20+ Skaters, How do you guys balance skateboarding with a career?

[Just Giver]

Have you considered teaching?  I've been substitute teaching since I graduated two years ago, and I'm about to get my certification to become a real teacher.  If you mainly work at high schools it will be just like skating after school back then.  I have plenty of planning periods through out the day to accomplish work so I am usually pretty free after getting off.  I know several teachers who skate most days out of the week.  Also the health insurance is usually pretty good in most school systems. 

[feedmeseymour]

28 years old with a 9-5 and bills and rent to pay, and i still manage to skate every day. it isnt hard.

[mclovin1336]

just skate in the evenings/ weekends or even on holidays and try to skate more "consciously" as in plan a day where you want to go a certain spot with a certain idea with your crew and do it, instead of just wasting your time at a skatepark. use the time you have to actually skate and not to flex or lifestyle or any other skateboarding associated bullshit

i usually get way more motivated when i skate less (as in 1-3 times a week). During my university years it would be like 4-6 times a week in the summertime and i would get kind of bored actually and would skate worse

[JB]

I just drink way too much and can barely make it to my job, I’m smack dab in my mid 20s and don’t have a girlfriend, kids or any of that dumb bullshit, and I haven’t skated in at least 6 months, I’m blowing it. But I text my sk8r friends like “hey let’s skate” and they don’t wanna, then I text my normal friends about wanting to go Skate and they’re like “so?”. But then sometimes I get texts from both groups, they’re tryna chill and I gotta lowkey be like “Dude, yeah Im at my apt, thinking about shit, I seriously need help, I honestly think I might die if I just stop drinking cold turkey, it’s a legitimate possability, idk what to do, I’ve done this rehab shit twice already and I live in Louisville and I’m scared shitless and have gotten chubby so Idk what to do, I want a ‘real’ career and a ‘real’ life and I can’t seem to learn or find a way out of this no matter how hard I try and it’s terrible, I can’t get out of my own way and idk why...”
then I get some disgusting response, completely dismissing anything I said, some dipshit detailing the bathroom habits of his child as if it’s a joke, and that’s fine but leaves me holding my heart in my throat, pissed off and terrified wondering if I’ll ever be capable of caring about something that much.
So yes. Do this and you can balancev skating and work or something what was the question? Fuuuhhhcckkkkkking rip ride and die fool

you gotta keep trying, man. im sorry your friends sound like they don't give a shit and maybe they're shitty friends. if thats the case, you might have to find a new support system. try a different kind of rehab. i dont personally know the answer, but there are ways you can beat this and get on the path to the life you want. you just gotta keep trying. lots of sober pals on here who will attest that its worth the struggle to get clean.

[emchen]

I fuckin suck at skating and my shit body doesn't let me jump for more than a few hours 2x a week, but...

If I were good at skating with my current life, then I'd say that balancing a 9-5 with the board is pretty manageable. I work in a lab so I can't really step away during the day, but there's plenty of time left when you go home (assuming you're able to step in the door at around 6-7 pm) and unlike school life, you actually have weekends free from studying, schoolwork, etc. Your other activities/hobbies will have to take a back seat though, but I like to remember that my peers are spending their free time watching TV shows/going to the gym, so we're not that much different.

However, I'd say the biggest change from school to work is that you're gonna feel fuckin drained coming home on the weekdays for at least a few months, regardless of how much/little you did during the day. Keeping up appearances for 8 hours takes a toll, but you get used to it.

