Losing interest in skateboarding/feeling left out

[Doodily]

Not having close friends to skate with seems to be my skating downfall. I have "friends" at the skate park... but really acquaintances. So, when I get hurt or busy and take time off, I usually end up going months without skating because I'm not getting those calls or text "let's go skate". Especially as I've gotten older, a rolled ankle takes 4-6 weeks to heal instead of 4-6 days and I end up in the same mundane daily routine - kids, work, family, etc.  It's hard to add skating back into that once it's out. I basically need a skateboard sponsor (like an AA sponsor) that checks in to make sure I've been skating that week.

Speaking of which - I'm Doodily and I'm a kook-a-holic. I haven't skated in 3 months because I hurt my ankle again and then I got busy, the weather got really cold, so I made up 1,000 excuses why I couldn't go skate.  I just bought a new deck yesterday and plan on skating this week.

[PolkaV]

One of the life lessons I learned early on from skateboarding is that you always want to surround yourself with people that are better than you.  I found that to be true of a lot things, including guitar, woodworking, machining, and most other things that have interested me in life.  You can learn a lot on your own, however I find that I hit plateaus when I'm not exposed to other people and learning new things. 

However, if I look at the hours I've spent on a skateboard, I'd say 70% of it was spent alone.  At 45, I don't have any friends that skate and my ability to do wacky shit is gone.  Any buddies that I skated with in the 80s and 90s are either long gone or dead.  I do talk to people at the skatepark, young and old, but I actually prefer to be there alone.  Skating and surfing are the only physical activities I've ever done where I can zone out and get a natural high alone.  I never considered either one to be a "team sport" or even a "sport" for that matter; that was part of the appeal to me.

[corey websturd]

I get you.Been through that too because I'm old plus my skating friend are far away since I moved into a shit hole a decade ago...Well, I would recommend to give yourself some challenges whaever your level is.And filming yourself can sometimes be a way to get pumped.
Keep the faith;)

[chris.]

I was totally out of it for a few months recently but I got out the other day and now I’m all in again.  Can’t skate today but gonna tinker with my gear.

[dallou]

Got to the park in the morning and put a nice album and have some fun. I am not super comfortable around large clique of skaters as I don’t really have a crew. I skate with 2 people mostly, I obviously know everyone and say hi but I feel awkward as fuck next to a close group of people.

[JM]

I’m going to have to take some of this advice.

Skated today for about an hour and had a solid, clear thought about 50 minutes in: “what the fuck am I doing here?”

I’m 42 about to turn 43 next month, and I just feel like I should be out on the golf course instead of at the skatepark sucking.

I don’t feel embarrassed, it’s more of a “why am I here doing my stupid slow and low tricks” existential crisis kind of question.

Everything hurts and I feel like I can’t take risks like I used to because getting hurt is the absolute worst now.

Also, I gained 25 pounds in the last six months… which really makes skating harder and nothing I can do is making the weight go away (healthy eating, more active throughout day with at least one walk of 15 minutes, and 2-5 hours of skating a week on two separate days)

I don’t know, I think if I quit skating for a few months to do something else, it’ll be really difficult to get back into it again.

Too scared to quit, if that makes sense. But too much in pain to really skate like is necessary to get the most out of it.

I don’t know… maybe trying a different park would be good. There’s a new one opening soon about 30 minutes away with some low looking stuff. There’s a 3’ quarter I could try to build up confidence to roll into (or really just do the damn thing without thinking… not thinking about it usually led to better skating)

Or go skate the mostly transition park/pump track and just get some killer aerobic exercise and fly outs.

[behavioralguide]

@Ninj2

[Ninj2]

I
Kinda always fell left out of this whole other world of soon you just busted me into my dawgs. And I am happy to find this thread thank you homies
But I always make it part of my life.
I skate to the corner store ever day
Like. A ritual thing. Different routes to different corner store  depending on my need but mostly it’s just a ritual to skate slightly down hill to the store and buy two sparkling waters in glass bottles and walk home. Maybe buy some scratchers too. But also I am not gonna hold the line up buying scratchers cuz I enjoy the flow.

[JM]

Hey took y’alls advice. I just did no pop anything 30 minute sesh (cept nocomply 180’s, a nollie here and there and exactly ONE Ollie) and just skated transition and dinky low tricks on stuff with no pop needed. Learned to roll switch up a waterfall.

It was all around super fun. 

Great to do something different. Thanks

Oh and started doing a little jump rope.

[IUTSM]

Getting bored? skate street. Not driving, parking, and skating a spot, but skating in a street, ollie onto and off of sidewalks, partial pivot over sewer caps, manual between cracks in the road or sidewalk blocks, doing 180s riding switch for a few pushes and 180ing or power sliding back to regs again and again and again. Carve the street.  Skate jazz

If you need a format or container, even pick point A to B to C and skate between them all. Just go from one place to another and find shit to skate like when parks didnt exist and you weren’t afraid of looking too whatever to be skating in the street.

Watch Gonz video days and skate around like that.

If you’re still bored after skating around like that, maybe all is lost. But i bet you won’t be bored

[JM]

Getting bored? skate street. Not driving, parking, and skating a spot, but skating in a street, ollie onto and off of sidewalks, partial pivot over sewer caps, manual between cracks in the road or sidewalk blocks, doing 180s riding switch for a few pushes and 180ing or power sliding back to regs again and again and again. Carve the street.  Skate jazz

If you need a format or container, even pick point A to B to C and skate between them all. Just go from one place to another and find shit to skate like when parks didnt exist and you weren’t afraid of looking too whatever to be skating in the street.

Watch Gonz video days and skate around like that.

If you’re still bored after skating around like that, maybe all is lost. But i bet you won’t be bored

That looooong front board was amazing. 

[in love w/ fs shuvs]

Skated today for about an hour and had a solid, clear thought about 50 minutes in: “what the fuck am I doing here?”

I’m 42 about to turn 43 next month, and I just feel like I should be out on the golf course instead of at the skatepark sucking.

I don’t feel embarrassed, it’s more of a “why am I here doing my stupid slow and low tricks” existential crisis kind of question.

Everything hurts and I feel like I can’t take risks like I used to because getting hurt is the absolute worst now.

Also, I gained 25 pounds in the last six months… which really makes skating harder and nothing I can do is making the weight go away (healthy eating, more active throughout day with at least one walk of 15 minutes, and 2-5 hours of skating a week on two separate days)

Real asf. I just broke my shit and I always asked myself the same questions but now it's just louder than before. Injuries r risky asf financially, career wise, and just make survival a whole lot harder. They also r not super fun either.