How YouTube Rekindled My Love for Sport, part 2: Skateboarding

Adventurous Sports Look Exciting 

Continuing my story from last week, I have repeatedly been inspired to action by watching adventurous sports on YouTube. Sports like roller skating and BMX.

This time you’ll see inspiration form YouTube skateboarders

Last week covered inspiration from YouTube roller skaters, and this week I’ll cover a very popular sport that involves a deck on wheels.

As we did last week, let’s explore another sport to see if it inspires you. I ended up running out of time again this week, so I’m covering skateboarding alone this week. I’ll get to scootering next time.

Even if you don’t want to try it yourself, you’ll benefit from observing talented people young and old doing this fun sport.

I’ll add my thoughts from my own skateboarding experience as well.

Skateboarding

What skateboarding looks like 

My thoughts on skateboarding 

Like roller skating, I tried to learn as a child then as a teenager. I lived in such a rural place that the pavement was too rough and dirty that rolling along the pavement just didn’t work out. Plus my nearest buddies for skating were too far away, so it was a solo sport for me.

Now living part time in the city and part-time rural, I feel much more connected. We have many skateboarding parks and paved paths. Today’s skateboards don’t even need smooth pavement! All terrain wheels are a thing, and they are actually effective now.

I prefer my Landyachtz long board. It’s the most forgiving. I sold my Sector 9 longboard because it was higher off the ground and becoming quite springy after 10 years. I’m not sure if everyone experiences this, but longboards (for me) become more flexible over time. My new board is low to the ground, super sturdy, can go offroad (hard packed dirt), and has big soft wheels to absorb imperfections on paths.

Along with my complete boards, I have collected all sorts of wheels and decks over the years. I have two surfskates, the long board, a cruiser (small casual board), and one “popsicle” that I don’t know how to do any tricks on.

Types of skateboards

In the collection of videos above, you’ll see a variety of boards:

• Dance longboards
• Surfskate skateboards (they have a turny front end that feels like surfing)
• Popsicle (the type that has both ends round for tricks on street or in parks)
• Downhill longboards
• Cruiser style and retro
• All-terrain skateboards
• Mountainboards (to be discussed in a later post) – these are bigger like a snowboard and have pneumatic wheels

Where to buy skateboards 

• In Victoria, B.C. Again I’ll mention Zumiez in Mayfair Mall and Influence board shop on Quadra near McKenzie carries Moxie Lolly (I got mine there!) – both of these have been helpful to me and choosing parts and pieces
• Artavi shop on Quadra near downtown is also excellent. They sell Landyachtz skateboards there and have been very patient also with my beginner questions
• Your own city is likely to have skateboard shops nowadays at least in the city core

Tips while shopping for a skateboard

• Try to see a variety of choices in person; the feel varies from one skateboard to another, and staff are likely to adjust the tightness of trucks to suit your taste
• skateboards range in price from cheap, less than $200 Canadian to over $400
• Long boards and surfskatesare more expensive typically
• Being a beginner, I suggest starting with the best quality you can afford – I would avoid the brands and models carried in department stores even if it appears to be made by a brand name
• a cheap board might not ride or balance well, when cornering or doing tricks, so it might give you a bad experience
• With a cheap crappy board, you’re likely to want to upgrade soon so you might as well start with a good enough beginner board from a real skateboard shop if possible
• I would also steer clear of a used board because you don’t know what kind of stress it lived with
• If you are building a board from scratch, don’t reuse the bolts or nuts
• If it rains a lot in your area, ask your local shop about bearings that can handle rain; I’ve seen various water sealed bearing terminology and I’m not sure it’s actually worth investing in
• If you skate a lot, expect to replace the bearings and wheels overtime
• Wheels come in different hardness; softer wheels absorb bumps better but harder wheels are faster and might be more suitable for parks and general skating around town
• I personally prefer soft wheels but harder wheels would certainly be more durable
• If available, ask your skater buddies or strangers at the park who have more experience

Where to skateboard

This leads to another list. It includes much of the same info I shared for roller skating last time. You can skate pretty much anywhere:

• Lacrosse boxes are perfect for learning, when not in use; sweep if possible
• School yards may have smooth paved areas or paths 
• Bike and multi-purpose paths
• Pump tracks often suit skateboards but might be designed for bikes
• Hard-packed gravel works well with all-terrain and soft wheels
• Paved basketball/hockey areas of public parks
• Indoor ramps and parks
• Driveways and cul-de-sacs that are free of traffic and dirt
• And of course outdoor skateboard parks

Tips before you start to get geared up – same as for roller skating:

• Look for level areas clear of people, traffic, rocks, and dirt—and have no skating restrictions 
• Please avoid skating in tennis courts; the pavement is designed for tennis not wheels and is probably expensive to repair
• Avoid areas that get debris from trees and playgrounds, unless you love sweeping 
• Paths with grass on both sides can be great 

Safety gear for skateboarding

This is literally a repeat of the roller skating advice last time: 

• Find or repurpose some safety gear—at least a helmet and knee pads 
• Ideally get a tooth guard and wrist guard, plus padding for hip, elbow, and shoulder 
• Get the right size of padded accessories, snug to stay in place while you fall and tumble or slide – knee pads will likely get a lot of use early on
• When trying new skating moves, I take my broom, hockey pads, and multipurpose helmet to a lacrosse box when nobody’s around 

I now have padded shorts for roller skating so I use those for skateboarding. They are very low profile compared to the hockey shorts, so if I’m out in public, they make more sense. If I’m alone and nobody is around, I keep hockey shorts in the car so I can throw those on top. They provide a heck of a lot more protection including my spine.

I always wear a helmet and knee pads as well, and usually have my tooth guard on too.

Tips for scared skaters 

• get geared up and go stand on your board on carpet or grass
• Then step on and off, and get used to stepping on from either side and jumping off to either side
• When you’re ready to give it a go, try to get some speed alongside offence or just pull yourself along so you can feel the sensation without worrying about balance or falling
• Sweep the area so you don’t need to worry about hitting dirt 
• Practice falling on grass – tumble to one side or the other
• Find some tips for beginners and practicing falling on YouTube
• Do a proper warmup so no part of your body is stiff if you make sudden moves 
• Get some time on your board; crouch low
• Look where you want to go, and if you’re having trouble turning or staying on course, try reaching one arm out in front so that your hips follow it

It’s okay to start slowly into rolling sports like skateboarding. Enjoy the process, and focus on having fun. You might only have energy for 10 minutes the first several times. That’s OK, use the time you’re there to observe other people and get advice. 

Next time, I plan to cover scootering. I apologize for not getting to it this week. I really had hoped to combine scooters and skateboarding. I find that a lot of people like one or the other but not both. I like both for different reasons. You’ll see what they are next week!

By Heidi Bada