For those unaware, Transworld SKATEboarding released the nominees for its annual TWS awards a couple weeks back. Most of the nominations are what one would expect from a mainstream skateboarding periodical, though one name took me genuinely off guard, and was a pleasant suprise: under the "Best Transition" category was listed the one and only Robert Lance Mountain.
Now, I'm not going to lie, here, when I was a teenager, and I was watching Animal Chin for the first time, I thought Lance was good, but I didn't like his style... Something about his indy airs in the final scene...
I know... in hindsight I had no idea what I was thinking... (For those who don't know, Lance is the one in the blue shirt and pink shorts).
I think what really made me a Lance Mountain fan, and I'm sure a lot of people, many almost twice my age, will concur, was watching that first Powell Peralta piece, The Bones Brigade Video Show (1984). Everyone I can think of who's had the pleasure of watching that video can tell you the importance of Lance's skating, in that, not only was the skating itself remarkable (I will forever envy the man's lien to tails in the Alien Pool) but there's an accessability about it.
Anyone who has about a half an hour to kill should watch this, now...
This brings me to a few reasons why, in my humble opinion, Lance ought to win this year's award.
1) As previously mentioned, accessability. I mean this as no slight to either of the other nominees, Grant Taylor and Taylor Bingaman, but Lance's skating is different to watch. Let me put it this way... Taylor and Bingaman are ridicuously talented, and watching them skate will make you want to go skate, but if you saw either of them at your local park you'd be liable to just want to sit and watch. Upon watching a Lance Mountain video part, you want to go skate as well, and yet one gets the distinct feeling that, should he ever happen by your local park, you'd be just as stoked to join in on the session as he would be to have you.
2) Age... I don't want to throw the age card out there, but Taylor and Bingaman are 19 and 20, respectively. Lance is coming up on his 47th birthday, and managed in the last year to release a video part that was just as impactful as those released by his fellow nominees, whose combined ages are still younger than Lance.
Last video link this post, I promise.
3) It's not every day that a recipient of the TWS Legends Award (2008), an award that basically says "Thanks for the great stuff way back, it's pretty cool you still skate in your free time", gets nominated for one of the awards meant to signify acheivements in the last year, and wouldn't it be cool if Lance managed to take it?
4) Acheivements - Again, not to downplay his fellow nominees, but of the three, I think it's safe to say that Lance was the hardest working nominee in the last year. Aside from filming the aforementioned video part, which was delayed on account of a broken arm, Lance managed to travel with the rest of the Flip team for demos, skate last year's Rumble in Ramona, and take third place in last year's Pro-Tec Pool Party Masters division.
5) Lance Mountain is my girlfriend's favourite skater, and it's always good for me when she's stoked.
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