I'm Too Old for Skateboarding

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 16th Dec 2005 - 14:25 GMT

I decided long ago that boarding, blading, skiing or even running is not for me. I'll break my leg falling off a barstool, thank you very much.
(You only bruised your ego. Give it another try and you will be yelling, "I'm flying!")

GGP: 16th Dec 2005 - 14:51 GMT

This story has it all: drama, adventure, the thrill of the challenge, the agony of defeat, and a wonderful sense of humor...a cautionary tale for our time! Much enjoyed.

Peter: 16th Dec 2005 - 15:00 GMT

hehehehe. i still ride my longboard. its slower, slacker, and harder to crash on. though, i must admit, there was an unfortunate spill on it earlier this year that required me to shell out $150 for a new mobile, as i shattered the one i had thats to said incident :(

jack: 16th Dec 2005 - 15:09 GMT

ha ha ha ha very funny and very sad. you are reaching an age where you see the years doing things to your strength. i must applaude you for doing what you did. you were going rather well. but it was'nt your fault. the board hit somethiong. in brooklyn in the fifties we made skate boards from one roller skate and a 2x4. we would unscrew the roller skate and then nail it to the 2x4. the board was about 4 feet long and the front roller skate was in the front and the other in the rear. most of the time we would nail a wooden crate from the produce store onto the board and then we had a scooter. i was pretty proficient on those wheels in those days but i soon found that the next ten years took a toll. i had gotten bigger and a little clumbsier. but the army rangers got me back into shape and they took a lot out of me. it is all right, dont worry, at 29 your still a young man. be smart, exercise as much as you can and do yoga. my mother is going on 92 and she does her yoga and wears her short shorts with high heels and walks around the hills in california.

JJ: 17th Dec 2005 - 00:45 GMT

Catherine: I may give it another go. But next time I'll drink fewer beers beforehand.

GGP: You're very kind.

Peter: Sounds awful. I've never destroyed a board thankfully.

Jack: Reminds me of Back to the Future when Marty McFly rips the kid's scooter apart to make a skateboard out of it.

jeeff: 17th Dec 2005 - 20:03 GMT

i've been in a couple bike accidents, and each time there's a kind of "get away" embarassment, even in the case where i got the door prize and broke my collarbone. i just wanted to get the hell out of there.

JJ: 21st Dec 2005 - 22:33 GMT

Choo:
Yes! I wish I had one of those.

Jeeff:
That's exactly it. "Get away embarrassment" Describes the feeling perfectly.

haj: 3rd Jan 2006 - 20:01 GMT

I've been thinking about taking up skateboarding. I'm 33 (but active and in good shape). Am I crazy?

Hector: 23rd Jan 2006 - 05:04 GMT

Here I am with 30 years and 3 skateboards, a short one a carver and a pintail. I just can't imagine miself without a skateboard. A word of advice for you all, get a longboard with 72-80 / 70-80a wheels and a 180-200 mm trucks and you will be flying over asphalt. Forget old times. This is here and now and is funnier than ever. Longboards are waaay better than anyting you ever ridden before. Trust me on that. Get one right now and get some healthy hills.

anon (bmly-cache-10.server.ntli.net): 23rd Jan 2006 - 16:11 GMT

"I decided long ago" . . ."never to walk in anyone's shadow" . . . Go see the film "Chlorine": Steve Alba is still ripping at 40.

Skate or Spin Dry!

10¥ - tenyen.net

Allio: 24th Jan 2006 - 20:01 GMT

I tried every fing from dancing to bungie jumpung and skateboarding is atmost..my best ..~~../

Jono Cono: 3rd Feb 2006 - 03:27 GMT

That's a great story, well written. I used to skateboard as well and I know the feeling of hitting a small pebble or your wheels locking up on your for some reason due to the terrain. You definitely go flying man, the worst is if you just ollied down a set of stairs going fast, you just pulled off a tight landing and your wheels bite a rock, the board instantly stops and the continuation of motion is you bouncing off a curb on the other side of the street. Ahhh those were the days, of course back then it didn't faze you at all, just get up and do it all over again. Now I'd probably cry if I knocked my shin doing an inverted 180 heel flip.

Empress Signs LLC : 2nd Mar 2006 - 19:44 GMT

LMAO, Sorry. But wait til you have your own kids like me. I just was smart enough to show them my 360 and tic tac skillz and to not go beyond my driveway. But stay in touch with that kid at heart none the less.

Susannah: 23rd Oct 2006 - 14:26 GMT

Stories like these are the reason I like to watch "Jackass" so much.. those guys are way old to be doing what they're doing!