[BMCsteve]

I just drink way too much and can barely make it to my job, I’m smack dab in my mid 20s and don’t have a girlfriend, kids or any of that dumb bullshit, and I haven’t skated in at least 6 months, I’m blowing it. But I text my sk8r friends like “hey let’s skate” and they don’t wanna, then I text my normal friends about wanting to go Skate and they’re like “so?”. But then sometimes I get texts from both groups, they’re tryna chill and I gotta lowkey be like “Dude, yeah Im at my apt, thinking about shit, I seriously need help, I honestly think I might die if I just stop drinking cold turkey, it’s a legitimate possability, idk what to do, I’ve done this rehab shit twice already and I live in Louisville and I’m scared shitless and have gotten chubby so Idk what to do, I want a ‘real’ career and a ‘real’ life and I can’t seem to learn or find a way out of this no matter how hard I try and it’s terrible, I can’t get out of my own way and idk why...”
then I get some disgusting response, completely dismissing anything I said, some dipshit detailing the bathroom habits of his child as if it’s a joke, and that’s fine but leaves me holding my heart in my throat, pissed off and terrified wondering if I’ll ever be capable of caring about something that much.
So yes. Do this and you can balancev skating and work or something what was the question? Fuuuhhhcckkkkkking rip ride and die fool

Go to rehab again, do the steps when you get out, don't ever drink again.  It will be hard work but watch how quickly the extra weight falls off, you start moving up at your job, you become more appealing to girls, all the time you spent drinking or being hungover can now be spent skating, etc. 

[SJ]

You start skating less which makes you skate worse and then you start blaming your setup and buying a surplus of gear to solve your problems when deep down you know the true problem is your lack of time on the board.

.........or at least that's what I hear from a friend

Fuck.

[Firebert]

Skate on the weekend

[artichoke]

Don't have kids.

Straight up.

If you don't have kids but have a job you just have to prioritize shit. Find a night spot and get it in after work. Try to link up with other people who have M-F jobs and go out all weekend. Don't waste your time at bars / hungover.

[Not Local]

I disagree that skating less means skating worse. If you laid a good foundation in your teens and twenties, I don't think you need to skate every day to keep it up. Its sounds corny but attitude counts for a lot. I found myself progressing again in my mid 30s b/c I just skated when I wanted to and how I wanted to without forcing anything. If a trick wasn't coming my way, I'd move on to something that was. Believe it or not I learned a lot of stuff that way. My early 20s were a dark time in my life and really stagnant in my skateboarding. My 30s were pretty great and 40s, so far so good...

[heckler]

It's not hard, you just have to take it seriously.

Consciously carve out time from your schedule to go skate, regardless of when or where. You'd be surprised how much that boosts your confidence and consistency. Muscle memory is important as you grow older. I skate only once or twice a week now, but I'd say I'm more consistent at 27 than I was when I was 20.

Skating with friends is obviously ideal, but if your group isn't as dedicated as you do, come to terms with skating alone every now and then.

I'd recommend doing something else to keep active and keep you satisfied beyond skateboarding. Living in NYC, I try to bike any day I'm not planning on skating. Creative pursuits are also a nice break from skateboarding.

I gave up smoking and drinking a few years back to deal with some health issues, and my skating (and mental outlook) drastically improved with that lifestyle choice. With that being said, I know plenty of dudes skating at a higher level than me who get fucked up on a very regular basis, so do what works for you.

Also, don't feel bad about getting a little burnt out from time-to-time. At the end of the day, this is still a hobby, and if it's not fun for whatever reason, pushing it won't help at all.

[shit_for_brains]

I'm 36 and recently stopped caring about my career because it was going well and I guess I don't want that anymore? No kids is the big one. Fuck that shit.

I built a box a few weeks ago and have already started skating like two or three times as much as I was. I just take that shit to a nearby parking lot when I have some time to spare and I'm solid gold. Even 45 minutes when I can sneak it makes a huuuge difference on "real" skate days. I'm way more comfortable on my board and am not starting from scratch every time. It's all the time investment.

[art hellman]

come to terms with skating alone

[Yossi]

I skated more after finishing university. Working shit jobs while going to school full-time left little time for skating. Now that I have a career, I just skate after work most days. One can do a lot of skateboarding in an hour or two.

[SonictheHedgehog]

If you want to skate, you WILL skate.

For the first few years into my career I mostly kept to myself skatewise, lots of solo missions. Skate with a bunch of people now and one thing you do notice is skaters with jobs versus skaters with careers. The former are constantly broke, unorganized, sleep til 3 pm, etc. if it wasn't for skating you'd have nothing in common. But alas, one of the best social aspects of skating is that all walls- racial, class, status- are all broken down for this ridiculous activity we all adore.

