race of America. As some of you watch my videos you may think, “what a loser 26 and FBing the streets.”
The funny thing is I think the same thing but look at it more as meditation that helps me see what small boundaries society has for people and step out of them and do something I enjoy. In doing so I am forced to face the music and confront what is considered normal in a very innocent way. When I first joined the internet “FB scene” via Tech Deck.com I was a “noob” “GODOFTECKDECK” but in reality I had been fingerboarding longer than most of the entire forum. Now that I have been around longer and displayed my craft with other artists like MKS on FFI some would consider me an OG as “Eddy-Z”. Even though this transition has occurred while online it never really existed the illusion of the internet would have one believe so. In life outside the internet I feel like art helps expose similar misperceptions and fallacies that exist in the world. In a strange way maybe FBing isn’t about anything people think it is, maybe it’s just an art form in it’s infancy yet to be recognized by the mainstream. Maybe we are all just artists looking for a medium to communicate through, then again maybe I just need to grow up.
I want to thank Chris Daniels for helping me see this diamond in the rough of my mind and the great blog he has created, and of course Tina, Nate, and Martin for FFI <3.
Coming Soon: Company Profile with BC Rails! Flatface Video Preview! And more!
