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Introducing The Newer Skaterats To The Joy Of Old School Shaped Boards / Rails / Big Wheels

CastpolymerCastpolymer
edited January 2014 in Bones Bearings®
One of the funnier things I notice when I go to our local skatepark is the complete and utter lack of differentiation on boards / trucks and decks with the young'uns. 7 1/2" - 8" popsicle deck, tiny Thunder/ Venture / Mini - Logo trucks and some nondescript 52mm wheel. When I ride my old school shape / new school concave and kick nose decks, they all want to try them out. I am more than happy let them have a go. Almost to a person, they say they have never seen a shape like that, big trucks like that or bigger ( 60 mm tall ) wheels like those and the board rides " so smooth." I tell them I need a board that is appropriate for my size ( 9" width +, 15" wheelbase and bigger wheels for speed / keeping speed up) and has some style to suit my tastes. They always ask about the rails on my boards. I tell them why I have them and then show them when I do a parking block long board slide as smooth as these old bones can. I then ask them why they chose the board they have. They pretty much say it was whatever the local skateshop had or what they got in a complete on - line or as a gift. I then ask them why not pick a board that they like, that has some style and fits what they are doing skatewise.To a person they say, " it is hard to do " whatever ollie based trick they think they need to learn and land " on a different board. The thing that makes me laugh a bit at this is I watch them trying to land some of these tricks and they almost never do. Not even close. It is almost like they are going thru the motions and not doing the trick to improve or have fun. When asked, most them seem to like doing other tricks and riding the bowls than the ollie based new street stuff. I taught a kid how to do a boneless 180 on a slight transition a couple of weeks ago and he said it was an awesome trick and asked if there were any other " board grabbing tricks." I told him to check out Street Skating with Rob and Natas on youtube for a whole new world of tricks. I even brought a launch ramp to the park and left it there ( I don't know if it has been clipped yet ) just so they could experience blasting an air of one like I did as a wee pup. Anyway, I really think the youngsters are primed for another move to a much more free form skating that incorporates old school street, bowl riding and new school street with a much wider variety of board sizes, shapes, etc.It does my old Grinch heart good to see them loving the same stuff I learned how to do 20+ years ago.

Comments

  • cwalker3cwalker3
    Your local skatepark sounds awful!  The major spots around here have a good mix of 80's, 90's and modern style skaters/setups.  Everyone gets along well and seems to support each others styles - we try out each other boards, and many of the kids have bigger bowl type setups in addition to their pops.  And the younger generation - man, the stuff they pull off.  When I was younger once in a while you ran into a kid who made the whole park stop and watch.  Nowadays there always seems to be 5 or more of these kids around pulling off video worthy lines like it's no big thing...
  • CastpolymerCastpolymer
    edited January 2014
    I have to say the park itself is great ( well built, close to my house and in a public park ), but the skater's seem to lack that certain " something " that makes them stand out from others. I have been there over ten times since my arm healed up and have seen only a couple of skaters I would consider " good." Most are trying tricks way over their heads and seem to have no interest in learning and mastering the basic stuff before moving on to more difficult tricks. I spent the first couple of sessions just relearning pumping from the bottom of the bowl, front / back kickturns on transtions and dropping in. I did it over and over until muscle memory started to take hold. On the flipside, I watched a kid would could not even ollie a parking block to try to ollie off a 6' tall, 45 degree transition on his board. He kept pulling his board to the left in the exact same way time after time. I quietly suggested, after watching him bail like twenty times, that he approach the trick with his board slightly to the right to compensate for the pull to the left. He blew me off, tried it a few more times, failing the same way and rolled his ankle pretty badly. When I was relearning boardslides, I had a little kid suggest I pull out of the slide a bit earlier. I took his advice and landed it on the first try. From the mouths of babes. ;) I am sure there are some pretty good skaters here, I just have not seen them yet. Perhaps they will come out when the weather gets a bit warmer. I grew up skating in Colorado. When it hits 50 degrees and there is no snow on the ground, it is time to skate! I do have to say I can see why skaters are not fans of the kids riding scooters. They just seem out of place and very limited for tricks.
  • NICK SPESIANICK SPESIA
    edited February 2014
    hey castpolymer.. did you ever hit up highlands ranch redstone skatepark? that was my spot when lived in Colorado. So many great spots, but that place was the best. great vibe, never crowded, lots of great skaters hang there, i met a lot of cool dudes i skated with weekly. i miss that mini bowl. so mellow..so smooth. Everything in CA is either way too tech for my old ass or its from 1979 and has no coping.. its really weird here...:(
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