Paul O'Connor's Blog, page 5

Skateboarding, Spirituality and Religion

Skateboarding, Spirituality and Religion

"I came across Sidewalk Surfer magazine - a leading British skateboarding publication at the time. I..."

“I came across Sidewalk Surfer magazine - a leading British skateboarding publication at the time. I was drawn to the image on the cover of a man mid-trick hovering above the ground. He had been photographed in the glow of a streetlight in an urban space empty of people. I saw the image as extremely seductive; it suggested magic, a sort of urban alchemy, and it represented an expansive freedom and open space. I bought the magazine and asked my parents for a skateboard for my 16th birthday along with a 411 video about ‘How to Skateboard’”

- Dani Abulhawa. Skateboarding and femininity. Pg12

‘This is a fossil fuel war’: Ukraine’s top climate scient...

‘This is a fossil fuel war’: Ukraine’s top climate scientist speaks out

Notes from the Anthropocene

Book Review: Skateboarding and Religion

My book was recently reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Abraham in the Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. The full review is available via open access here, but I paste the open paragraph below.

‘Skateboarding is the most religious of all contemporary sports andyet hardly anyone notices’, Paul O’Connor argues in this extensivelyresearched, globally relevant and theoretically sophisticated book (p.288). Drawing on interviews with often middle-aged skateboarders fromaround the world, and extensive literature from sociology, anthropologyand religion studies, O’Connor engages with religion and skateboard-ing in three contrasting forms. Firstly, with skateboarding as a formof religion, specifically an individualized ‘lifestyle religion’. Secondly,with skateboarding as a culture preoccupied with religious imagery andanalogy. Thirdly, with skateboarding as a vehicle for the pastoral andmissional activities of established religions, primarily American evangelicalism but also South-East Asian Islam.

“Bureaucracies public and private appear—for whatever his...

“Bureaucracies public and private appear—for whatever historical reasons—to be organized in such a way as to guarantee that a significant proportion of actors will not be able to perform their tasks as expected”

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

David Graeber

I am a little too easily disposed to seeing the sacred in...

I am a little too easily disposed to seeing the sacred in skateboarding. But this early morning visit to the new Exmouth skatepark on a frosty January morning left me all wide eyed. it was -2C when I got to the park, but the crisp sun cast languid shadows across the concrete. The tall tombstone-like extension beckoned me and as i kick-turned on it, it held the sun’s glare in abeyance. As the solitary figure on this 21st century stone offering to the gods, the peculiarity of the scene was amplified. It sure is fun skating with friends, but these solitary morning pilgrimages serve a purpose all of their own.

More info:

Phear Park Skatepark, Exmouth, Devon EX8 3AD

What Three Words Rear.Grows.Thus

The morning was also reminiscent of Stalin Henge

Interview with Bauer Media / GHR Radio promoting recent research...

Interview with Bauer Media / GHR Radio promoting recent research on Middle-Aged Skateboarders and Wellbeing.

You can contact me to request a copy of the research, or access via University of Exeter. 

This work is part of an edited collection on Lifestyle Sports and Identities by Tyler Dupont and Becky Beal

Skateboarding helps middle-aged people navigate depression and bond with their children, study shows - University of Exeter

Skateboarding helps middle-aged people navigate depression and bond with their children, study shows - University of Exeter:

Older people who take part in the sport say it has a “spiritual meaning” in their lives and boosts their wellbeing and happiness. Physical benefits are a by-product.

Skateboarding allows them access to a community and gives them an identity separate from other parts of their lives.

One reason could be because the measure of success in skateboarding is more fluid compared to other sports, and failure is seen as part of the activity.

Dr Paul O’Connor, from the University of Exeter, carried out 30 interviews with middle-aged skateboarders, and observed skateboarding in Hong Kong, and the UK, skateboarding himself with communities there. The study is published in the book Lifestyle Sports and Identities.

Webinar on Islam in HK pushes for tolerance, interfaith dialogue & multicultural awareness

Webinar on Islam in HK pushes for tolerance, interfaith dialogue & multicultural awareness:

Found this China Daily article from earlier in the year on Islam in Hong Kong book launch event.

Skateboarding and the Olympics Postscript: Hard to share this...

Skateboarding and the Olympics Postscript: Hard to share this without smiling

During the Olympics there was a lot of attention on skateboarding and a whole host of commentary on the various merits and demerits of its inclusion. I think we all got a bit fatigued with some of the rhetoric… Yet still, every now and then a story pops up and I flag it for interest. In all truth some of the best stories are really simple hopeful ones (I see you Mr Beachy). 

This last week Manny Santiago’s Nine Club interview shed a little light on the inside life of the Olympic village for skateboarders. He reveals how most nations sat an ate meals with each other, but skateboarders tended to always eat together irrespective of their national affiliation. 

Manny is deliberately hesitant to call skateboarding a sport during this discussion. Just let that sink in for a moment. An Olympian deliberately cautious about calling their activity a sport. Yet he goes on to identify the tight cultural bond of skateboarding. We can frame this as good sporting camaraderie, but it really doesn’t take much reflection to identify that this ‘sportsmanship’ came before skateboarding was a sport.

There is a bigger discussion here about patriotism and team spirit. The Olympics is about nations competing, albeit in a safe a supposedly fun way. But how often is that sidelined for glory and gold? Some might say skateboarders should have more team spirit (read national patriotism) but in truth it seems they have already chosen their team.

Another quote I have been holding on came via Iain Borden who spotted it in a Guardian article about responses to the Olympics this last year.  There are a whole bunch of reflections but the one from Alan Vickers really resonates. The fact that skateboarding can provide hope is a little intoxicating. I mean, I already know this, but the fact that it translates to others who haven’t ridden a skateboard just seems powerful. The real beauty in this is that skateboarding was largely included in the Olympics due to the ageing demographics of viewers. It was a cash grab for young viewers and their advertising incentives. Alan at 76 hardly is the target audience for the new sport and that is what makes his comment all the more significant. Any guess where Alan would be sitting in the canteen?