[nopes]

i probably skated more in my 20s than in my teens. at the time i worked 12 hour shifts, 4 days one week, 3 days the next. at least once a week i would skate with a coworker before going to work and then on the 3-4 day weekend we would usually travel to skate the entire time.

sure when i was younger and not working i probably had more time on the board but in my 20s i was actually doing way more because i had the means to go places.

now im 40 and have a job where i can skate everyday if i want to but physically thats tough for me. i dont have kids though which is probably the biggest reason why older guys cant skate.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Have you considered teaching?  I've been substitute teaching since I graduated two years ago, and I'm about to get my certification to become a real teacher.  If you mainly work at high schools it will be just like skating after school back then.  I have plenty of planning periods through out the day to accomplish work so I am usually pretty free after getting off.  I know several teachers who skate most days out of the week.  Also the health insurance is usually pretty good in most school systems.

Only partially true. Plenty of planning periods throughout the day? Where the fuck do you work? I literally have to treat my day like I have no planning periods, because despite having one, more than half of my days I have to do what is called "period subbing" to make up for missing teachers and a shortage of subs. Along with that, even if I don't have to period sub, the amount of work I have to do means that I take home and work on a bunch of things every single day.
Summers are fucking sick though, aside from the fact that none of the rest of your adult skate friends will be off.



The issue with getting older is "how important is skateboarding to you?"  If its important, schedule it in, make time for it.
Another thing is not to be dependent on friends to go skating. Obviously skating with friends is great, but a lot of times during the week, due to time constraints, I'll just go straight to a spot or skate park just to get some time in before the sun goes down.
Also, don't drink much. So many of my friends have completely fallen off due to their excessive drinking. Not only do hangovers and time spent at bars cut into your skate time, but as you get older, hangovers get worse, and skating with one gets harder.
A bonus nobody is telling you about is the adult sleep schedule. When you are up 5 days a week before 7 am and don't need that teenage amount of sleep, you can wake up saturday morning at 8 am feeling rested. This makes the skateable (aka sunny) part of the day longer, giving you more time to skate and get anything else done.

One other huge thing: skate when you are tired from work if you aren't doing manual labor. When my brain is fried from work, one of the most refreshing things for me is to get myself on the board just pushing. Just getting out in the sun, doing something physical, distracting myself from the stress of life and getting into a different mental place is so fucking therapeutic and leaves me feeling energized and more able to get through the work week. So make sure you find that time, because believe it or not, it will benefit your career life too.

[bucketoftruth]

I skate in my living room while other people are talking on conference calls just so my legs dont go stale again. Please realize that you will be working for the rest of your life and factor in what else is important in life and squeeze that shit in too. Getting old is a slippery slope, with jobs\careers being a wind at your back.

[Chris]

I work in film and do 12 hour days Monday to Friday with overtime every so often and one weekend day work here and there and still manage to skate. It’s tough and it doesn’t feel as good as it used to but it’s still fun and a good way to keep in touch with people.

[Cherb]

I just drink way too much and can barely make it to my job, I’m smack dab in my mid 20s and don’t have a girlfriend, kids or any of that dumb bullshit, and I haven’t skated in at least 6 months, I’m blowing it. But I text my sk8r friends like “hey let’s skate” and they don’t wanna, then I text my normal friends about wanting to go Skate and they’re like “so?”. But then sometimes I get texts from both groups, they’re tryna chill and I gotta lowkey be like “Dude, yeah Im at my apt, thinking about shit, I seriously need help, I honestly think I might die if I just stop drinking cold turkey, it’s a legitimate possability, idk what to do, I’ve done this rehab shit twice already and I live in Louisville and I’m scared shitless and have gotten chubby so Idk what to do, I want a ‘real’ career and a ‘real’ life and I can’t seem to learn or find a way out of this no matter how hard I try and it’s terrible, I can’t get out of my own way and idk why...”
then I get some disgusting response, completely dismissing anything I said, some dipshit detailing the bathroom habits of his child as if it’s a joke, and that’s fine but leaves me holding my heart in my throat, pissed off and terrified wondering if I’ll ever be capable of caring about something that much.
So yes. Do this and you can balancev skating and work or something what was the question? Fuuuhhhcckkkkkking rip ride and die fool