Jason: 10th Jan 2007 - 20:28 GMT

I'm 31. I'm married. I'm a programmer. I'm 15 lbs. overweight. I ordered a complete board last night on the web. I've never really skated before, but dammit, I'm going to give it a shot. As ridiculous as it sounds, I've been searching around for stuff on the web along the lines of: "too old" "skateboard" "new"... you get the idea. Being confined to a cubicle day in and day out is making me salivate for a rush of freedom. I'm excited to push my boundaries, regain some balance, and quite possibly break my arm (never done that either!). 30 is the new 20, right? Wish me luck...

Brad: 11th Jan 2007 - 02:22 GMT

I skated for about 3 solid years starting when I was 13 (I'm 20 now). I got half decent and used to have a blast, while it got us into a little bit of trouble, it really kept us out of a lot worse stuff we could have gotten into. It was in August 2002 when I kind of hurt my foot and a week later got a job, together they put an end to my skating days. It just never clicked after that for whatever reason, even though I was only off of the board a few weeks at most to let my foot get back to 100%. In the summer of 2005 I started skating again every weekend and sometimes after work/before and after classes during the week. Then it kind of fizzled out again. I skated a few weeks ago for the first time in a little over a year, and it still just doesn't feel right anymore. I can enjoy just pushing around a little bit doing manuals and popping what few tricks my feet can still do but it's always frustrating because you have to relearn a lot of the stuff you got so used to and I'm not patient enough to do that anymore.

If you are just getting into skating, just have a lot of patience, unless you have natural talent, then you are lucky. It can be a lot of fun, or a lot of pain, but I learned how to fall skateboarding and that's at least one thing that sticks with me today, and still keeps me from getting hurt when I do stupid things. I'm done rambling now, so go out and have some fun!

Tash: 16th Jan 2007 - 14:21 GMT

Your never to old to skate. Look at half the pro skaters out there. Some of them are in their thirties and most have families. Maybe you need to get back into shape and skating is a great way to do it.

Jason: 31st Jan 2007 - 14:44 GMT

Followup from: Jason: 10th Jan 2007 - 20:28 GMT

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I got my board. It's been really cold and icy here in IA, so I've been stuck practicing in my basement and garage. Working on figuring out ollies for 45 minutes will work up a great sweat! I've actually managed to land a couple, and haven't taken too big of a spill yet. It feels good to see improvement from time to time.

The biggest thing I've had to watch out for, safety wise, is ankles. Make sure you have a good set of skate shoes that provide a wide footprint. This will definitely help prevent rolling/spraining.

It was such a mental game for me when I first popped my board off the hard garage floor. I felt for sure that I was going to go horizontal, and smash into a million pieces. That didn't happen, thank god. Anyway, it's nice to see and receive so much encouragement. I'm having a great time so far.
Jason

Brad: 31st Jan 2007 - 16:52 GMT

Cool man, keep it up. Not sure if you are or not, but it always helped me to be rolling a little to do ollies. Even at my prime, doing things stationary were hard. Basements are fun if you have room. I learned how to do heelflips in my basement room during the winter a long time ago at our old place. And I had a friend with a big open basement and we used to take our rails and boxes down there and skate all day during the winter, it was a lot of fun.

Richard: 10th Apr 2007 - 22:19 GMT

Hey all! I just wanted to tell the late-starters I started skateboarding when I was 29 (almost 30). I just got 31 now, and I'm so happy I made that decision then. In the first few months I got quite a lot of bruises and one time I slipped and hit my head so hard that the lights went out for a few secs (I overchallenged myself then).
But when the weather is good I skate all the little distances I have to go in the city. I also go out a lot just for fun. I'm sure you'll love just flowing through the city, it is a great feeling. I must say I do not have an amazing lot of tricks down already. Seems you learn a lot less fast at this age..
But practicing is fulfilling itself. It totally takes your mind of other stuff. It forces your attention to here and now. Love it.
Go do it.

Darter: 18th May 2007 - 01:23 GMT

Yea, a pebble can stop a very small wheel. But if you had had 70 mm soft wheels you maybe would have just noticed a little bump sound. Smooth as a Buick. Keep skating.

bixaboo: 13th Jun 2007 - 00:42 GMT

eh, life is short!!! i started longboarding two months ago, fell on my arse twice (got yelled at by my older brother and was told not to bow to the judges anymore because i looked like an idiot...as if the falling wasn't bad enough ~~..) and am still figuring what i can do at 29. this my friend, is what will seperate us old durty men and women in our 90's from those comatose in their 40's and 50's!

