Pump your brakes, Vespa, it looks like Marty McFly, if not Paul Blart, is having his moment. What once was the butt end of jokes about security guards at your local shopping mall has become the accessory du jour for celebrities, athletes, and musicians. Scooters, mainly of the motorized, handlebar-less variety are having a moment right now.
According to this New York Times article, the scooter phenomena has taken off due to social media hype, which for us mortals, is mostly where we'll see these hoverboard-esque contraptions. "Since late spring, scooter retailers have rushed to distribute free products to notables throughout the entertainment industry," according to the article, mentioning that products are swapped for hashtag mentions. Which makes some sense given that these boards, like the Skywalker that Meek Mill was seen rolling around on, can cost as much as $850.
Though athletes like Stephen Curry and Andre Drummond, the seven-foot center of the Detroit Pistons, have proved their mastery of precision and balance while aboard these gizmos which bear names such as Skywalker, UWheel, PhunkeeDuck, other celebrities are less graceful. Here, Cara Delvigne and Kylie Jenner try to share a moment (and a scooter) but end up tumbling onto a couch. Thankfully, they were traveling at 0 mph and neither were hurt.
That steep $850 price tag is the equivalent to 28 Razor Scooters by comparison. Diplo and Skrillex, Bieber, Jamie Foxx, these are a few of the globally recognized talents who have lent their brands to the scooter-trend wave. On trend and looking to make a quick buck, Soulja Boy already has his own brand of scooter out. It's been dubbed the Souljaboard and for $1,500 you can cop it in white, black, or neon green.
