White Line Fever
Oddly enough, the photo for this month’s editorial hits on a number of unique ideas. First, it’s a great visual metaphor for “not keeping in within the lines.” I love the fact that as skaters, we are constantly pushing boundaries and questioning things. Where we skate, what we skate, how old we are as skaters: there are truly no limits. This issue celebrates that idea to the fullest with an article on skaters who regard age as being just a state of mind.
Of course, the idea of “crossing the line” is an entirely different matter and it can get quite complicated. When does legitimate questioning cross over a line? Thanks to the Web, we can explore this topic on a daily basis. It’s amazing how many people, once they are in front of a camera or behind a keyboard, feel they can do or say whatever they want. Our digital footprints, unlike the ones we leave in the sand, can last for a significant amount of time.
If you live in Australia, the term “white line fever” describes a person’s radical change of behavior when they start playing team sports. 
They step over the “white line,” and their radical change can result in a mild-mannered person becoming aggressive, loud and extremely competitive. These people may even become violent during gameplay. But once the game is over, they return back to their usual mild-mannered selves.
I’m sure some of you have met people with this condition. Someone with white line fever can be insufferable – it’s just a question of how far they take things. I’d say that in skateboarding we have our own slightly milder version of white line fever – maybe “blue tile fever”? Many of us have had an encounter with skaters who are fairly mellow, but once you get them on a hill or in a backyard pool, they become extremely competitive. This attitude can propel them to achieve some incredible things. Now that skateboarding is poised to be part of the 2020 Olympics in Japan, it will be interesting how this changes the dynamics of skate culture. But we’ll save that debate for later.
Enjoy the issue!Michael Brooke
Thankyou to Michael Brooke and Concrete Wave Magazine
Issue Nov/2015