On this episode of The Mike V Show, I am once again joined by author, philosopher and friend Daniele Bolelli. We discuss my decision to now wear a helmet whenever I skate, how people in skateboarding may react to this, how I can no longer justify NOT wearing a helmet, how I hate when my heroes go soft, how some of the new generation of bowl and ramp skaters no longer wear any pads, how street skating never correlated with athletics of any kind, how I don’t see myself as an athlete, how I sidestepped the question of helmets and skateboarding for years, how if my kids skated they would be wearing helmets, questioning one’s self, how one of Bolelli’s students hit his head skateboarding and got a concussion, turning a blind eye to head injuries, the evolution of sport and protective equipment, peer pressure, true toughness versus just playing it safe, how my best and most important work is right now, defiance in skateboarding, possible ignorant opposition to my choice, proving one’s self, Bolelli is always right, how this is a personal choice, being nonjudgmental, Jacques Plante, the evolution of hockey equipment, living in your reality, pondering and valuing one’s health, helmets can potentially save lives, excuses for not wearing a helmet, how street skating was revolutionary, how there is no parallel to street skating, how the messenger is a big deal, subscribing versus creating, how there is no “the way”, how I feel empowered and excited about wearing a helmet, looking for the background role, living in a fog, unfulfilling work, what’s next?, writing the script, how I still have work to do in the arena, bringing something new to the conversation, the business side of wearing a helmet, the importance of support from a helmet sponsor, how some helmet companies don’t get it, how most of my worst injuries happened in unexpected moments, it’s not worth it, the universe is speaking to me, working with Triple 8 Helmets, the east coast connection, how many chances do you get?, listen to the voice inside you, the Graham Hancock example, closing the gap between intellectual knowledge and action, why not take precautions?, the glory is the act of riding, not living in the past, let’s go forward… Enjoy!

Producer: Rich Evirs

Theme Music: Revolution Mother, Above The Crawl

On the first episode of The Mike V Show, I am joined by author, philosopher and friend Daniele Bolelli. We discuss his book On The Warrior’s Path, how we became friends, my “pugilistic tendencies,” being a full human being, things that don’t get caught on video, embracing the totality of what we can be as human beings, living stereotypes, imbalance, lacking variety, my greatest crime in skateboarding, the greatest gift I’ve gotten from my love of skateboarding, people that get hung up on taste, the temperature at which a human being lives, “the wild west of skateboarding,” people are going to put you in a box, the most interesting human beings are not about one thing, being known outside of skateboarding, uniforms, subscribing to an identity, messing with expectations, bringing it back to the human level, no image in podcasting, passion for life, Fistfight Volume 1: The CKY Fight, video does not tell the whole story, being physically engaged in life, self-publishing, the beauty of doing it yourself, podcasting: screw the middleman, the best word to describe “skateboarding” is skateboarding, anything that has a heartbeat and stealing Bolelli. Enjoy!

Producer: Rich Evirs

Theme Music: Revolution Mother, Above The Crawl