Because It's Fun

   It's weird to think about skateboarding's popularity today. Some oldschool skaters say it's gone corporate. To some extent, their right. There are still tons of skater-owned companies; but even Nike is trying to get a piece of the rebellious pie.

   When skaters started, it wasn't "the thing to do." They did it because they loved it!

   I can definitely relate to that love. Hell, I'm 27 years old. I didn't start skateboarding to LOOK COOL, or GET FRIENDS or GO PRO! I'm past that point in my life. I don't do it for money, or fame. I do it because it's FUN! I genuinely enjoy every second of it. Even when I'm hurt. Even when I'm frustrated. I skateboard because it's FUN

   And that's how it should be!!

Real Progression

   I've been watching documentaries about skateboarding. It's still wild to me that, as similar as skating and skateboarding are... their differences are vast! Rollerblading may have a few landmark films; but the amount of films on skateboarding blow me away! I figured I could catch up on some history, anyways...

   The one thing I can honestly say is; wow! Not only was it an incredible start-up; but, you can see genuine progression from generation to generation. With-in 10 years, the sport had a revolution! It evolved to something that the beginners could have never imagined. Tricks. Styles. Hell, even SKATEPARKS started with skateboarding. They failed. Tried again. Got it right. Got it better. And then, continued raise the bar!!

   Now, you can literally pick from hundreds of thousands of talented teens; all equally progressive in the sport. Pushing the boundaries. Redefining the limits! And these kids are 12-16 years old!!! And they are the definition of a "professional athlete;"

   It makes me wonder how the sport will progress in 5 or 10 years!!!

All Damn Day

   Genuinely woke up, and skated ALL DAMN DAY today! It was incredible! My body has that sore, stiff, satisfied feeling after a long day of shredding. It started as just working on fundamentals. Honestly, my legs felt like crap. I could barely pop my ollies at first. But I kept skating and skating and I'd take a break and then skate again. Within an hour or so, I felt loosey goosey. I wanted to test the limits of my ollie...

   I set up a brick. Laid it down, short ways at first. Hit it 5 or 6 times, no problem. Stood the brick on it's side and tried. Knocked the brick over the first few times; but finally, got it no problem! It felt so good to do something so simple. The coordination, timing, and balance needed... it motivated me to get even better!!! Before I knew it, I had set up a slew of cinder blocks into a DIY driveway skatepark of ledges, banks, and steep drop-ins. I found myself occupied for hours, and it was amazing!!

   A bruised in-step; some bruises on my skins and ankle, and some roadrash palms.... all in all, today was a great day!! I took a few spills (reminders to start wearing my wrist guards) but the pain reminded me of why I even started! To do something great, you've gotta fall down. If it was easy, everybody would do it!!!!

Possibilities & Opportunities

   Stepped on a buddy's longboard for the first time today; and WOW! So smooth!! I'm definitely gonna need to add that to the list of things to get soon. I like the idea of having a few different set-ups; my popsickle board for street; and gnarly 80's style ripper for pools and mini ramps, a nice longboard for cruising; and maybe even a dirt board with some offroading wheels for downhill trail riding!

   If you get creative, the world is full of crazy skatespots. The possibilities seem endless when you really look at all the opportunities out there!

The Simple Things

   I can actually FEEL myself getting more comfortable on a skateboard. At the end of todays session, I decided to get a little froggy! I grabbed a nearby brick, and tried to ollie over it a few times!! I had plenty of height... and I kept landing it, but it was sketchy! That was the first time I ever tried rolling up to something and doing a trick. It takes a lot more focus and timing than skates; that's the biggest thing I noticed. Either way, it was a lot of fun to attempt! I've never gotten so much enjoyment out of a simple brick lol skateboarding is definitely going to change the way I look at ordinary objects

Just Enjoy It

   Today was the first time that I had the "why am I doing this?" feeling lol And I didn't even fall or anything, I actually enjoyed myself the short amount of time I got to skate! But I wondered, impatiently, when I was going to be able to "do more tricks" and all that bs. Got lost from the genuine sportsmanship of it for a second! Came back to reality lol I JUST STARTED! I've already really had a learning curve, too! I can't expect myself to jump out of the screen of a Tony Hawk video game lol or the cover of Thrasher Magazine! Some folks spends years and years of their life skateboarding; and can't land a kickflip (or whatever) it's not about that! It's about the artistry of using YOUR tricks and what you DO know, on WHATEVER is infront of you. That's the universal beauty of skating and skateboarding and bmx and snowboarding etc! It takes years and years of dedications to achieve the level of control and talent that these pros have. BUT! Even after a few days, weeks, and months.. you see results.

   I'm not gonna say I've never seen a basketball. But it's like taking somebody whose barely got a layup or jumpshot; and expecting them to play with the NBA! That's unrealistic of myself to expect those kinds of results!!! Instead......I just smiled and enjoyed myself!

Going The Distance

   Had the plan to skate to this industry park that's a little less than a mile from my house. Got within sight of the street I needed to cross to enter the park, and my legs were already SCREAMING. Between working on my feet all day, and skating pretty hard the previous 5 days; I knew that if I didn't turn around now, I wouldn't make it home.

   I was right! I barely made it back to my driveway lol even had to honestly step off and walk for a block or two! It blew my mind how out of shape I felt! As "comfortable" as I felt the past few days.... this was a reality check. I had to keep working!!!

   I got home, hydrated, stretched, and got back out there. Back to the fundamentals. Ollie. Shuvit. Push push push, coast! I can feel the muscle memory; it's wild. I'm almost bummed out that I didn't stick with both sports earlier!

