The Steady Rise of The Nine Club
Skateboarding Media has always been a part of skateboarding, whether obsessed over by the nerdiest of participants or airily enjoyed by the more aloof in the crowd. Originally, video was not even a part of the equation, rather all skate media consumed was via analog magazines (and a rare few at that). A lot has changed since the eighties that birthed this media industry, and now most content is streamed video with some downloaded still photos in the mix.
Instagram and YouTube own the skate brains of today. Oh yes, and podcasts. “Skate podcast” would have been a funny thing to say five years ago. But now there are several with strong followings. Although it wasn’t the first, The Nine Club is probably the most prominent with the largest audience of those popular podcasts.
Kevin “Spanky” Long on his visit to The Nine Club
On The Nine Club, any skater can hear about how Louie Lopez grew up in Hawthorne, how Ragdoll got sober, or even how Lil’ Wayne almost bought Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Only there will you get the stories of how they came up in the skateboarding industry, whether it be Bob Burnquist, Shane O’Neill, or Donny Barley.
In a world where many skaters feel like they have seen it all (obviously they haven’t yet), listening to talk about skateboarding can be more appealing than watching skateboarding. But of course, to each their own. We support what they and all skate podcasters strive to accomplish, whether it be tackling tough issues in skateboarding, promoting certain organizations or movements in skateboarding, or even just making people feel more connected as skateboarders. As a community.
And that’s what this all is, right? A community of like-minded people sharing a pastime and a passion. Go check out a skate podcast for yourself. Or even better, record a conversation with friends and see where it goes…
