Participation in the risk-taking occupation of skateboarding?

The purpose of this ethnographic study is to describe the values, behaviors, and beliefs of skateboarders in order to understand the meaning and identity derived from the occupation as well as cultural influences on attitudes toward injury. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven active skateboarders. Analysis of the data led to the development of a chronology of participation in the risk-taking occupation of skateboarding. Results of this study illustrate that achieving one's best and the core value of freedom in the skateboarding subculture outweigh the risk of injury inherent to participation in the occupation. Skateboarders accept injury as an attribute of the occupation they practice and reinforce this acceptance on a social level.