Skateboarding Monday: How I got into skateboarding.

As you may have realized, skateboarding is a big part of my life. It's basically the thing I'm most passionate about (aside from my girlfriend. :P) and this post this week is going to be about how I got into it and how it impacts my day to day life.

As most kids, I started out with a cheap walmart type board. I had a pokémon board I received from my cousin. I didn't really start skating until I had played a lot of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games. I saw the things you could do in and it was something I wanted to do. I spray painted the pokémon board black and attempted to make the Zero Skateboards logo on the bottom. I learned how to ollie a little bit because of my neighbor around the corner. He was a heavy skateboarder and at the time, he wasn't into drugs or anything and had no problem helping me out. I was about 11 or 12 when this was going on. It wasn't until the end of my 8th grade year when I really got serious about skateboarding. My friend Ben who I had known since 6th grade was a skateboarder. We started really getting into the culture in 8th grade. He always would let me use his Kryptonics board when I'd go over to his house. I started learning shuvs and got my ollies down and on my birthday at the end of 8th grade year, he gave me the board. I remember that setup still to this day because of how dreadfully cheap it was. :P
It was a Kryptonics 7.75 with Tracker Trucks (still have never heard of them since then), Abecs Bearings, and I think Spitfire wheels (which I still have). I had my first real test of skateboarding that weekend after my birthday. We went to the skatepark right down the road from me and he taught me how to get a feel for vert skating and just the basics of flatground. My friend Colton, whom I also met in 6th grade, was just starting up skating around then too. He improved much faster than I did and is really the main reason I got so into skateboarding. He taught me a lot of what I know now. We have been skateboarding "buds" ever since.

The thing that differs Colton and I is the fact that he's more of a vert skater, and I'm more of a street skater. I got into street because I was watching a lot of Rodney Mullen stuff and other street skaters and wanted to be like that. I started out with a 3 stair for my first taste of street. I've been doing ledges and stair sets ever since. I haven't gone any higher than a five stair yet but I have hit different sizes of 3's, 4's, and 5's. My best trick on flatground is probably a heelflip or varial. I only land those every so often though. Colton still to this day, kicks my ass at a round of S.K.A.T.E. every time. I don't work on my flat ground enough because I work on the more unique stuff. Which reminds me that Colton and I started a video series called "Unique Skateboarding" the first one got delted but here's the second....

So I've been skating for approximately 5 years and have realized that I love this sport a lot. I'm definitely going to be doing it for the rest of my life. I even plan on working somewhere in skateboarding. I've gone through 5 different boards and am now on my sixth. Here's my current setup...

ATM 7.75

Bones Reds Bearings, the only bearings I will ever skate. They are AMAZING.

Bones 53mm Wheels. Best wheels I've had.

Independent Trucks. They are a bit heavy, but they last quite a long time. I prefer Ventures.

So yeah, that's basically what skateboarding means to me. "I know that I'll never stop skateboarding unless I become paralyzed or I die. I live to skate and I skate to live" By Me.

BONUS VID. ;)