Sunday, June 16, 2013

Skateboarding: I think that I shall never flip, a trick lovely as a kickflip

Whoever was those dudes who had the crazy idea of attaching roller skate wheels to wooden boards, you have my respect.

I am a skateboarder. I have been riding on a skateboard almost 11 years now. I have been ollie-ing down and up stuff, sliding on ledges, impressing people by doing some tricks, and trying to get my kickflips to look as clean as possible for 11 years.


How did I even choose this sport?


Tracing it back, the curiosity of the sport sprouted from another hobby of mine, which is common for kids: Video games. I was (and still am) an avid fan of the Tony Hawk skateboarding game series. I grew up on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 & 4 and spent most of my play time on doing all the goals in every level, unlocking skaters and skating gears, and just working on combos. Even though it is a game that has so many impossibilities, like landing perfectly from jumping off the tip of a clock tower to flat ground, or grinding electrical lines, or landing kickflips perfectly every time, I saw the real, possible potential of the sport. Maybe doing darkslides all the way along a 20-meter power line isn't possible, but I do realized that sliding your board along a rail IS possible. Maybe doing a manual after jumping off that clock tower isn't possible, but I did know then that going into a manual after some tricks ARE possible. These ideas went through my head and that made my curiosity grow and grow.