How To Be A Poseur
In the 80's being called a Poseur was the worst insult you could imagine.
Maybe it still is, I don't know. But the longer I've lived the more I've realized that this word, which was previously such a put-down, is actually an admirable trait. Or at least it can be if it's done correctly. So, here's your handbook to becoming the best poseur you can be.
Tony Hawk was a Total Poseur
No kidding. At the very beginning, Tony Hawk was a poseur. Kelly Slater too. Oh, and that guy named Dick Dale? He started out as a total poseur. But maybe that was the secret to the greatness they became.
That was the secret to the greatness they became
The myth of poseur-dom is that some people are eternally cool and always have been. If you're not one of them and you try to do what they do, you're a poseur. But everyone, including the greatest people who have ever done the raddest things were poseurs when they started out. To be a poseur is to pretend you can do something. And as science has established this is one of the best ways to learn things, and eventually, to be great at them.
We call it "Fake it 'til you Make it" which really means: Embrace being a poseur. Nobody is good at something instantly. Anyone who gives you a hard time for learning is just pretending they were always good at it. So who's the real poseur now?
Find Your Passion
There are actual poseurs out there, though. Anyone who does something only to look cool, or fit in, or be admired is the kind of poseur we were talking about back in the 80's. If you tell everyone at school that you skate but you just stand around holding your board then, yeah. You're a poseur.
But then there's the rest of us who may be passionate about something and just suck at it. We're afraid that we'll be made fun of. That's a legit feeling and it's something we all go through. We feel like poseurs when we first paddle out into the waves because we have no idea what we're doing.
The real question is this: Are you passionate about what you're doing? Are you cool with sacrificing your 'cool' and pushing through the discomfort because you love what you're doing? Then you're on the right track. If people want to call you a poseur while you're working through the first phases of your passion then pay them no mind. Just keep going.
We're Poseurs But We Keep Paddling
Here at Westcoast, we're a couple of poseurs. We skate, we surf, we paddle, we Tiki, we woodwork, we craft and we build...but we're not experts at any of it. Not because we're faking it, but because we love ALL of it at once! We don't want to spend all our energy learning to be amazing skaters and never have time to make a decent Mai Tai. We don't want to become rad surfers but never learn to make natural jewelry or raise a little family of houseplants. We want to do it all, but more importantly, we want to bring together groups of people who love these things too.
We don't want to spend all our energy learning to be amazing skaters and never have time to make a decent Mai Tai.
We firmly believe that life is about finding your people. I'm not going to lie: Here in the Midwest isn't where our tribe normally thrives. They tend to live in coastal areas and live tropical lives. Around these parts people listen to Bob Seger, not The Trashmen.
We put the important part in the middle
We started Westcoast Lifestyle Goods with an emphasis on the "Lifestyle" part. We want to live a broad life that is full of passion for the things that make us happy. We don't claim to be surfers or experts in the history of Boho. But we do want to find and hang out with the people who are, supporting them in those passions.
One day we may no longer be poseurs. Heck, we may even be good at this. But even if we're not, we'll find more of our people along the way. We hope you'll join us in finding your passion too.