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.
Also, during that time, by coincidence, the family who lived just across our house had their relatives visiting over. One of them was a skateboarder, and he is the very first skateboarder I actually met and talked with. I saw him go out of their house with his board and started to do tricks just out in the street that separates our house from theirs.
By that time, that was it. With what I saw from him, and the influence of the Tony Hawk games, I knew right away that I WANTED TO GO SKATEBOARDING. So one day, while my dad was watching me play Tony Hawk games, I said to him, "Dad, I want a skateboard." I didn't really remember exactly how he reacted then, but it wasn't a negative response. He seemed okay with the idea of me skateboarding (just as long as I don't get injured badly, of course). I got my first skateboard not too long after.
The first runs of my skateboard, was spent just riding it and finding the balance. Probably took me about 2-3 days to get it right. By the time that I decided I was ready, I wanted to learn those tricks now. The skater from across the street was still staying in their house so I waited for him to skate outside, and then I went outside as well, taking my new board with me.
I asked him if he could teach me a some tricks. He seemed happy at the thought of a kid my age giving skateboarding a try and said yes. First tricks I learned from him was putting my feet under an upside-down board, and then a slight jump, which flips the board around 180 degrees and landing on top of it. Seems easy but the feeling I got from doing that was amazing. He then taught me a few more, like how to caveman a skateboard and ride away, even some primo tricks and then finally, he taught me how to ollie.
And the rest is history.
Nowadays, I don't see him visit the house across anymore and I heard from his brother he stopped skating. Nevertheless, I thank that guy for having his relatives live across our house, for skating just outside our house, and for teaching me what he knew about skateboarding. Even though you apparently stopped skating, you are one of my skating heroes.
Why did I choose this sport?
Most young boys would choose basketball as their main sport. I wasn't one of those kids. I was never really curious enough about the sport to actually want to try it. It's not something to do with my height (My height is below average for my age), but basketball doesn't really appeal to me much. Probably the only thing that interests me in terms of basketball are trick shots.
Most sports, like basketball or tennis, have a set of rules that are followed for each and every game. A fixed set that determines what is allowable and what is not. Regulations that helps shape a good game. In either sports, you can't throw or hit the ball too hard or too far. You can't continue to dribble or hit the ball beyond the court's area. Otherwise, you would be fouled. Skateboarding doesn't have any of those, and that is why exactly I love it.
Skateboarding, in general, have no rules, no fouls, and no fixed area to play on. There is pretty much no figure of authority in skateboarding. The FREEDOM of having to do what you want, how you want, and where you want, is what makes skateboarding so damn fun. It's a sport where you are the coach of yourself. A sport where you are free to choose what you want to do.
Even though it is different from the other sports, it is still the same as them in a few ways. It is also a sport that you can do with your friends to help pass the time. It is also a sport that can be good exercise (Skateboarding will workout your legs a lot). A sport where helping each other is encouraged. A sport where you'll be meeting people and making new friends. A sport that has an active and growing community. A sport where "having fun" is the sportsman's mindset.
As fun as it is, it also poses risks just like other sports. Risks that only become real when you fail to be a good judge of what you can do. Risks that come from the environment you skate in. Risks that could harm and even fatally injure you. Just remember that when you skate, you skate of your own accord. You are responsible for any injury you might get. If you're discouraged from skateboarding because of these risks, I don't blame you. Whether you choose to try to skate next time or not is up to you. But remember: in the words of some graffiti artist sprayed on some wall that I saw a picture of on the Internet, "Fear only makes the wolf look bigger."
Due to school works, I unintentionally took a break from skating for the past half-year or so, and have gotten back to skateboarding just this summer. I have not made miraculous progress in my skills. I do have gotten my ollies to be as high as it used to be. My kickflips have made about 10-20% progress. I can land them more often now (despite the fact that most of the time, they still look horribly awkward). But that won't stop me from skateboarding at all. This is the first sport I've ever loved and the sport where I can truly say at the end of the day, "I did my best. I practiced as hard as I could today." It's a sport that leaves me showered with my own sweat every time but I don't complain about it at all. That feeling of having your shoes slide against the griptape. The sound of the tail of your board hitting against the concrete floor. The split-second you are in mid-air. The sound and impact of landing your trick. The breeze that blows on my face when I ride away. I am a skateboarder of 11 years and I still love it all. I love skateboarding. Do you?
Here's to the non-skating people who may not be familiar with some terms I used
Skateboarding jargon:
Griptape - A sheet of sandpaper that is stuck to the surface of the board to give the skater a better grip of the board with his feet.
Nose - The front end of the skateboard.
Tail - The back end of the skateboard.
Ollie - Jumping by lifting the board off the ground with both feet. A fundamental trick in skateboarding.
Kickflip - A trick where the skater pops the board like an ollie, flicks his front foot of the side of the front of the skateboard, which makes the board flip 360 degrees, and landing back on the board. Basic, yet frustrating.
Grinding - A skateboarding maneuver where the board is sliding along an edge, like a rail or a ledge.
Darkslides - A kind of grind where the skater lands the board upside-down on an edge and grinds on the griptape. Invented by Rodney Mullen, pretty much like everything else.
Manual - A trick where you ride your skateboard balancing on two wheels by lifting either the nose or the tail of your board.
Caveman - A trick where you hop on your skateboard from standing/walking/running.
Primo - A freestyle trick where the board is flipped 90 degrees to the side and the skater stands on the wheels.
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