Born To Ride skateboarding music video

Hello, this is Tak from Imari Tones, Japanese Christian rock band!

We recently made and posted our new music video called "Born To Ride".

It's a song about skateboarding.

There are some stories behind the song/video.

Here I want to share the stories with you.

It was in October 2012 that I started skateboarding.

That year August-September, we were on the tour in USA.

We were touring with The Extreme Tour, a Christian missionary tour that had been around for nearly 20 years.

On that tour, we played some skatepark shows.

Being a Japanese boy grew up in a local town, that was actually the first time for me to see actual "Skateboarding" and "Skatepark".

It was really inspiring. I wished I had known it when I was younger. But I thought nothing was too late to start. So that's when I decided to start skateboarding.

After coming back to Japan, I started skateboarding.

It's really difficult to find a place to skate in Japan. But luckily, there was a nice skatepark nearby. To be exact, the parking lot for that park was a lot less crowded. (I can't skate in a crowded place.) So that's where I practiced regularly.

Soon, in October/November 2012, I wrote this song "Born To RIde".

It was a song about skateboarding, because I was in love with it.

I wrote the lyrics for the song and I put these words "KickFlip" and "BigSpin" in it.

Back then, I had no clue if I could ever do those tricks. But I put them in the song simply because they seemed like cool trick names.

In 2013 Summer, I made this skateboarding movie and posted on YouTube.

Titled "Skating for 8 months now", it's a skateboarding story from a beginner's standpoint. Back then, I had just learned KickFlip and HeelFlip. I was not good, but I thought there was something only a beginner could see. Regardless of being good or bad, there is a joy in skating. That was something I wanted to show in this video.

Problem is, this "Skating for 8 months now" video started receiving so many views. Receiving so many comments from young skaters.

Actually this video is the most viewed video on our YouTube channel.

Right now (as of 2 March 2015) this video has 14,000 views, while our next popular Faith Rider video has 10,600 views. (If you think these numbers are too small, please spread the word about us!)

It's giving me a mixed feeling the most popular video on our YouTube is a skateboarding video, not a music video. But at the same time it shows us we should probably post more skateboard related content, such as "Skateboarding Music Video".

Also, as the "10 months" skate video gaining more views, I was wanting to post a new stuff. Giving the update to the viewers of this older version of me. I wanted to show them how I progressed from there.

In 2014 we recorded the album titled "Revive The World". We recorded this song "Born To Ride", too. Now we are planning to release it later this year 2015. We decided it's right time to make a video for this song.

So I filmed my skateboarding footage. For some reasons, I usually skate alone. (In Japan skateboarding is not that popular.) I put my iPhone on the ground and tried to do those tricks in front of it. It was harder than I had thought. But I managed to make those tricks.

"KickFlip" and "BigSpin", these tricks I put in the song lyrics. I can do them now. Now they are some of easier tricks for me. I didn't expect that when I wrote this song in 2012.

I can do even more advanced tricks.

For this video, I made Front Side Flip, Back Side Flip, 360 Shove-It, Ollie Impossible, and TreFlip.

Wow, isn't TreFlip the trick everybody wants to learn?

Just like, one of the hardest flatground tricks for every skater.

Also, isn't Ollie Impossible supposed to be a really advanced trick?

I didn't expect I would come this far in 2 years or so.

Even if I mostly focused on flatground tricks, as a Japanese guy who started skateboarding at age over30, I think this is not bad. (Even if we may look young in the music video, we are not that young. We play some anti-aging music, though.)

I'm still not a good skater. I'm still a beginner. My skating is still pretty much sketchy and there is so much to learn. There are many younger kids who are really good and talented. Nonetheless, I'm really proud of this video and my skate footage in it.

Because, to write a skateboarding song is one thing.

I guess so many musicians are doing it.

However, to start skateboarding actually from there and put your own skate footage in the music video is totally another thing.

Because it advocates real love for skateboarding, not just "Let's write a skateboarding song because it's popular" thing.

I feel lucky to be able to do that within this short period of time.

I think this is a blessing.

To falling in love with skateboarding and write a skateboarding song is a blessing.

To put your own skateboarding footage in the music video is even more blessing.

How much more blessing can it be when you can sing "I ride for Jesus" in it!!!???

Thank you for our friends, Nobu, Midori, Marie (of course) and Shinichi from the band "Soul of Faith" (a.k.a. SolFai). You guys were big help for me to make this video.

I found skateboarding attractive because I felt something spiritual about it.

I will keep skating as long as possible.

I believe it will take me to the places I have never seen.

Thank you Jesus for music.

Thank you Jesus for skateboarding.

Tak / Imari Tones (Japan)