   Ended up finding a nice skatespot right down the street. It's not much, but it's enough to mess around on (for the time being) I also found a little line of small hills that I can bomb down! Got the speed wobbles and bit the dust twice lol But I guess that means I was going hard!! Smiled the whole time! Got back up and tried it again until I stuck it, and rode the jello legs all the way back home. Worked on some more ollies in the driveway before I came in for the night.

Back To The Basics

   Beautiful day to skate!! I've been out there really working my ollies back in. I'm already comfortable rolling and olling 6-8" so thats got me geeked. I still get enjoyment from just crusing around. It's comparable to skating, but the difference is noticeable! My legs are snot, too. I can already tell the different muscles being used. Still no major spills but I assume it's only a matter of time. I keep trying shuvits and pop-shuvits. Landed some. Sketched some. Getting anxious to "GO SKATE" but I catch myself and just focus on the fundamentals. I honestly feel damn near as comfortable or "good" as I was in the past, meaning, I'd consider THIS my starting point. I can remember messing around in the past and doing a sketchy FS 180 ollie; but I haven't really dared to try that yet. As said, I'm just gonna stick to the fundamentals.

Whining

   It's raining. I'm pissed. I feel like a little kid who wants to use his new toy.

And So, It Begins..

   Went and got a board today!! I didn't have a real preference for any brands, so I just picked up a shop deck complete from the local board shop. Dude was real cool, and we talked for awhile about what I was doing. He recommended I get some good shoes to skate in, so I don't tear up all my normal kicks. Something I hadn't considered!! All in all, got tightened up for under $150 with a skate tool. Walked away smiling!

   Cruised around my subdivision as soon as I got home. The new house I just bought is in the back of a cul-de-sac, and it has some real nice pavement. It's nestled at the bottom of a gradual hill, too... perfect for carving around. It took a half hour or so, but I'm already fairly familiar with coasting on the board. As I said before, I've rode around on a board before; but that was the extent of it. My injured ankle is my planted foot (right foot - I ride goofy) and it seemed a little stiff at first... but eventually loosened up.

   I'm amazed at the simple enjoyment I've already gotten. Carving back and fourth (I've never been surfing) feels incredible. All the technique put into something as simple as ollieing and lifting the board in the air. I'm accustom to just JUMPING when I wanted to go up!! This was an obvious difference that I was going to need to handle... but it fascinated me, the physics behind it all. Even just cruising the streets puts a smile on my face! Something I wouldn't normally be able to get from just buckling up some blades and skating in circles!!

It's A Brave New World

   I've decided to learn how to skateboard...... at 28 years old! Now I know that might seem crazy to a lot of people; but it makes perfectly good sense to me. It also only makes sense to blog about the entire experience; from major air to major fail. So, here I am!!

   SOME QUICK BACKGROUND: I'm a middle class, blue collar worker from the southwest suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. I'm a musician, whose recently decided to take a break from the music business. This has offered me a tremendous amount of new-found free time. I've always been fairly athletic, and played a variety of sports growing up. Eventually, I feel in love with aggressive inline skating. At one point, I stopped playing hockey to focus on rollerblading. I never dedicated myself enough to "go pro" but its something I always enjoyed. I'm not amazing, but I'm probably a bit more comfortable than your average beginner or intermediate. Enough to have fun at skate parks and skate spots.

   As with a lot of things as we grow up, I slowly skated less and less until it stopped completely. It was odd, however... because skating would occasionally pop back into my life for short spurts. A little at college. A little when my kid was born. And here we are again; after a 2 year hiatus. After a bruised tendon in my ankle. After a hernia surgery. I stand here, again, with the itch to lace up.

   There's something magical about skating. It transcends you to a higher level of thinking. It transforms you into a mythical warrior. An artist. An airborne bird, riding on the jet stream. Even if you're not doing the craziest trick. Even if there is no audience or camera man. There is something to be said about That feeling. The only way I can describe it would be "freedom." A noun that most people think they have, but very few have ever really felt. It's the sense of physical accomplishment after working out, mixed with the creative achievement of painting or sculpting. Its an adrenaline rush; but it's also zen. Its meditation to skate.... and I was itching for it!! But this was a different "itch" this time. For some reason, this time, I wanted to try my hand at skateboarding.

   Now, if you remember skating and skateboarding from in the 90s; you'll know that what I'm doing is kinda sacrilegious. Most folks then (and some still now) picked their sides and stuck to it. Insults. Bias. Fist fights. Something I've never really understood, because I've always found awesomeness and beauty in ALL extreme sports. I've always, personally, preferred rollerblading.... but I always had friends who did snowboarding, bmx, skateboarding, etc! I'll always respect somebody doing what they love!

   And with that being said, I'LL ALWAYS STILL ROLLERBLADE TOO! I'm significantly better at skating than skateboarding, and so it provides a different type of enjoyment for me when I go to a good skatepark or skate spot. But for now, I want to give a genuine attempt at skateboarding! I can cruise around pretty proficiently, but I would like to get better!

   My goal is to be able to do a basic grind by the end of this coming summer. That's 4-6 months of good practice and honest dedication. As I said before, I've got a slight learning curve... but I'm also quite prepared to fall on my ass as expected! I'm willing to get a little hurt, in the name of expanding my horizons a little bit. I'm also excited to see how much it will improve my balance and coordination when blading. All in all, it will be a fun learning experience.

   My purpose for this blog is to maybe inspire somebody else out there who wants to try something similar but it worried about being "too old" to start. A year ago, I completely quit smoking cigarettes. Since then, I've been convinced that anybody can do anything if they put their mind to it. Hope you enjoy reading, and thank you for checking out my webpage!! I'll be posting pictures and videos of my progress when I feel it's suitable. Wish me luck!!!!!!