Skateboarding. What is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it yelling "Do a kickflip!!" to a passerby that is riding a skateboard? Is it the video game EA Skate? Or is it Tony Hawk? With all of these being plausible and acceptable answers, everyone has a different view on what skateboarding means to them.
For me, skateboarding is a way of life. It influences how you dress, who you hang out with, the way you talk, and how you live on a day to day basis. Who would have thought that skateboarding in 2016 and 2017 would make cargo pants, Dickies, and long sleeve shirts under short sleeved shirts cool again? If you were a time traveler, it's a possibility that you would think the year was 2002.
I first stepped on a skateboard when I was 1. A buddy of mine lived down the street from my house and would leave his board in his front yard. While everybody else was jumping on the trampoline in his backyard, I was struggling learning how to do a proper ollie. Soon enough, I got a board of my own. It was a yellow World Industries deck from Dick's Sporting Goods right across from Chesterfield Towne Center. With it being a Christmas gift from my parents, all I could do was stare at it under our plastic Christmas tree, waiting to give it a whirl. Ever since I stepped on that board on December 25th, 2007 I was addicted. You could say skateboarding was my true first love.
That's a bold statement coming from a guy who still doesn't know how to keep is girlfriend from being upset at him for more than 2 days, but that is a different story for another day.
Skateboarding has taught me a boat load of life lessons. One of them is never quit chasing your dreams. Obviously, when you're young and you just start skateboarding you automatically think of becoming a professional skateboarder. You see pros all over the internet on websites like ThrasherMagazine.com doing these insane tricks and envision yourself in that position. Although becoming a professional skateboarder is a feat in itself, it is definitely something that possible for those who really want to make that dream of being a pro into a reality. To be completely honest, I still plan on becoming a professional skateboarder one day. That is a promise that I made to myself when I first started skating which I hope, pray, and meditate on the daily about. Whether I make my dream come true or not, that still is not going to stop me from having fun doing what I love.
Another lesson that skating has taught me is that SHIT HAPPENS. And sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. It could be an injury, breaking yourself off, or focusing your board after a rough skate session. The decision to get up and try again after a mishap is all up to the skateboarder. Do they have the courage to keep going? Or is there something holding them back mentally? On some occasions, you have to get up and give it another go. If you break yourself off a countless number of times yet see that you're so, so close to landing the trick it is almost an unspoken feeling that submerses itself around you saying get off your ass and land that shit. The adrenaline pumping through your body, the thoughts going through your head, the beauty that is found inside the madness. Hopefully, you'll land the trick and all of your homies will go crazy celebrating with you as you roll away from it. And if you have someone filming it, you go back to watch the footage soon after landing the trick while simultaneously thinking of the hardships you went through to land it.
There are also times where you know that you aren't going to land the trick and decide that it would be better to try it another day. A small defeat that usually drives skateboarders insane and gives them a sense of revenge to land the trick the next time they try it.
I could go on for days on the subject of what skateboarding has done for me. But before I end this blog post and skate to my car so I can head home, I'll tell you what it means to me.
Skateboarding in my eyes is art. There are no rules, there are no guidelines. The board is your paint brush, and the streets are your canvas. Once you have been skating for a while, you start to envision objects seen on a daily basis as something that could be skated on. Whether it is a set of stairs that you can envision yourself doing a backside 360 ollie down or a handrail that would be excellent for a 50-50 grind, skateboarding gives you a sense of creativity that cannot be fathomed by non-skateboarders. That is not a shot at those who don't skateboard or saying that people who skateboard aren't as "cool" or "trendy" as those who do. It's just that people who do not skateboard have a harder time understanding what skateboarders are thinking in regards to how they see objects that are skateable.
Skateboarding is personal. Everyone has their own style, or at least TRIES to have their own style. It is very common nowadays to see skaters try and imitate other skateboarders. And I am not saying that it's wrong. I think that it's great that one skaters style can influence another's, but sometimes I think certain people try too hard to imitate someone that they just look unruly in whatever they are doing. Besides the style imitating, watching the set of styles at a local skate park among the pool of skaters is truly a sight to see. You have some skaters that have a laid back style, others who are more rugged than most, and others that are individualized in their style so much that you can't even put a label on it. It's amazing how all skateboarders are essentially riding the same piece of wood with 4 wheels and maneuver the object in so many different ways. I think of it as poetry in motion.
I hope to have the ability to be able to kickflips and backside 360's for as long as I am alive. Realistically, that probably won't happen. Imagine a 70 year old man with knees made of glass trying to skate as if he was 20... not the BEST idea.
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