DC skater Wes Kremer doesn't give a fuck about Instagram. Maybe you shouldn't either
- Text by Hannah Bailey
- Photography by Liz Seabrook
“Is it true you don’t have Instagram?” I ask Wes the day I meet him – and then again two days later, just to reaffirm. “Ahhh, no,” he replies, with a South Park-esque twang. “I don’t have an account.”
I’m asking him over and over again because I’m intrigued. It’s unusual for a pro skateboarder to survive without a social media face these days. How do we tag a photo of him on Instagram? Or tweet his latest award-winning video part? Truth is, Wes doesn’t really know about all that. If you want to interact with Wes, you have to find him in the flesh and so that’s what I did when he was over in London for the DC Shoes Special Delivery tour a couple weeks back. He’s not an anti-social skater; he is the anti-social media skater.
It’s surprising really – at 25, Wes falls into the generation that has welcomed Facebook and Instagram into their lives. But being in and around the skate scene for the past decade, with plenty of legit parts to show, has meant that Wes has let his skating do the talking (rather than a 140-character tweet). Brands these days are often swayed into sponsorship based on the social media following, engagement and reach of a particular rider, but Wes has never buckled to peer pressure. He’s been skating for DC Shoes for over seven years, a team which means he stands alongside Rob Dyrdek and Nyjah Huston, two of the most socially active skaters. Their combined following on Instagram is 3.7 million. So are his sponsors telling him to be a bit more social? “Yeah for sure, but I just said no,” explains Wes. “And having someone else do it for me? I’m not that into it. People just need to get off their phones.”
Living off the square-format picture grid has done little harm aside “bumming out some kids”, but how does an anti-social media skater like Wes still manage to keep his fans worldwide? Luckily the core skate scene has always been one to shun convention and although social media has been embraced and used to an advantage it’s not the be all and end all. To give it a miss, is to make the statement that you have better things to do with your time, and that better thing is to skate.
The best way to follow a skater like Wes is through his video parts, like 2014’s, ‘DC Shoes: Crusty By Nature.’ Every so often you will spy him on the accounts of friends, magazines and crewmates – an indication on his whereabouts if you really, really need to know. Because Wes may be a bit of an anti-social media skater, but he is far from anti-social. As he hangs at Mile End skate park and Parlour skate store, he meets and greets everyone with a giant smile and friendly conversation. You can have his autograph, his picture and a chat directly with him, but enjoy the moment, rather than revel in social media history. His personality and genuine nature are enough to make an impact that leaves you feeling like you got a little piece of him.
So what does the future hold for the successful luddite? “Survival. That’s what I have coming up,” says Wes, humbly. “And to enjoy good times with good people. Stay healthy and have fun.”
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