Skateboarding: Starting over from scratch

[Hawthorne]

Well here's the deal, 2 or 3 years ago I was a pretty damn good skater, but I left it off for moutnainbiking and BMX_ing, but now I'm getting back into it and I found out something disturbing. I've forgotten absolutely everyting.

I've gotten back my fear of the speed and falling off, thigns you overcome in your first days, I've forgotten do to even simle tricks like Ollie, Heelplif, Fakie flip, Manual, Nose manual and so on. Before I was able to do an Impossible and was a pretty good street & ramp skater. Now I've forgotten completely everything and of course I'm too nervous to skate somewhere publicly cus I suck so much :(

So, if you've got any ideas tell me, the fact is there's no skate park in my town, even though we have a community of over 500 skaters, th current mayor is an idiot and always promises and never does anything about it. And since the only places where we can skate are so little and I'm too nervous to go there and embarass myself, how am I to get back on track and into skating.

For info I've got an Element skate, with Independent tracks and CCS wheels.

[Skullflower]

The same thing happened to me. I used to be good but I got into BMX and Mountain Biking also. I just stopped but I know how to kickflip, heelflip and ollies are really easy. You could buy soft trucks. Then you could practice in your house. Thats my advice.

[Hawthorne]

Tried in my houe, but the floor's too slippery, and msot of it's in rugs, which make it impossible to lift my skateboard.

[Skullflower]

Well I dont know. You always could just face up to your fears and go outside. You seem to have a nice setup.

[Hawthorne]

And drive like a newbie in front of professionals and friends. I'd rather die.

[Skullflower]

Hmm. Go to an out of the way place to practice.

[Hawthorne]

That's the problem, there's no palce with good cement for skating that isn't used. I might try getting there early, like practice from 5 to 6-7 am or even earlier.

[Skullflower]

Oh man. Theres no place you can go that isnt skated?

[IrishDutchman]

YOU GUYS BMX?!!!


*pant pant*

I suggest you start running. Right now...

----------------Psychopathic part ends here.

Srry, there's kinda a feud between skaters and BMX'ers over here, but because you're picking up skating, I won't kill you yet. :P

Well, I'm shite and onions at skateboarding, so I won't be of much help.
Learning the olly is a real bitch. You *could* do one, so to what extent have you forgotten it? Do you hop around like a retard like when you try to do it, or is it just that you need to get the hang of it again? there's a big difference.

And drive like a newbie in front of professionals and friends. I'd rather die.

Feck that! Go out there and skate, and people poke fun at you, keep skating anyway. If someone is anyway decent they just leave you be or even help you. If they don't, they are assholes, and who cares what an asshole thinks of you?

[Skullflower]

I used to BMX. I am trying to get back into skateboarding but I lost my board. There's always been a feud between BMXer's and Skaters.

[GenocideAlive]

Hey, I don't want to sound like one of those stuffy grownups on "Kids Next Door" or something like that, but my advice is to get your ass out there with your friends and have fun.

If they make fun of you for not being OMFG PRO at skateboarding, then they weren't your fucking friends to begin with and you need to find somewhere else to hang out. If they just have some fun with you while you're learning the ropes again and you're exaggerating, you need to suck it up and quit being such an emo crybaby about it. OMFGZ I'D RATER DIII!11

Seriously--it's a skateboard and some kids. Try not to end your life at 14 because you're not a pro skater. I doubt that you're going to be the center of attention just because it works that way in your head. Treat it like a hobby instead of your career; although I'm sure your parents would be thrilled if you took school and your teachers' scorn as seriously as you take a couple of punks that hang out in public parks.

[Hawthorne]

My city has no skate parks, so there's no room for feuds. We live together, but yes no place where we don't skate, there's so little places and so much of us we even have to arrange times & stuff. Our mayor is a f***ing jacka**.

[Hawthorne]

Hey, I don't want to sound like one of those stuffy grownups on "Kids Next Door" or something like that, but my advice is to get your ass out there with your friends and have fun.

If they make fun of you for not being OMFG PRO at skateboarding, then they weren't your fucking friends to begin with and you need to find somewhere else to hang out. If they just have some fun with you while you're learning the ropes again and you're exaggerating, you need to suck it up and quit being such an emo crybaby about it. OMFGZ I'D RATER DIII!11

Seriously--it's a skateboard and some kids. Try not to end your life at 14 because you're not a pro skater. I doubt that you're going to be the center of attention just because it works that way in your head. Treat it like a hobby instead of your career; although I'm sure your parents would be thrilled if you took school and your teachers' scorn as seriously as you take a couple of punks that hang out in public parks.

Actually I'm fifteen. And by my outer lokos I look like 17, being a 1,87 meters tall ( that's either 6'0 or 6'1 ). I used to have a career, I attended and went out of Bulgaria in competitions. I had a few classifications in the top 10 and even 4th once. THe major problems are that I;m imbalanced, because I;ve grown and gained a few pounds and I'm really like a new guy at it. Also, I haven't got any friends that skate in Bulgaria anymore. Most of them whih still do it are professionals in other countries, and the ones that still aren't don't have skateboard at the moment. So really, doing embarrassing sutff infront of total strangers :(

[IrishDutchman]

If they make fun of you for not being OMFG PRO at skateboarding, then they weren't your fucking friends to begin with and you need to find somewhere else to hang out.

QFT, have some karma!

[King_Critter]

Hmm... Well, do you have a garage? You could always practice in there, if you wanted. If not, then I sugest finding someplace no one else is at... I know you've already mentiond that there's no place that isn't taken already, but I refuse to belive that. Just go to out of the way places -- the very edge of town, in the allyways, wherever the terrain sucks... :P

I'm confidant that you'll find someplace. And btw, the same thing happend to me when I stopped skating for the winter; I gained some hight and weight, and was completly thrown off. :<