Thrasher Skateboard Magazine | back like i never left?

I love Thrasher as much as the next guy but this thing was a pain in the ass as far as registration goes.

Trying to come back myself but you sound younger.
I am 32 now and I have stayed active so I am still about the same size as I was back then,
Its been about 10 years now
I wasn't really good but I had fun with it.
I new a few guys who got free stuff here and there but they were way beyond me
I really loved it for about a good 6 years and I don't think I am too old to come back and have some fun again.
Went out last week and after finding a relatively vacant parking garage and overcoming some reasonable fears, I noticed that surprisingly the pop was there. I had still cruised to the liquor store or bombed a small hill every now and then over the years but no tricks, not even an ollie in 10.
Was able to snap a few off (actually surprised by the height considering!)
I was stupid enough to maybe land 40 or so ollies a few powerslides a hand full of rock to fakies at the the local community skatepark. I didnt even try grinding or sliding yet. I figured not to bad for an old kook like me who hasn't really skated in nearly a decade. I was painfully sore in numerous areas for a good 3 days after, especially in the knee joints. It was fucking raw, and believe me I know how to stretch and take care of myself. Luckily I did not slam too many times, but I got a few mock cheers out of the high school kids at the park.

I can tell I have to recommit and practice if I want to get back to the ledge and curb junk I was primarily into back in the day. I was always too scared to try and go big and I was definitely lazy when it came to attempting tech. But I do remember being to do all of my tricks at relatively high speed, which was a blast when I was having a good day. I have no delusions here people, I just want to have some fun while I am still relatively young.

I got a buddy I reconnected with, we used to skate street together in high school and he is really trying to sell me on transition/concrete skatepark life. He swears its less wear and tear and actually much less of a workout I have tried it a few times and I know it can be fun as shit, but there is something about skating obstacles that were not purposely designed for being skated. Its almost as if I would rather learn to do transitions stuff in a ditch rather than hit up a smooth concrete bowl, as stupid as that sounds. Even the street replica stuff at the modern parks doesn't feel the same. I do remember the first artificial bench I skated and just remembered wanting a portable one I could stash in my van and cruse to school yards with for practice so I am sure I could get used to it.

I still look pretty young so I don't feel like a complete creep being a grown man at a school yard trying to shake shit but I noticed allot of the old spots around town are dead and gone. Its kinda sad.
I know skateboarding is a "sport" now. believe me when I first started it was definitely more of a subculture.
But I think at this point in my life perhaps the mainstream appeal is something I can take advantage of in terms of learning to do it somewhat competently again and most importantly have a good time.

It feels like the itch to skate is something I have tried to ignore for at least a good 3 years now.
But I think I have been putting this off for a while, so I am gonna try and just get back to the basics and take it slow as I go. I cannot afford to miss work from an injury!

I have what feels like a serviceable Creature complete I got last year.
I was never really into specs and brands but I tended to ride whatever was local and I have gone back and forth over Northern, Central and Southern California throughout my life, so I guess I was exposed to allot of different companies.

I rode primarily 8 inch boards (which I remember was considered a bigger board back in the day but from the looks of it seems pretty small by today's standards) I guess its something about having more control with a smaller board but kickflips and the occasional big spin was about as tech as I ever got. I remember having a really good REAL board, some good Black Label boards and some nice Creature NHS decks. I had Scarecrow, Wheels, I had allot of Spitfires. Pretty much always rode Indy Trucks. Rode my trucks tight, unless I was jumping off shit, which I stopped doing almost altogether because I used to rip my ankle really bad to the point where I needed to skate with a brace. I knew guys who seemed really good and they always gave me conflicting stories about what they thought worked best.
For me, it was just personal preference, mainly what lasted the longest because I was on a pretty limited budget. That and I always thought that I didn't even have the skill level to really appreciate the difference, but I am open to trying any product that produces good results, though I really think allot of it comes down to cognitive bias from the skater.

I am fairly motivated right now, but I do have limited time and I may be switching jobs soon, so I don't know if right now is the best time or if I am just making excuses.

I am open to suggestions, other than "quit why you are ahead"

Cheers!

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. May 22, 2013, 05:08:53 AM