I wonder if our primes were really as good as we think? I was better at flip tricks and low altitude manual pad/mini ramp tricks by far, but I don't think I knew what a slappy was and my pop wasn't as solid especially switch.
Back then my setup was usually like a 7.6-8" AWS/Habitat, 7.75 Aesthetics. Or 7.75 Crail with Venture 5.0/5.2 or Thunder 145 low. I skated as low as 7.4, but after BA telling me to try a slightly bigger board and loving an 8 as a taller skater 7.75 ended up being the smallest I could fathom in like 2000. At one point I got a Toy Machine fists 8.25/Thunder 147 and that was when I first unlocked actually doing things fast.
I'm more convinced now that if I had the gear I do today I woulda learned to skate better and faster.
completely agree on chasing past ghosts (re: my long past prime).
the sentiment of riding a similar setup to your best session, first heard from some geoff rowley setup video.
your past setups are describing mine, very much so.
i would skate small, narrow, low setups, skate very slow, try lots of flip tricks, and occasionally ollie over or onto something relatively high. not much of a prime. trying to skate these small setups now, lots of tricks are easier, if i’m going really slow. really really slow.
there was a few times where i setup ‘big’ boards, to function as a cruiser. these would be 8” ish (i swear the orange eagle was this size in like 2002), 8” indys, 54s. me and my friends would get drunk and then be shocked when we could kickflip the insanely wide board. no light bulbs went off, no one thought it might be a good idea. i had 8.5 hewitt during that time and it looked like what 9.5-10 popsicle would look like to me now.
i struggle with skating fast, but it’s a lot easier on a bigger longer board. yesterday that meant more slams, slightly faster, as i couldn’t flip the behemoth around
so to rehash, totally agree prime was never all that. i don’t expect to be good, or even not gross. with all of my experimentations, i’m not even sure where i find something that feels comfortable for just a nice ollie.
i’m short, i was thinking an 8-8.25, 148s, 53 ish classics. i wonder what the most basic 8.25 is? the dlx 8.25x14.38x32?
if someone who didn’t skate, came into a shop, i guess that’s about what i’d recommend