What I Learned from Skating

When I was a teenager - I was a skater. At the time I had no idea how much I would learn from skating and how much it would influence who I am today.

I skated all the time - it was my way of breaking free from my house and my parents and going on adventures with my friends.

If you would have asked me as a kid if I’d still be skating in 25 years - I’m sure I would have said “not a chance.” 

Well, 25+ years later - I cruise around my neighborhood on a longboard all the time.

And honestly, it’s no surprise I’ve stayed connected to skating. Learning how to skate was one of the most painful and rewarding things I have ever done. I have a connection to it that is indelibly printed in my brain and on my body (yes - many scars).

There are very few other sports where the process of learning to do it means falling on your face (on concrete or asphalt) again and again. You have to COMMIT in a very real way to becoming a skateboarder - and it’s not for everyone.

There is one experience most skaters go through that is really representative of that commitment. Learning how to ollie is just brutal. Ollying is basically jumping with your board under your feet - up a curb, down some stairs or over something.  When you watch someone do it - it looks natural and easy.  But learning how to do it yourself is an agonizingly slow and painful process. 

You have to will yourself through it and choose again and again to not give up. And then one day, after dozens of bloody knees and rolled ankles - it finally clicks. And it becomes second nature - just a part of the chemistry between you and your board.

As I think about skating - the parallels and lessons flow easily. Without knowing it at the time, I was learning about risk, independence, commitment, perseverance, physicality, limits and so many other giant concepts that continue to have relevance today.

Looking back on that experience now - I have a completely different lens on it than I did at the time.