I would definitely try rehab again. And even though I'm not personally a fan of AA I would seriously consider doing it and finding a sponsor. I know there are AA groups for athiests now if you don't relieve in God. But if you actually commit to working the steps it will greatly help you. I have quite a few friends that finally got and stayed clean because they took AA seriously. There's even AA groups online you can do if it's hard for you to get to meetings or if you're worried about going to them the online meetings are a good place to start.

I really hope you can turn things around man. Addiction fucking sucks and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

[nopes]

for me the hardest thing about skating as i got older was just that it was no longer the default go to. before i moved out on my own, whenever i got home the first thing i would do is get by board and go push around in my neighborhood and see who was around. even if if was just skating a shitty 4 ft long curb it didnt matter because it was more about hanging out. now im in a situation where i have to actually go somewhere if i want to skate. i cant just leave my front door and easily have something to skate. im hoping to rectify that this summer by pouring cement in my backyard.

[zzz]

Its tough to transition into solo skating, I haven't had a friend that skates in like 10 years, but now its just like a part of my soul instead of an activity. I'm fine with pushing to the store once a month, that's all I need. I just treat it as a toy rather than a thing I use to show of my skill. Its totally okay to loose tricks.

[calvinsdream]

I work a 9-5 and private tutor on the side - mostly I skate in the mornings during the week. Better for Texas anyway with all the heat

[SJ]

For those saying you skate less because of kids...well how about you skate with your kids.

[headtowall]

skate once a year, make it count.

[cosmicgypsies]

9-5 skate after work. by the time i get to the park (6/6:30) between the people my age who skate and the new gen its a solid chance there'll be someone to skate with. also if you have a day off make plans well in advance as skateboarders are some of the most inconsistent people i've met when it comes to sticking to plans/times. takes alot more effort nowadays to get a good group of people together for a session but it pays off.

[bo golden]

whatever you do, just remember to keep dem hands down, fam

[JB]

For those saying you skate less because of kids...well how about you skate with your kids.

mine is really close to picking it up, but he just hasnt yet. he can ride his board, but he gets bored very quickly and just wants to play tag or some other six-year-old game. ive only taken him to a park once and he rolled around on the ramps for a few minutes then wanted me to film him doing parkor. we were the only ones there so i let him climb around but im worried to take him to a half way crowded park because i dont think he will understand that the skatepark is not a playground. how do you tell a kid there is only one way that you're allowed to have fun at a certain place?

were finally getting nice weather though so the plan is to work on it on saturday mornings while my wife is at work and hopefully the park is empty.

[streetsoup]

Expand Quote

For those saying you skate less because of kids...well how about you skate with your kids.

[close]

mine is really close to picking it up, but he just hasnt yet. he can ride his board, but he gets bored very quickly and just wants to play tag or some other six-year-old game. ive only taken him to a park once and he rolled around on the ramps for a few minutes then wanted me to film him doing parkor. we were the only ones there so i let him climb around but im worried to take him to a half way crowded park because i dont think he will understand that the skatepark is not a playground. how do you tell a kid there is only one way that you're allowed to have fun at a certain place?

were finally getting nice weather though so the plan is to work on it on saturday mornings while my wife is at work and hopefully the park is empty.

Hell yeah. Hope the session goes without incident.

I feel like "skating with your kids" isn't a solution to this problem though, as youre probably worried about them getting hurt/being in the way the whole time youre trying to skate. Cant really try your trick when your mind isn't fully on it.
Not saying skating with your kids is a bad idea, but the session wont be all about you and what you want to do anymore. It's a non-selfish session that probably wont go at the pace you would like it to.

[Dr-Feelgood]

Skate when you can. Even if your burnt out from work throughout the week, just roll weekends or whatever satisfys.