Hosting shows like this is where the Internet does its best work. Narrative web series’ are great, but these short-form documentaries about art and culture have real staying power. I want to say it’s because educational programming is easier to sit through in short spurts, but it’s also because art movements are so transient that, unless you’re fully immersed in it, the Internet might be the only way to keep up. D.I.Y. is particularly compelling because a majority of its episodes (thus far) are about the very American past time, skateboarding. 
It’s a culture that has only been around for 60 years or so, but one that has always had an intrinsic relationship with art. And to see that association acknowledged by the likes of Tony Hawk, Tommy Guerrero, Harmony Korine, and other hugely influential pop icons is just so totally (for lack of a better word) rad.
What I like about the Skate + Create episodes are that they address a subject that extends beyond skateboarding: they draw attention to art as an adaptive movement. For skate culture, adaptation relies on its reaction to ‘mainstream’ attention. What once was social-suicide is now a trend-setting sport. (Before seeing this series, I had no idea that skaters in years past were bullied for doing what now seems so commonplace). When art sells out it’s forced to adapt or it dies, and the impressive thing about skate culture is that although people like me might see it as “the all-American past time” it has somehow maintained its integrity, though it might have something to do with it’s get-back-on-the-board-and-persevere mentality. The best part is it has done so without sacrificing its core values, all of which you’ll have to discover by watching the show. I guarantee that in the 20 minutes it takes to get through them, you’ll be looking at every crack in the sidewalk with a little bit more respect.
Catch the first episode below (give it time to load!), and if you want to see the rest, go here.
