…are actually capable on their boards?

There’s three scroats outside my office trying to be all gnarly on their boards. So far (and I’ve been watching long enough to get a fair idea), it’s a mahoosive case of board flippage fail.

Then it struck me – I don’t think I’ve ever seen real-life skateboarders look rad and hardcore outside of a YouTube video.

Is this why skateboarders are never more than 14 years old?

Enlighten me, if you please.

You got to start somewhere.

Was thinking the same walking home from work last night. I see these
skaters nearly everyday in the same spot in town trying to do the same move/trick/stunt. They’re still as bad as they were a few weeks ago. Don’t look much fun to me trying the same move over n over n over with a fail every time.

You got to start somewhere.

Maybe they fail on the streets and get proper gnarly in skate parks?

For balance, I see very few people riding MTBs like they do in the videos..

For balance, I see very few people having sex like they do in the videos…

I used to skate back late ’80’s early 90’s when I was a kid in Liverpool (14-15years old)
I wasn’t very good however there was a small lad a few years younger than most of us turned up to the same spots a few times, he was still learning and used to fall off a lot, but he would just keep carrying on and would be there for hours and hours
His name was Geoff, I didn’t know his surname at the time. Found out few years later it was Rowley
If you dont know the name then google him

Aside from Particle Physics skateboarding is possibly the most difficult thing on earth.

Young kids see Brian Schmeckler doing flips and want to be him and its so hard to be consistent its stupid. After a few years they give up and get old enough to buy a car / find girls / alcohol / drugs or keep skating but are more out of the line of sight of IT managers.

I rarely if ever have such a bad day that resort to firearms and massive personal and property destruction, like I saw in a video once

Trying the same trick again and again pretty much works. It’s all about muscle memory. I cannot skateboard, but its the same principal for trials riding.

I see some pretty nifty skateboarders around here, but there is a half decent skatepark nearby.

Don’t look much fun to me trying the same move over n over n over with a fail every time.

I guess that’s why they get stoned? Or is this the reason they fail! 😆

but are more out of the line of sight of IT manager

Nice! 8)

Not guilty though. 8)

His name was Geoff, I didn’t know his surname at the time. Found out few years later it was Rowley
If you dont know the name then google him

* goes off to You Tube *

it never looks like the films on youtube cause you cant edit out the falls in real life.

I see stuff like this all the time 😉

my son, bless him, loved skateboarding (and still does), though never that good at it, I think it’s quite a tough skill to master. Used to take him to radlands during the hols, spend the whole day in there and never really improved. But there were some bloody impressive skaterboarders in there !

You don’t practice the tricks you can do.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWUHOpHII4A[/video]

The vids are fantastic.

Reality is less prosaic, it seems.

But maybe I’m looking at this all wrong? Are ever-repeating fails from young ‘boarders really telling us that they still haven’t given up on ambition in the face of life’s inevitable disappointments?

Aside from Particle Physics skateboarding is possibly the most difficult thing on earth.

Pretty much. I skateboarded for about 5 years and never really got that good. I think I landed a handful of 360 flips and a few switch frontside flips in my whole time riding a skateboard.

Mountain biking is much easier.

Weird that something so tough should have a slacker rep. 😯

To be fair to the guys who do it, I tried it once for a couple of hours and damn near broke my back.

I remember during a Powell demo at Lem Spa vert ramp before it got moved to Wheels – Bucky Lasek was trying his famous impossible tailgrab to nose and that took him about 10 goes and was still sketchtastic. And even Tony Hawk bails in real life. The only skater to make everyting I’ve ever seen in real life was The Gonz but thats cus he’s like a proper real living God.

I never see boarders crunching their nuts into iron railings like I see in the videos either. Unfortunately.

Trying the same trick again and again pretty much works. It’s all about muscle memory.

That must be why all the lads I see skating round here are so good at not being able to land a kickflip then.

Muscle memory from failing to land them, all day, every day, for the last couple of years 😉

They probably laugh at the middle-aged man who sees himself as some sort os Superman, divesting himself of his corporate wear (or t-shirt if he is a real STW IT support stereotype) and leaping, lycra-clad upon his niche commuter steed outside the office and Strava-ing his commute home.

They probably laugh at the middle-aged man who sees himself as some sort os Superman, divesting himself of his corporate wear (or t-shirt if he is a real STW IT support stereotype) and leaping, lycra-clad upon his niche commuter steed outside the office and Strava-ing his commute home.

* suspects TooTall knows who I am and where I work *

😳

TT – Guilty as charged 😳

I saw a gang of youths in Chicago on a bit of urban jungle concrete skateboarding once. The only differences between them and their UK equivalent was that they were all black, and they were all very good! I watched them for a while.

I’ve seen one or two folk landing tricks at the skate park in Farnborough, but it was very underwhelming.

I’d agree that skateboarding is properly hard! I messed around a bit in my mid teens on a board but could never really do any tricks!

I started snowboarding in April and can do some rail tricks already!

There’s a local MTB jump spot near where I live, the jumps are big, and most of the kids are on jump bikes, single speed, no suspension type of thing.

Oh, how they sniggered when me and my CX buddies road up the hill on our weekly CX ride, lycra’d up to the nines. I actually turned red.

The skater condescension quota in this thread is diminishing to danger levels… surely I can still feel a little bit superior?

8)