The Death of Kinked Rails

The Death of Kinked Rails
By: Jason Lee

So sackable, so rewarding, so overwhelming, so dead... Kinked rails have seemingly become the standard, right next to big stairs, for skaters looking to go pro or get sponsored. In fact, kinked rails have become so standard and huge in skateboarding that there are unofficial teams seemingly known for skating kinked and big rails. However, as time has passed, kinked rails have slowly reached a point where not only have they reached their climax, but they have started to become underwhelming to watch.

Kinked rails to say the least are not a general trend by any means, it's not a sole trick or accessory that has all of a sudden become stale due to over saturation but, it has met these attributes. More and more videos come out of people grinding kinked rails sometimes hitting double digits in kinks, as a result our brain has become numb to what was originally a very jaw dropping sight. This is not to disregard the fact that watching or filming someone hit a kinked rail isn't astonishing, but frankly these clips are becoming more mundane. The idea of having a kinked rail for one's ender starts to become sour to the mouth and usually leaves viewer's unsatisfied and wanting more. For example, in Ishod's newest video part for Nike SB, more than likely if you were asked to recall a specific trick from the part more than likely people would recall a trick that was not the kinked board slide. Ishod put it in relatively decent perspective, when asked what he believes is the trick to skating kinked rails he said(paraphrasing), "Imagine it like riding a bank." This does not denote kinked rails but does put it in perspective, making the once magical or mysterious aura around it fade.

The problem with kinked rails is not that all the tricks have been done up or down them, but the fact that there was too much at one time. If spaced out sparingly, I think it would add to the magic once felt when watching Gonz board slide down the kinked rail in Video Days. Besides the over saturation, there has also seemed to be a general trend leaning back towards simpler times. Creeping slowly but very loudly, general trends of 90's wear have seemed to emerge back into skateboarding, with things like baggy pants and puffy shoes. Following the look, comes the skating that resembles Mike Carroll's Questionable, Josh Kalis' Mosaic, and Stevie Williams' Chocolate Tour. Generally, it seems as if trends have lingered towards the favorable and seemingly timeless technical wizardry for ledges and manual pads, as opposed to going big on multi-kinked rails.

Times change constantly and things that are old become new and vice versa. The vicious cycle continues to circle and continues to frustrate those who can't or refuse to keep up. With trends seemingly going back towards low impact skating, there will continue to be a place for kinked rails, but it will not be as sought after. A large factor could also be that the industry is stuck in a limbo where a front or back 50 down a kinked rail is more than enough, which leaves us at a dead end in terms of progression. Maybe this general trend of shying away from kinks will allow time for us to refresh and bring a more progressive look towards kinked skating.

Reading Music(Not Really)
Education is Key