Skateboarding Forming my Life.

Well so naturally I’m a skateboarder. I love to skate. I love the feeling of being able to get somewhere and have fun while doing it. The feeling of flying down a sidewalk and the only thing propelling you is the board underneath you and the legs you’re pushing it with is one of the greatest things in the world. Being able to jump over a set of stairs and land with your weight pushing on you feels like conquering the world. The worst thing though is when you jump these stairs and your legs seem to stop working then you end up hitting the concrete sliding across your face and just sitting there like wow what just happened. I am more of a skate park kind of guy.
I have been skating for probably about seven years. I have had the ups and the downs of the whole thing. I have had sponsors, lost sponsors, met people, and yet through it all have not lost any people. The sponsors are great having you doing something that you love and giving me free stuff for it. Skateboarding is a sport where you risk yourself every time you step on the board. There are so many things you can do with a skateboard though. You can skate, use it as a weapon (not recommended), and you can even use it as a seat if need be.
There are only a couple of places you can do this at, the local skate park, your neighborhood, and any local place that looks like it will be fun. My favorite place to skate at is probably the park. The environment at the skate park is very fun. All the people there doing the same thing you do and having everyone just trying to have a fun time and impress everyone else to.
The one thing that never changes at a skate park though is the groups of people. You have the good people, the bad people, the posers, and last, and my favorite, the old schoolers. The old schoolers are the ones that I hang out with. These are the guys who have been in it since it started. They have seen the sport blow up and watch it dwindle away over time. These guys are not here to impress anyone they are there to skate. These guys go the fastest, grind the farthest, and fly the highest. I like the oldschoolers because they love to push people to do better. They are also always there for help.
The one thing that these guys really like to do is what they call a “Death Race”. These death races are races in where they get like twenty people all lined up on the same track and tell them the prize is like ten dollars and a beer.(I race for the money not the beer) Well this race is serious to these guys. They pad up and get ready to race. I decided one day after they kept asking and kept asking that I was going to do this race. The race is about to begin and they tell me don’t go inside on the first turn. I thought about it and decided I needed to get in the front. The race begins and to my amazement I was in the front at the start. As we are approaching the first turn I realize that they are catching up. Next thing I know I have an old guy on my left and right. The turn comes up and I make it through the first part ok. The second half comes up and I get sandwiched between these two guys. One of them nudges me and the other gives me a swift kick to the front of my board. Have you ever heard that song where they are like “Fly like an eagle?” Well lets just say I fit the part.
I flew probably a couple feet from the ground and then, next thing you know gravity took over and I smacked into the ground. Naturally I would have put my hands out, but due to the fact that these guys were so close I had no time and my face made contact with the ground.
If you think about it concrete is no pillow. The feeling of my face grinding against the concrete is indescribable. My face had cuts on it. My arms had cuts on them. My hands had cuts on them to. “This concrete has ruined my face,” that is what my first thoughts were naturally, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Couple cuts and bruises covered with band aids and I went back to skate.
Skateboarding is a big part of my life. My skateboard has gotten me through thick and thin. When I was feeling down I got on my board. Through it all the people and sport haven’t changed that much, the fun is still there. Falling has ended my skateboard career but not my love of the sport. I still have my board and think to myself when am I going to get back on it. I’m not sure I ever will but hopefully I can do it again sometime. Im not scared of falling or getting back on my board. I just really feel as though it isn’t what it used to be.