Do you ever get the feeling that you know what you want to write but because you already know it becomes a menial task? The process is what lures you in, the get cliché the journey is the destination. Being 31 I grew up watching Mark, watching him grow to become a very big name. And that is part of the problem because most themes have been talked about over and over. At the same time, all the accolades Mr. Appleyard has collected over time are not to be overlooked. Most people who skate have never been and will never be part of a classic video, or will have at least two classic video parts. Especially in today’s climate, it is hard to tell if new icons like Appleyard’s will even be a part of our culture. The “older” skaters remain iconic while Instagram has created a new playing field which has been slowly changing our game. Anyway, The point was that I knew what I could write but what did I need to write and what did I want to write? So I asked multiple people what they thought I should write.

Yo’ Daniel I am struggling a bit with the text about Mark what did you notice during our time with him?

“What I realized is that he reached this high level of skating and ever since he did that he just stayed that good. When I saw him skating he hadn’t really lost a step and that is something to think about.”

Danny (Sommerfeld) what should I write about Mark? Should I mention that his transworld trick tip taught you how to nollie flip?

“No.. that wouldn’t make any sense, who wants to know that? Just write that he was super nice and really professional! Remember when we pulled up to his house? He was playing ping pong, with Sammy (Montano) in his garage. Remember the huge poster of one of his covers in the garage? The map with all the places he has been? And that was only the garage, in his living room, he had multiple covers up and trophies, a couple of them, amongst which the 2003 SOTY statue.

Mark came up during my time, and because he has been around for multiple years we sometimes forget how crazy good he is on the board.
Being invited to his house reminded me that he is a really good skater and that we shouldn’t forget that.

He showed us his (and his sons) lego collection, which has a Porsche and millennium falcon amongst it. He played on his drumkit, we sat in his garden and played with all the toys.”

So in a sense, we got to see what it is like being Mark?

Exactly!