Skateboarding poser

Gave up the real stuff soon enough, I like my fingertips too much.

#1 Listen to "The Shredder" by Little Wings (written for guys like you)

If you are doing this for the love of skateboarding then forget how you look/your appearance and just have fun. I think it would be hard to get better worrying about how you look. Work on your balance because ultimately that's going to assist in having the most fun, whether pulling off a trick or avoiding falling on your face when your front wheels lock in a crack (keep your weight on your rear foot, or learn how to mongo).

If you're serious about more complicated tricks you're going to need a lot of patience and realize that you will get hurt and not to be scared of that. Learn how to fall without extending your arms out or back so that your radii, ulnas or wrist bones don't snap... most common injury. Rolling is key, your fleshy parts (shoulder and ass) are your body's best cushions. If you start to sketch out in a trick (sooner or later you'll realize you're gonna need a lot of speed to pull off a lot tricks), have a bail out planned.

The older you get, the harder it is to recover from injury so staying healthy is key. I've seen a lot of older guys (haha) in their late 20s get back into it only to get hurt and then rethink their intentions. I have been hurt more than anybody I know so persistence is also key.

For practical ollies you will need some speed to get up curbs without stalling or slowing down. Practice adjacent to some grassy area until you get confident enough.

Also RickyT to thread!

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Nick, you're a model?

This skill is also key once you hit the banks or pools. For visual aid, check out Steve Caballero in some of those early Bones Brigade videos. His weighting & unweighting is very visible, whether he's riding the streets, the banks or the vert, and it's powerful and smooth.

Of course, somewhat loosened trucks and wheels that are less than brick-hard help with this.

More cheap thrills: try to find some banked paved surface somewhere. Prime candidates: schoolyards, drainage ditches. Practice kick turns, carves, and slides on those banks. Don't forget to spraypaint "Velvet Fog Shredz" and "Lame-Ass Poseurs RULE!" on said surfaces at end of session.

Skating + only being concerned about how you look = recipe for disaster on so many levels....

And a street with low traffic volume beats a sidewalk for learning AND safety anyday (car can always pull out of a driveway without warning, you know).

The sturdy ramp is made of gold
And all our weight it's sure to hold
Our driveway ends down at the street
Out where the shredder can't be beat

I practice moves out in the yard
That way the landings aren't so hard
You've seen it in a magazine
It's not as easy as it seems

They filled the pool the other day
When all the neighborhood complained
It's just a quarter after three
And there's nowhere we've got to be

Down at the ditch beneath the sun
The shredder takes another run
My heart is free to ride away
Were you expecting it to stay?

When your ball bearings rust
You'll eat my dust
Call It a favor
Sooner or later
You're gonna fall

Shredder Sequel

The shredder skateramp will be spared
But he'll have to cut his long hair
And the tennies that he used to wear
Will soon be replaced by two soles made of air

And though it's just been a short while
His maneuvers have gone out of style
His shorts are too short yeah for sure
He was wild but the kids today laugh when they see

That the shredder is not what he was
His buddies believe it's because
The last spill left him shook up
He's had enough
"Concrete's unkind" he sadly sighs
Behind the wheel of his hatchback he cries

"All of my buddies have fled
And now it's alone that I shred
I drive along everyday
Listening to music I already have in my head

These cul de sacs still have their way
To my heart at the end of the day
And I act like I don't hear a thing
When I ride past the parking lot I hear them say:

'The shredder is not what he seems
When he's frightened he casually leans
He'll knock all the skin off his knees
Right before he
Brushes the dirt
'That doesn't hurt'
But he has tears in his eyes when he sleeps.'"

Want to start skateboarding again. Be known as that old guy skating around the neighborhood on weekends. Got in an accident and is in stable condition at County

First day on a deck in forever
Took me ten minutes but got my balance back