This natural split widens the generation gap, and the youthful term of “hanging out” is quite often synonymous with the elder generation’s perception of lazy recklessness.

Popular to San Diego are board sports. Boardwalks are dotted with strollers and skaters, pitted against one another. The common perception is that young skaters illustrate the recklessness of their generation, affording a great deal of inconsideration to other people in the community with their speed and amount of space taken by their boards.

Perceptions such as these continue to alienate ourselves from each other and add to the stress of the daily grind.

Bridging the gap are people like Michael McGill.

Famous in the skating community during the 1980’s for inventing the “McTwist” (a 540 degree turn at the top of a skate ramp), Mike McGill puts his own twist on the definition of being a skater. He describes skating not as a sport or mode of transportation, but rather as an art form, a method of expressing oneself through a series of twists and turns.

A skater from the time he was a youth himself, McGill made a vocation out of a hobby. He opened his own store in Encinitas and is currently doing a series of skate demonstrations for endorsements. His self proclaimed mission, as a skate shop owner and community leader, is to provide possibilities--equipment--for other youths to find the same joy he did in skating. McGill even takes his hobby a step further with an upcoming stint on the Discovery Channel for a show entitled “Young Pioneers”.

McGill is definitely a pioneer in his community. His creation of the “McTwist”, easily his biggest success after his family, has made him a legend in the skating community. Kids who weren’t even born when the McTwist was invented come into the store in recognition and awe. His credits include skate movies made in the 1980’s, a deal with Wal-Mart to sell an eponymous brand of shoes and involvement with the local YMCA and its skate park.

Despite his extensive accomplishment, McGill shows no signs of burn-out, with plans in the works to expand his store to include a girls’ line of clothing, and to do more demonstrations in the next few months.

McGill has taken the humble beginnings of a boy and his board and created a life of ambition, success, and philanthropy. His life is a far cry from the stereotypical perception of the youthful skater, and an invitation to look beyond appearances. Stories such as his challenge the tunnel vision of society, our tendency to compartmentalize people before getting to know them.

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