Jorge Tunswala: 9th Nov 2007 - 01:44 GMT

Jus check out the skaterz at FDR dude, lotta dem rippin over 30

paul: 5th Jan 2008 - 19:22 GMT

i am 44 and just bought a board today - about 30 years after my first.
reason: i have to learn to ollie (maybe more) - that did not exist when I skated and I HAVE to nail it. these little hard wheels are strange to me.
have seen rodney mullen on youtube that darkslide thing is superhuman
wish me luck.
(ps. started snowboarding 3 years ago - no broken bones yet)

Freddy: 11th Jan 2008 - 12:54 GMT

I used to skate like every single day from when I was 10-17. Slowed down only a little and pretty much stopped at 20 when I left the country to travel. I'm 33 now, i still have my old Santa Cruz deck. I rode it today and it was such a buzz! i still could ollie quite easily and I'm sure I can even pick up the old tricks without much trouble since I've had many years in the past drilling the tricks into my system. Last week I took my daughter and wife to a playground and there was a small skate bowl there. Seeing those guys skating there mad me go insane for the next few days just thinking of skateboarding. After over 10 years of not skating I still cannot get the urge to skate out of me, it's incredibly addictive! I found this website searching for "too old to skateboard". It's just so sad that most people see skateboarding as a kids sport. But why the hell should that be? I often said to my wife the last few years that I'm too old to skate, so I'll stick to snowboarding. It's wrong though isn't it? I know one thing, through all the years of skatboarding rarely do you see a little kid getting high off a halfpipe. Mainly only the older skaters do that. That is adult skaters, in their early 20's to 30's. So I'm getting a board again soon and hit those ramps again!

RandomName: 5th May 2008 - 16:42 GMT

MAn I found this page searching for too old skateboarding like a lot of you. I hate this idea to pieces. in the time it takes you to turn 15 is the same time it takes to turn you to 30. We dont control the moon or the sun but whatever. Skateboarding is fun! you cant cut just swivel balance step off/ on and try again, on a bicycle. Forget posing I'm pissed and 26 I missed a lot of my chances in life but I had a skateboard when i was 8. I had an absence in understanding in life when family members who were like my best friends started roaming the nation with their families and I'll be damned if i'm not allowed to get on a skateboard and ride. My body will be the one that tells me when to get off not everyone else's freakin mindset. I'm way to emotional to talk about things like this. later folks

KEEP SKATEBOARDING.

Nick Aceto: 6th Jun 2008 - 22:19 GMT

I had to comment on this one, plus it was written on my B-day. Anyway, I, too am reaching that age, 27, where skateboarding just doesnt feel quite the same. Still, I've found that a day or two of making yourself ride is worth it later when it starts to feel more natural again. I don't believe there is a time when one must put away his/her "toys." I work in a professional office, but when I leave I typically go mountain biking, followed by a little pushing around the local skatepark. I'm not concerned anymore with becoming a sponsored professional rider, but damn it still feels good to land a smooth kickflip or a little frontside nose on a nice slick ledge. It took me about a week of casual skating after work to feel pretty good again. I think drinking and other bull$3@! activities get in the way of living ones life to the fullest and getting a little bruised up can be part of the fun and excitement. I suppose, perhaps, this is why your likely to find so many corporate white-collar types visiting S and M services to "take the edge off." I just prefer to spend that time outside, in the sun, scraping the skin off my hands and knees on my toy. Thanks for the read.

-n

Gamester: 20th Jul 2008 - 21:54 GMT

I too just found this page after searching for "too old skateboarding" in Google. I am 23 years old and work as a technical support agent in Boulder, CO. Right now, here is my life: I drive 30 miles to work, sitting in a car, I then sit in my cubical all day long. I then come home and eat a bit and go to bed. This kind of "non-active" life style is making my body stiff as a nail and I really hate this feeling. It is time for a change.

I have always been fascinated by extreme sports and used to watch the X-Games constantly back when they started. I used to ride a bike everywhere in the small Kansas town that I lived in and always wanted to get into skateboarding, however, I was always too afraid to actually try it, so I just never did.

Now being 23, I started thinking about skateboarding again and started watching old 80's skateboarding videos like the first "Bones Brigade Video" from 1984. I have once again become fascinated with skateboarding and I can not get it off of my mind.

I have always loved those old full colored wide skateboards of the 80's more than the thin boards you see kids running around on today. So, yesterday I did some extensive research on skateboarding and discovered that the 80's style of skateboards (now called "old school skateboarding" which makes me feel even older) are actually becoming popular again. In the last few years, old skateboarding companies like Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz, and Vision are reemerging and are re-manufacturing (A.K.A "Reissuing") a bunch of their older skateboard decks and parts.

So, yesterday I broke down and decide to order a new reissue of the old Powell Peralta "Ripper" deck which is a old 10 inch deck. I went all out 80's style and ordered color matching accessories like the slide rails, tail guards, and nose guards just like the most of the good old 80's boards sported at the time.

I figure that if I am ever going to get into skateboard, now is the time. Plus, I just got heath insurance too ;-). I have been doing a lot of stretching and jogging this weekend and discovered how truly out of shape I am. But, I want to try skateboard, so I am going to try it.

Even if this new venture kills me, at least I can tell people in the after life that, "Yep, I tried skateboarding and it was a blast up to the very end".

Thanks for listening to my rambling,
Gamester