I didn’t put much effort into trying to contact Casper, I know we are currently in different worlds. I don’t really want to try and muddy the waters or push my name to try and get special treatment. I am in some ways a washed out pro that wants to skate instead of having what people would call a life. Life is what you make of it, and for me that is skating and my crew. I guess if I want to finish what I started the first step is practice. I hit up fairly dead skateparks to work on my trick in secret. It is hard and the amount of bruises I have is no joke, I am popping pills like it is a new diet fad as my legs still scream at me when I go to this extreme. I think they are getting better, but I am not one for sitting around, never was, not even as a kid.
I guess the real problem is when you are trying to do a new trick is that maybe it just isn’t possible to perfect, but it isn’t about it being perfect just good enough to share and let someone else take a crack at it. I still make time for my friends but when I get focused on someone I am single minded. That is how I managed to skate with the big kids, I was just there as much as possible to do what I loved and nothing has changed.
Finally, when I am satisfied and barely taking any painkillers even with the most intense skate sessions, I try making a few phone calls and seeing how my connections are. Vert Sect has changed a bit but I still know some people in it, however they were never the biggest team. I manage to arrange a meet up at a local Am contest they are scouting at, not quite the same place I did my first contest or was scouted at but I know the spot pretty well.
I bring my board out of habit but I am not here to skate, I just don’t like parting from it.
“You know Sid, I never figured you for the scouting kind,” I say as I approach an old teammate.
“And I didn’t think I would see you with a board again but look at you now, been a while and I understand you want a favour,” he responses motioning for me to sit.
“I am likely asking way too much but I want to get into a minor pro contest,”
“You are getting back into the pro scene? You think you have what it takes still?”
“I am not sure on either of those questions but with my last run I had a trick I wanted to show off to as many people as possible, I am not looking for a big name one or the largest crowds just a minor pro contest to get my trick out there,”
“Shit that is a big ask, I want to help, but I will need something more to go on, I need to sell this to the people in charge. Still a new trick can do a lot, what tier we talking about here?”
“Mull,”
“Meet me back here about about half an hour after the contest ends alright? I will give you your shot,”
I am right on time and watch Sid finish up whatever he is doing, honestly I never paid attention to what was involved in scouting talent but from what I saw of the skater he is after, they would be a good pick for the team.
“I am here Sid, what do you need,”
“First you have to prove you can still compete. I am not talking about at any old level, but that you can at least keep your pro status run and are not mocking the sport,”
“Sure do we have permission to use the park?”
“Yeah for a little bit. After that you need to show me this so called Mull trick, I will need to make a demo tape for the people in the team, but we can keep it on the hush hush alright?”
“Fair enough,” I don’t waste time and get straight on the halfpipe. I am still doing my normal tricks I used to do before pushing harder and harder, this is my one shot to give back to the community in the way I really want to do it, without having to go fully back into the pro scene. So I give it everything I have before I am forced to take a break.
“Yeah you still have it, we don’t have much longer, show me the trick next alright?”
I give a nod and take a few moments breathing deeply, it is exhausting work but I drop in and after building up a little I go into it, it isn’t the best landing but he gets the recording.
“Yeah I can see why you consider it Mull tier, a bit like his style if he was vert,”
“Think I have a shot then?”
“I will do what I can, but yeah I think you do,”
He gives me a bit of a catch up about how the team is going. What it was like after my injury and how they had to rebuild, if anything is going to stop me getting this, it would be that people thought they pushed the kid me too far and placed the blame on the team. They lost a few sponsors and board sales with that, add in that they were a small team anyway that only took in up and comers rather than bigger names it only just managed to survive, but give it a few years and people move on leading to the team recovering back to where it was before, maybe soon it will thrive. Actually, that is where Sid thinks I have the biggest chance for this, a shot at really helping the team grow with such a promotional stunt.
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